According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the greatest threat to global health in the 21st century is climate change. With climate change comes threats of more frequent and intense droughts, storms, heat waves, rising sea levels, melting glaciers and warming oceans, which can directly harm animals, destroy the places they live, and wreak havoc on people’s livelihoods and communities.
With the increasing need to accelerate climate solutions, organizations like Project Drawdown® are emerging as a resource for information and insights. Founded in 2014, Project Drawdown® is a nonprofit organization that seeks to help the world reach “drawdown” — the future point in time in which levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to steadily decline.

The Introduction of “DrawDown Solutions”

Five years ago, Project Drawdown® published a list of what they refer to as “DrawDown Solutions”. Their studies show that these solutions are a set of technologies and practices that would not only halt the increase of greenhouse gases, but in fact, cause a decline if effectively executed.

DrawDown describes all of their climate change solutions to be based on an extensive analysis of the scientific literature and sophisticated modeling, and to share six key traits that set them apart from other sets of climate mitigation strategies. They 1) are currently available, 2) are growing in scale, 3) are financially viable, 4) are able to reduce greenhouse gas concentrations in Earth’s atmosphere, 5) have a net positive impact, and 6) are quantifiable under different scenarios.

Recently, there were 11 new climate solutions added to this collection, one of which is recycled metals, a process that Sims is very familiar with.

The Impact of Metal Recycling

What makes the recycling of metals unique is its ability to be reused infinitely. Factors that may contribute to the finite use of metals involve any introduction of impurities, dissipation, quality degradation and other factors. The process of recycling metals as opposed to virgin materials extracted from ores, requires less energy and has a much lower greenhouse gas footprint.

“Recycled metals are estimated to increase from 39 percent of the market to 41–48 percent of a growing market for metals production, saving 4.31–12.34 gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions between 2020 and 2050.”

Drawdown.org

And it Doesn’t Stop There…

At Sims Limited, there are four businesses in our portfolio;

  • Sims Metal (a global leader in metal recycling)
  • Sims Lifecycle Services (a leading provider of solutions to extend the life of IT an electronic devices)
  • Sims Resource Renewal (delivering a leading circular business model to create value for our business and society)
  • Sims Municipal Recycling (a leader in curbside recycling)

Collectively, the Sims Limited businesses play an integral role in the circular economy by maximising the use of valuable resources for as long as possible. Through our portfolio of businesses, we are positioned to contribute to the sustainability of every country where we operate in order to fulfill our purpose: create a world without waste to preserve our planet.

Learn more about Sims Limited’s strategic growth and sustainability strategies.