NEWS
CERA 4in1 and ICL Iberia announce breakthrough in cross-recognition of sustainability certification
By Ivan Closa
The CERA 4in1 initiative and ICL Iberia – with the support of CONFEDEM – have announced a major breakthrough in the crossrecognition of raw materials sustainability certification . The announcement follows pilot project results at ICL Iberia ’ s Súria & Sallent potash mine and its Súria processing plant near Barcelona , Spain . It is a development that will provide smaller domestic producers with a clear route to meeting the sustainability requirements of international markets .
Since 2020 , the CERA 4in1 initiative has been working with a range of pilot projects to actualise its mission to standardise the evaluation of sustainability for every raw material , in every country , under a single scheme . Within this mission , a framework has been developed to recognize sustainability schemes that are already been in place at operational sites .
To-date , sustainability at the ICL Iberia ’ s Súria & Sallent mine and processing plant – which produces 4,000 kilotonnes of potash ore annually – have been evaluated using the UNE 22470 / 22480 Standard , Spain ’ s national technical standard , which is not known in a broader international context , but has now been recognised through the CERA 4in1 framework . Súria & Sallent were selected as one of the CERA 4in1 pilot projects to test the “ CERA 4in1 Performance Standard ” which evaluates the responsible performance of mine activity and subsequent processes .
As part of the recertification process of Súria & Sallent under the UNE 22470 / 22480 standard , the UNE Standard requirements were evaluated and successfully transferred to meet the majority of the performance criteria within CERA 4in1 ’ s internationally recognised standard .
Commenting on the significance of this achievement , Dr Andreas Hucke , Project Director , CERA 4in1 , said : “ From the outset , CERA 4in1 set out to harmonise the way the raw materials value chain ensures the sustainability of its processes , products and linkages – a constant headache for the industry . CERA 4in1 has made a major step in cross recognition , opening the door for other individual standards to receive international accreditation .”
Commenting on the pilot project , Carles Aleman , President of ICL Iberia , said : “ Reaching a sustainable mining has been one of ICL Iberia ’ s top priorities in recent years . We are certain that working with the CERA4in1 Standard will not only help us meet our sustainability goals , but also lead the entire industry toward a more sustainable future ”.
The CERA 4in1 Performance Standard criteria was first published as a working model in April 2019 , before being presented and initially discussed during the CERA 4in1 stakeholder workshop at the EIT Raw Materials Summit in Berlin in May 2019 . Following this audit , the Súria & Sallent mine and processing plant will now aim to achieve full CERA 4in1 certification as soon as practicable .
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