European countries are working towards sourcing their future minerals supply in a more responsible way, but the challenge is to ensure that vulnerable stakeholders along the value chain are not left out of the conversation.
The RE-SOURCING Project aims to promote responsible sourcing through creating roadmaps for the renewable energy, mobility and electronics sectors in the EU. Funded by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 project, RE-SOURCING is pursuing its goal by building a responsible sourcing community among a range of global stakeholders.
"On the strength of our historical involvement in the mining sector, SRK Consulting has been drawn into the RE-SOURCING process, where our role includes facilitating the engagement of stakeholders in Africa and Asia," says Andrew Van Zyl, partner and principal consultant at SRK Consulting.
These zones, along with South America, are key mineral-supply regions whose input to the consultation process is vital, adds Van Zyl, noting that the areas have wrestled with a range of ESG issues that relate to responsible mineral sourcing, such as artisanal mining and community engagement. "A significant amount of mining best practice is in fact emerging from developing countries that host mining sectors, which is what we are looking to feed into the RE-SOURCING process," he explains.
Key among the concerns of the responsible sourcing agenda is environmental degradation, carbon emissions and climate change. The recent United Nations IPCC report on climate change - which confirms the severity of global environmental impacts - certainty raises the urgency around the achievement of concerted world-wide action to reduce global warming.
