Vale sustainability score: 22/100
Vale is a Brazilian multinational mining company founded in 1942 and headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. It is the world's largest iron ore producer and a major producer of nickel, copper, and coal.
More about Vale
Vale operates mines and processing facilities across Brazil, Indonesia, Zambia, and other regions, supplying steel and battery industries globally.
Founded 1942Head office Rio de Janeiro, BrazilStaff ~67,000Revenue ~$42BWebsite ↗
Vale reports meaningful absolute emissions reductions and 84% renewable electricity globally, but operates at a scale (466 MtCO₂e total) that dwarfs these gains. Two catastrophic dam collapses—Mariana (2015) and Brumadinho (2019)—killed 289 people and devastated major river systems. An SEC fraud settlement and Brazilian fines for withholding dam safety information reveal systemic transparency failures. Nature impact claims are contradicted by documented environmental devastation.
Vale scores 22/100 (Significant gaps) on SINK's independent climate assessment, scored from public data only. Scores are free. Companies can never pay for anything about their own score. Last verified May 2026.
That places Vale joint 870th of 934 companies scored, and joint 10th of 13 in Mining & Extraction.
What is Vale doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Carbon Footprint: Supply Chain (8/10, 7/10). Weakest on Controversies & Red Flags and Nature & Biodiversity Impact (0/10, 2/10).
Where Vale lost points
For each question that lost points, the evidence our public rubric looks for that we didn't find.
- Emissions from its own operations8/10No verified figures published with their method and a falling trend.
- Emissions from its supply chain7/10No full value-chain map or supplier engagement programme.
- Whether its emissions are falling5/10No evidence of a year-on-year fall in its total emissions.
- How clean its energy is7/10Less than 90% of its energy shown to be renewable.
- Its effect on nature2/10No assessment of its effect on nature, and no basic environmental policy.
- How it uses materials and handles waste4/10No measurable waste or recycling targets reported publicly.
- Its effect on water4/10No measured water footprint with reduction targets.
- Its climate targets4/10Its targets aren't science-based or committed to the Science Based Targets initiative.
- How openly it reports6/10No annual impact report, or no pay linked to climate targets.
- Its record on controversies0/10Points deducted for controversies or its business model. The finding is under question 10.
A score changes when the evidence does. We use new published evidence at the next rescore. Anyone can send us new evidence, free. How to send it.
How is Vale's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleWhat evidence is Vale's score based on?
12 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
58% of them were published by Vale itself; the rest come from independent sources.
Scored on 4 April 2026 under an earlier version of our method. We're re-checking it under the current method.
If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.
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How does Vale compare with other mining & extraction companies?
Where Vale sits among mining & extraction peers.
Among the 13 major mining & extraction brands we've scored, Vale is tied =10th of 13, with 2 others.
Who scores higher in Mining & Extraction?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Vale.
Fortescue reports detailed emissions data and has ambitious 2030/2040 decarbonisation targets backed by US$6.2B investment and major equipment orders.
See the breakdown →BHP reports comprehensive climate data with verified operational emissions reductions, but Scope 3 emissions—97% of total—lack absolute reduction targets.
See the breakdown →Rio Tinto reports comprehensive climate data but its equity-basis emissions rose year on year.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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