Hut 8 Mining Corp, 1 of North America’s largest integer plus miners, has precocious published its 2022 Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report. The report, which aligns with the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), is simply a measurement successful the crypto industry’s ongoing conflict with sustainability.
The cryptocurrency manufacture has been nether scrutiny for its precocious vigor depletion and imaginable biology impact. Hut 8’s study comes astatine a clip erstwhile investors are progressively looking astatine ESG factors successful their concern decisions, and regulators are considering measures to mitigate the biology interaction of industries similar crypto mining.
In the report, Hut 8 outlines its committedness to achieving c neutrality by 2025 and its efforts to offset 40% of its 2022 scope 1 and 2 emissions. It besides reports a carbon-free grid premix of 94% and 97% for its high-performance computing (HPC) information centers successful Ontario and British Columbia, respectively, highlighting its attempts to trim its c footprint.
However, the study besides raises questions astir the broader challenges facing the crypto manufacture successful its quest for sustainability. While Hut 8’s efforts are commendable, the industry’s wide vigor depletion remains high, and the modulation to much sustainable practices is analyzable and costly.
On the societal and governance fronts, Hut 8 reports zero full recordable workplace information incidents successful 2022 and diverseness successful its enforcement absorption and board. These are important factors for investors considering ESG criteria, but they besides item the broader challenges the tech manufacture faces successful presumption of diverseness and inclusion.
In examination to different miners and industries, Hut 8’s ESG hazard standing is considered medium, ranking 586 retired of 1114 successful the bundle and services manufacture group, according to Sustainalytics. This ranking reflects the company’s vulnerability to industry-specific worldly ESG risks and however good it is managing those risks.
The station Hut 8’s ESG study sheds airy connected sustainability efforts successful the crypto industry appeared archetypal connected CryptoSlate.