Agnico Eagle focus is on the ‘why’ as it pursues ESG aims

Mining’s innate environmental, social and governance value drivers remain active and firing at gold major Agnico Eagle Mines at a time of seemingly reduced external ESG pressures, senior company executive Carol Plummer says.

Deloitte Canada partner Andrew Swart said in the Deloitte 2025 Tracking the Trends report many mining and metals company executives thought ESG metrics hadn’t necessarily led to better performance or higher stock market valuations. Investors had also become disillusioned with the term and “for many the gas pedal has come off of ESG”.

Plummer, Agnico Eagle’s executive vice president sustainability, people and culture, has been with the company for nearly two decades. She is a mining engineer with extensive experience as a mine-site leader who moved into corporate sustainability roles about five years ago.

“The social narrative has evolved over the years, going from social responsibility to ESG to sustainability, and we have adjusted the way we tell our story as the interests of stakeholders have changed,” Plummer says.

“What hasn’t changed is the way we manage our business.

“At Agnico Eagle we take the long view in managing our business and creating value for our stakeholders.

“When we invest in a region we want to be there for the long-term. We believe that for mining to work it must benefit all stakeholders. This approach has worked well for us and we strongly believe that this is the right strategy in a world that is becoming increasingly complex.”

Deloitte’s Swart said why companies pursued ESG goals could be the key future difference between industry leaders and average performers. “By giving ESG initiatives a purpose beyond ratings – that is, value creation – and tying them to core company values and strategy, they can become a more integral part of doing business and generate more meaningful outcomes,” he said.

Plummer says Agnico Eagle set an ambition to achieve net-zero scope one and scope two carbon emissions by 2050, with an interim target of reducing absolute emissions by 30% by 2030, benchmarked against its 2021 baseline.

“In an industry defined by resource depletion we view carbon emissions reduction as both environmentally responsible and economically sound,” she says about the “why”. “We focus on energy efficiency and innovation at our existing sites, while integrating new technology into our development projects. These efforts directly contribute to improved operational efficiency and financial returns.

“We also leverage the expertise of our employees and collaborate with governments and communities to accelerate the deployment of clean energy and the sourcing of renewables.

“While the external pressure to make large-scale investments in climate-friendly infrastructure may have lessened recently the drive to be efficient and cost effective is ingrained into our miners and we will continue to look for ways to improve.”

A US$93 billion company with mining and exploration interests in Canada, Finland, Australia, Mexico, USA and Sweden, Agnico Eagle defines itself as a miner with a “global approach [and] regional focus”, with each region selected for geological prospectivity and political stability to allow mines to operate over decades.

“Operating for decades can be a competitive advantage in both knowledge and relationships, especially if you can become the employer of choice with the local workforce and the partner of choice with local stakeholders, communities and suppliers,” Plummer says.

“Wherever we can we hire locally, buy from local businesses and live in the communities. Even at our more remote sites, where employees live in camp during their scheduled rotations, we promote hiring and training people from nearby communities.

“This business model served us well during COVID-19 when our operations were largely unaffected by travel restrictions, operating continuously under local operating teams. We worked closely with governments, local health authorities, our employees and suppliers to develop and obtain approval for innovative safety protocols and standards to protect our operations, our employees and local communities.”

Plummer, elected as chair of the Mining Association of Canada (MAC) in June this year, headed MAC's Towards Sustainable Mining governance team over the past two years.

She says about 85% of Agnico Eagle’s production and 80% of its costs are tied to its Canadian operations.

“What is helpful is that about 60% of these costs – mainly labour, power and royalties – are unaffected by tariffs as they are paid in Canadian dollars to Canadian businesses,” 

Beyond tariffs, energy and supply chains, Plummer says the geopolitical landscape continues to shift. She cites as an emerging geopolitical challenge arctic sovereignty.

“Given our track record and our extensive experience of operating in the North, we believe we have an important role to play in advocating, alongside our key partners in Nunavut and the government of Nunavut, for increased investment in critical and social infrastructure in the Arctic to help strengthen local communities and unlock economic development opportunities,” Plummer says.

“Political dynamics change over time depending on the elected leaders and economic environment. However, what doesn’t change is people’s desire to be heard and respected and Agnico Eagle’s commitment to our values.

“As a global mining company, we engage with many different indigenous peoples and communities which each have their own unique histories, language and cultural practices. We take steps to reduce barriers to meaningful participation by adapting our engagement activities to the specific local context and indigenous-led processes.

“Our approach is characterised by effective dialogue, consultation and partnership. Agnico Eagle is a signatory to over 20 agreements with Indigenous Nations in Canada and one in Australia.”

Last year the gold major developed its first Reconciliation Action Plan to help further advance its reconciliation efforts with indigenous peoples. Its engagement process was said to involve more than 250 indigenous and non-indigenous contributors.

Why the need for a bolder plan?

“While Agnico Eagle has had various programs and initiatives in place for many years across our operations the Reconciliation Action Plan represented an important step in weaving these activities into a central, comprehensive strategy to enhance our efforts toward responsible and respectful reconciliation practices,” Plummer says.

Carol Plummer will participate in a keynote panel discussion – Redefining ESG as a risk management tool for mining – at Resourcing Tomorrow 2025 in London from December 2-4.

She will be joined by moderator, Bowring Marsh’s Dr Bev Adams, Barrick Mining Corp sustainability executive Grant Beringer, Gemfields Group corporate responsibility director Edward Johnson, and Ben Chalmers, senior vice president of The Mining Association of Canada.