Emerging Resources on Sustainability Efforts in Mining
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This section focuses on mining and sustainability, corporate responsibility, Inter-relationships around sustainability and corporate social responsibility. Key concepts and promotionals are: “responsible mining assurance,” “local procurement,” “green mining,” “social license” (SL), “social license to operate,” (SLO), “mining shared value,” “sharing governance,” “corporate social responsibility” and dealing with the “Resource Curse.”
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www.cassandralegacy.blogspot.it “Resource Crisis”. A blog from Ugo Bardi, author of Extracted: How the Quest for Mineral Wealth is Plundering the Planet. A critical exploration of petroleum and mineral economies.
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www.icmm.com International Council on Mining & Minerals. Founded in 2001 and based in London to act as a catalyst for performance improvement in the mining and metals industry. Focuses on sustainable development and environmental stewardship. ICMM represents 22 mining and metals
Icompanies, and 32 national and regional mining associations & global commodity associations.
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ICMM says it bases its work on five values: "(1) care for S&H of workers, contractors, communities and the use of the materials we produce; (2) respect for people, environment, host societies; (3) integrity as the basis for engagement with employees, communities, governments; (4) accountability for commitments; (5) collaboration as important tool."
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ICMM's Publication is: “Good Practice Guidance for Mining & Biodiversity” (2006); other publications include www.icmm.com/document/6993 Annual Review 2013, and “Strengthening Relationships with Communities”
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www.eiti.org Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative. Cites “Seeing Results from Natural Resources.” Lists compliant countries and companies. Presents requirements for social responsibility code. Transparency = “openness & public disclosure of activities”.
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http://www.globaldialogue.info/ Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development. They have 49 member countries (Mexico and Peru are members; but the U.S. is not). The site includes resources on artisanal mining, community development, contract negotiations, health and safety, environmental impacts, human rights, and International Best Practices. Their documents include:: “Mining, Minerals, Metals & SD: A Voluntary Partnership for Global Dialogue on Sustainable Mining & Development”; and “Better Sourcing Program”
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www.copperinvestingnews.com/20527-what-is-social-license.html “SL, or community buy in, is valuable not only in an ethical sense or for publicity – it also has a very real and significant financial impact on a mine’s value in many cases today.”
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http://www.iied.org/mining-minerals-sustainable-development “Mining, Minerals & Sustainable Development.” Includes background & publications from the International Institute for Environment and Development.
“Like other parts of the corporate world, companies are more routinely expected to perform to ever higher standards of behaviour, going well beyond achieving the best rate of return for shareholders. They are also increasingly being asked to be more transparent and subject to third-party audit or review. In response, a number of companies, either independently or with others, are establishing ‘voluntary standards’ that often go beyond any law. But even so, some observers suspect that many businesses are merely engaging in public relations exercises and doubt their sincerity. In particular, the industry has been failing to convince some of its constituencies and stakeholders that it necessarily has the ‘social license to operate’ in many areas of the world.”
Following the Rio Earth Summit, in 1998, some companies launched the “Global Mining Initiative.” The World Business Council for Sustainable Development commissioned IIED to do this scoping study.
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Conference on Foreign Direct Investment and the Environment. Includes lessons to be Learned from the Mining Sector, statements re: best practices and voluntary commitment and background documents.
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http://www.responsiblemining.net Their Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance is targeted at industrial scale mining and provides a guiding standard, best practices, certification and informational webinars. Formed in 2006, the IRMA stakeholders include NGOs, social justice organizations, labor unions, mining-affected communities, mining corporations and downstream users of minerals and metals. There are plans for the launch of an independent third-party assurance system, which will start to be tested in 2017.
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www.pdac.ca Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada. This organization is global in scope. It projects a SLO approach; an Office of Extractive Corporate Social Responsiblity, “and good practices”, Check out – corporate social responsibility, transparency, environment, health and safety.
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http://goxi.org/page/about-us Based at the World Bank, GOXI (Governance for Extractive Industries Program). Urges greater accountability and better development outcomes of extractive industries. Includes a list of civil society representatives.
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http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/ourwork/povertyreduction/focus_areas/extractive-industries.html “Extractive Industries for Sustainable Development,” United Nations Development Programme. The site houses a video profiling UNDP's approach to: (1) legislation, policy, planning; (2) exploration and extraction: transparency, environmental impacts, conflict mgtement; (3) prudent revenue collection & management, including risks of corruption, rent-seeking, gender violence, and HIV; (4) Investments for Human Deveopment. UNDP offers to support countries in dealing with “Resource Curse” and “Paradox of Plenty”
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http://nrcan.gc.ca/mining-materials/green-mining/8178 Green Mining Initiative, Natural Resources Canada. Mining waste, sustainable development, aboriginal participation.
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http://business.financialpost.com/2014/03/05/pdac-2014-miners-keen-to-buy-local-in-bid-to-dampen-hostility-to-new-projects Canadian companies look to buy G&S from suppliers in poor countries “ to prevent hostile relationships with local communities that could delay or disrupt projects.”
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www.ewb-usa.org (www.ewb-international.org) Engineers Without Borders
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http://www.ewb.ca/ventures/mining-shared-value-msv Canada section.
“Mining Shared Value works to strengthen what it means to be a responsible mining company operating in a developing country. To this aim, we focus on helping industry to maximize local procurement of goods and services...An increase in local procurement in developing countries
by Canadian mining companies is good for economic and social development, and is good for the Canadian mining industry.”
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www.unep.org/resouracepanel/Publications/MetalStocks/tabid/56054/Default.aspx “Metal Stocks in Society: Scientific Synthesis”
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www.unep.org/pdf/Metals_Recycling_Rates_Summary.pdf (overview, visuals, graphs on use, re-use, environmental impacts).