CIM

Excellence in Sustainable Development Award

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Excellence in Sustainable Development Award

For excellence in sustainable development

Origins & Conditions

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History

The Excellence in Sustainable Development Award (formerly the Syncrude Award for Excellence in Sustainable Development) promotes the Canadian minerals industry as an active seeker of sustainability solutions that engage and affect the Canadian public. Sustainability is defined as meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Sustainable development includes the interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars of economic development, social development and environmental protection. This award recognizes extraordinary systems, programs or processes that have far-reaching and positive sustainability effects in all industry sectors across Canada. It recognizes those individuals, communities, organizations, corporations or academics that are working to create economic wealth while mitigating environmental impacts and acting inclusively towards all segments of society.

Purpose

To promote the Canadian minerals industry as an active seeker of sustainability solutions that engage and affect the Canadian public

Criteria

The award shall be made to an individual, community, organization, corporation, or academic, not necessarily a CIM national member, and whose contribution:
- Adds value to the minerals industry's sustainable management practices 
- Has an effect on several corporations and organizations in more than one isolated circumstance; 
- Features people or tangible qualities that the public can relate to; 
- Has a positive impact in one or more area of the three pillars of sustainability: environment, economy, and social.

Recipients

There is only one recipient of this award each year. This award may be given to an individual or an organization.

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Winners

2023

Alistair Kent

Alistair Kent is a civil geotechnical engineer with over 40 years of experience in the mining sector.  He started his mining career by helping hard rock miners from Inco deal with weak tropical soils in Indonesia, thence to Vancouver where he has worked on a wide range of minerals across Canada and beyond.  He has coordinated and managed multi-disciplinary project and study teams for consultancies, owners and capital investment firms. He is actively involved in the implementation of sustainable development and the integration of multi-disciplinary teams to promote socially responsible mining. He leads the working group on tailings management for the Environment and Social Responsibility Society of CIM, and has been involved with CIM branch and national executives since 1996.

2022

Skeena Resources

Skeena Resources Limited is a Canadian mining exploration company focused on revitalizing the past-producing Eskay Creek Mine in Tahltan Territory within the Golden Triangle of northwest British Columbia, Canada.

Skeena is working towards realizing the value of Eskay Creek in such a way that they have a net positive impact economically, socially, and environmentally by stimulating local businesses, furthering reconciliation with First Nations, and encouraging low-carbon industries within their supply chain. The Company’s Eskay Creek Revitalization Project will be the first example of a First Nations consent process with their Tahltan partners under British Columbia’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.

Skeena’s highlights from 2021 include the creation of the Tenh Dẕetle Conservancy which preserves 3,526 hectares of land in Tahltan Territory, the investment of C$122 million from the Company into the British Columbia economy, and the completion of a socioeconomic baseline study of the Tahltan Territory.