Environmental

Climate

Our Approach

Peabody has a responsibility to reduce our GHG emissions to align with the goals of our customers and move toward our ambition of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. We believe setting measurable, near-term emission reduction goals is the most effective and transparent strategy for achieving this aspiration.

We will continue to take direct actions to reduce emissions from our mining operations and drive investment in the development and adoption of low emissions technologies that will be critical for the world to reach its climate goals. We believe that applying emission reduction technology to existing resources and infrastructure must play a key role in achieving a net-zero future.

We are embracing the transition to net-zero emissions as an opportunity to collaborate and innovate with our customers as one piece of a broader energy ecosystem, and we believe our steelmaking coal will be key to the development of renewable energy products and future infrastructure. We intend to create further value for our stockholders by reducing emissions at our operations and developing opportunities to support our customers’ climate commitments, including investment in advancing technology and the development of renewables.

Importantly, we believe the transition to a net-zero emissions economy must balance the need for a timely transition with the necessity for affordable, reliable energy and steel. We remain committed to playing a role in the energy transition and are reorienting our portfolio toward the steelmaking coal necessary to build the new energy grid.

As part of the transition, we will continue to responsibly grow our non-thermal revenue from our diversification initiatives, including our investment in R3 Renewables. We will responsibly mine our existing thermal coal reserves, given the importance of coal as a fuel to support evolving global energy needs, while we reduce annual volumes from our U.S. thermal mines by 20 – 40 million tons by 2035 (versus 2021 production).

Our Performance

We have achieved our first near-term emission reduction target, a 15 percent reduction in scope 1 and 2 emissions from our 2018 baseline. We are targeting a subsequent 20% reduction in scope 1 and 2 emissions, from a 2023 baseline, by 2030.

We believe this continued, incremental approach to emission reductions supports our commitment to align our programs and performance with the goals and expectations of our stakeholders and customers.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Peabody’s Scope 1 direct emissions include consumed diesel fuel and fugitive emissions from our operations, and our Scope 2 emissions relate to the consumption of purchased electricity. In 2023, our emission intensity per ton of mined coal decreased by five percent compared to 2022, while overall emissions also decreased by more than five percent.

Peabody’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions have decreased over 35 percent since 2018, resulting from GHG emissions reduction efforts and the impact of lower production volumes.

While Peabody has not established specific targets related to the reduction of Scope 3 emissions, we will continue to support our customers’ and suppliers’ emission reduction goals through investment in research and technology and advocacy for the policies that support these goals.

We support research and key initiatives in low-emissions projects and partnerships such as Low Emission Technology Australia (LETA), Carbon Utilization Research Council (CURC), the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources (SER) and the Consortium for Clean Coal Utilization at Washington University in St. Louis.

Current Stories and Initiatives

RWE and Peabody Partner to Develop Solar and Energy Storage Pipeline on Repurposed, Reclaimed Mine Lands

RWE, a leading renewable energy company, and Peabody announced a new partnership to strategically advance renewable energy projects by repurposing reclaimed land previously used for mining. This innovative global partnership brings together RWE’s expertise in developing and operating clean energy projects and Peabody’s significant land resources, particularly in the Midwest, as well as its industry leading reclamation capabilities.

The renewable projects planned for the reclaimed lands have the potential to generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of more than 850,000 homes across the region. The initiative not only advances renewable energy development in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) region, but also promotes economic development by creating local jobs and increasing tax revenues for the communities involved. The projects maintain existing agricultural lands, ensuring that rural areas benefit from economic growth. The partnership intends to fulfill growing electricity demand by bringing renewable power to the grid, and jobs and revenues to communities that have contributed to U.S. energy in other forms for generations.
RWE, a leading renewable energy company, and Peabody announced a new partnership to strategically advance renewable energy projects by repurposing reclaimed land previously used for mining. This innovative global partnership brings together RWE’s expertise in developing and operating clean energy projects and Peabody’s significant land resources, particularly in the Midwest, as well as its industry leading reclamation capabilities.

The renewable projects planned for the reclaimed lands have the potential to generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of more than 850,000 homes across the region. The initiative not only advances renewable energy development in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) region, but also promotes economic development by creating local jobs and increasing tax revenues for the communities involved. The projects maintain existing agricultural lands, ensuring that rural areas benefit from economic growth. The partnership intends to fulfill growing electricity demand by bringing renewable power to the grid, and jobs and revenues to communities that have contributed to U.S. energy in other forms for generations.

Peabody Continues Support of Consortium for Clean Coal Utilization

In 2023, Peabody contributed $100,000 to support the research of the Consortium for Clean Coal Utilization (CCCU) at Washington University in St. Louis, which focuses on research in advanced coal and carbon capture technologies. Funding is used to support faculty-led research projects, build advanced research facilities and support outreach activities relating to the clean utilization of coal. The Advanced Coal and Energy Research Facility (ACERF), which is co-sponsored by Peabody, provides pilot-scale research, development and testing of clean technologies for pollution control and carbon capture and utilization. Peabody has supported the CCCU since it was established in 2008.

Peabody Supports University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources Research into Alternative Coal Uses

In 2023, Peabody made a sustaining commitment to the University of Wyoming’s School of Energy Resources (SER). The gift supports the “Peabody Education, Innovation and Technology Fund” and supports SER’s pioneering solutions in carbon engineering, management, capture, utilization and storage, as well as reclamation, alternative coal uses, regulatory analysis and policy and more.

Since the 1980s, Peabody’s North Antelope Rochelle Mine (NARM) has partnered with the University of Wyoming on various research projects to improve the process of reclamation and revegetation. Ongoing research between NARM and SER is focused on the use of coal char (pyrolyzed thermal coal) as a soil amendment to enhance organic matter in topsoil.

The application of coal char as a soil amendment has shown positive results with improved health and vigor of the microbiology in agricultural use topsoil. NARM is currently working with SER to apply coal char to multiple test plots in newly seeded reclamation areas trying to achieve the same positive results. Topsoil in the northeast region of Wyoming contains lower levels of organic matter and the addition of coal char can help with the long-term health of microbial communities in the soil.

Finding alternative carbon neutral uses for coal means that it can continue to benefit local economies and ecology with less detrimental impacts to the environment. Peabody made an initial gift of $500,000 and committed one cent per ton of Powder River Basin coal sold by Peabody with the current gift total surpassing $1.36 million.