In early December, during a virtual meeting with investors, Vale presented the goal of reducing net scope 3 emissions by 15%, related to its supply chain and customers, by 2035. The percentage decrease considers 2018 as the base year, when 586 million tons of CO2 equivalent (MTCO2eq) from its value chain were accounted for. The company expects to reach 496 MTCO2eq by 2035, a difference of 90 MTCO2eq from that recorded in 2018 - a volume equal to Chile's emissions related to energy use in the same year, according to a report from the International Energy Agency. The goal will be reviewed in 2025 and subsequently every five years. Today, 98% of Vale's CO2 emissions come from scope 3. 

The goal already considers the increase in production capacity to 400 million tons of iron ore, to be achieved by the end of 2022. Similar to the goals of scope 1 and 2, it is also in line with the Paris Agreement's ambition to limit global warming to less than 2°C by the end of the century. To achieve its scope 3 goal, Vale has a portfolio of high quality products and innovative technologies to provide solutions that reduce the emissions of customers and suppliers. 

"This agenda is the result of a listening process, aligned with real demand from society related to climate change", says Vale's CEO, Eduardo Bartolomeo. "In a preliminary estimate, Vale will be able to contribute to up to 25% of the estimated total to reach the scope 3 goal through its own portfolio, which sets them apart from their global competitors". 

The company, however, does not rely solely on the quality of its products. "Low-carbon technological solutions for steelmaking have been developed by Vale for some years now," says the executive director of Institutional Relations, Communication and Sustainability, Luiz Eduardo Osorio. "This is the case with Tecnored technology, which allows pig iron to be produced from the replacement of up to 100% of mineral coal with biocarbon (made from different types of biomass), significantly reducing carbon dioxide emissions". 

In the shipping area, included in scope 3, Vale is committed to the goals of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to work to reduce the intensity of emissions by 40%, by 2030, and by 50%, in absolute terms, by 2050, with emissions from 2008 as a reference. The company created the Ecoshipping program, which has collaboration from different industry players, with the purpose of promoting projects that reduce emissions in the maritime transport of iron ore. One of them is the use of rotor sail technology on very large ore carriers (VLOC). The technology will allow fuel savings of up to 8% and an annual reduction of up to 3.5 thousand tons of CO2 equivalent per ship.