Gold is neither a critical mineral nor a metal that is central to the global energy transition in terms of demand from new energy production technologies. Yet, gold is unique among mined commodities for its role in financial markets and for its global production footprint including in numerous developing economies. Since the production of gold incurs CO₂ emissions and other environmental risks including water pollution and land degradation, gold producers seek to adopt clean production solutions through electrification and renewable energy adoption. Further, gold’s unique role as a store of value creates new potential green business models in gold, such as the digitalisation of in-ground gold inventories, which can further reduce negative environmental externalities from gold mining. A net-zero emissions, future global gold industry, is possible. Major gold producers are targeting net-zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2050, coupled with a lower overall environmental footprint to meet heightened societal expectations for cleaner production. An analysis of emissions data from Australian gold mines shows systematic differences between mining operations. Further clean energy investment in gold production is required to reduce emission levels towards the target of net zero.

Gold is a precious metal and an important asset class. However, mining for gold can lead to severe environmental issues. Against this backdrop, this study proposes an alternative to mitigate the negative externalities of gold mining. Instead of digging out gold for investment purposes we propose to leave it in the ground and let nature act as a natural vault and custodian legally protected by gold firms and the government. Empirically, we analyse whether portfolios of gold exploration companies with access to such ‘green’ gold also provide exposure to the world price of gold. The results demonstrate that gold mining is not necessary to give investors access to gold.