Rio Tinto and IOC have strengthened their commitments to safeguarding biodiversity on mine properties. Globally, the protection of biodiversity is becoming an increasingly significant factor in obtaining and maintaining access to land and resources, holding a social license to operate, and demonstrating responsible land stewardship to stakeholders.
Healthy natural environments with functioning ecosystems are key to climate resilience. They also provide important services to the communities where we operate and our business. We are committed to protecting biodiversity, and our ambition is to achieve no net loss where we operate. This means striking a balance between reducing negative impacts and achieving positive outcomes through mitigation.
IOC implements proactive and adaptive strategies to ensure that species, habitats, and communities are the priorities as we move toward continual improvement of biodiversity protections. Through initiatives such as annual revegetation, offset, and compensation programs, educational outreach, annual species at risk surveys, and monitoring, IOC is committed to conserving the natural resources of the boreal forest and marine ecosystems where it operates. In alignment with Rio Tinto’s biodiversity standard—which is grounded in a hierarchy of controls: avoid, minimize, and mitigate—IOC integrates these principles into its daily operations and decision-making processes.
Bank swallowsThe bank swallow is a small migratory songbird that moves north to Canada each spring to breed and raise its young over the summer. Unlike most other songbirds, which build nests in trees, bank swallows dig nest burrows in substrates such as silty sand and other suitable materials. |
BatsWelcome to the understudied world of bats!Here at IOC, we recognize that we have a unique opportunity to contribute to the scientific study of bats, a nocturnal animal that has historically been misunderstood. |
PollinatorsThe smallest and busiest of creatures are often the most overlooked. Insects such as bumble bees, butterflies, wasps, and moths play a vital role in keeping an ecosystem in good health by pollinating flowering species so plants can reproduce. |
Grey wolvesThe Labrador grey wolf (Canis lupus labradorius) is a subspecies of grey wolf (Canis lupus) native to Labrador and Northern Quebec. |
