INSIGHT •
RESPONSIBLE SOURCING CONSIDERS SUSTAINABILITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN MINING
By Andrew van Zyl , SRK Consulting South Africa MD
As Europe plans its way towards a lower-carbon future , there is an awareness that the journey is as important as the end-goal ; to responsibly source the minerals it will need for the energy transition , the European Union is working on understanding the impacts of this process across the mining value chain .
SRK Consulting is participating in an important initiative on this front – the RE-SOURCING project funded by the European Union ' s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme . This has been working to build a global stakeholder platform for responsible sourcing .
An aspect of this project is to help define standards of responsible sourcing for European Union countries . Importantly , this process is designed to include the input of stakeholders in regions where the minerals are currently being sourced and most likely to be sourced in the future .
All images SRK Consulting
Understanding impacts Sourcing minerals responsibly means understanding the impact of mining and its extensive value chain – from the environmental impact and carbon footprint to the range of social and human rights impacts . The RE-SOURCING initiative is part of the European Green Deal – in which the EU is tackling the growing threat of climate change and environmental degradation . The aim is to ensure that the extensive global sourcing and consumption of raw materials for the ‘ green ’ transition is based on sound sustainability principles and practices .
The growing focus on human rights in the mining sector is a critical element of the environmental , social and governance ( ESG ) issues which the industry now includes in its reporting practices .
Andrew van Zyl , SRK Consulting South Africa MD .
Mining companies have begun monitoring and addressing the human rights impacts not only of their operations , but in their upstream and downstream supply chain . These practices are based on decades of concern about issues like child labour , slavery and unethical behaviour in the mineral supply chain .
The RE-SOURCING project also links strongly to lenders in the mining sector , as there are minerals like cobalt that are increasingly important to the
With concerns about human rights in the artisanal mining sectors of countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo – where much of the world ’ s cobalt is mined – lenders to mining projects need to be fully informed about how mining projects plan to deal with these issues .
future of battery and renewable technology . With concerns about human rights in the artisanal mining sectors of countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo – where much of the world ’ s cobalt is mined – lenders to mining projects need to be fully informed about how mining projects plan to deal with these issues .
Definitions and engagement When developing responsible sourcing standards , the EU ’ s approach has recognised that such requirements carry a risk of unintended consequences . For this reason , a great deal of time and expertise is being ploughed into establishing some common understanding of responsible sourcing between mineral producers , their Europe-based customers and various other stakeholders .
There is also potential for significant disruption to mineral supply chains starting in Africa , if well-intentioned EU directives about standards were difficult or impossible to comply with – or caused negative unintended results . SRK Consulting ’ s work has therefore involved input , research and engagement . The RE-SOURCING process aimed to develop wide interest and engagement , to
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