The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), one of the leading organizations promoting standardized ESG reporting, today announced the launch of its new mining sector reporting standard, which aims to enable companies in the sector to disclose a broad set of sustainability impacts , ranging from emissions and biodiversity to community impact and human rights.
According to the GRI, the new standard comes in a context of broad demand from interested parties for transparency about the impact and contributions of the mining sector to sustainable development, with the sector balancing the need for accountability over the impact of its operations on people and the environment, with its fundamental role as a source of minerals and metals on which society depends.
Carol Adams, Chair of the GRI Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB) said:
“From a sustainability point of view, mining’s position is complex, in that it is both part of the solution and the problem. The low-carbon transition cannot be achieved without the essential minerals the sector provides – but mining operations can have profound and harmful impacts on both nature and people.”
The new standard, GRI 14: Mining Sector 2024, marks the fourth in a series of sectoral reporting standards planned by GRI, following the publication of its first sectoral standard in 2021, covering the oil and gas sector, and for agriculture, aquaculture and fishing sectors in 2022. GRI intends to develop standards for 40 sectors, starting with those that have the greatest impact.
The new GRI mining standard addresses 25 topics that are likely to be relevant to companies in the sector, covering critical themes including emissions, waste, human rights to land, resource rights, climate change, child labor, anti-corruption and community engagement, and establishes expectations for site-level transparency to help stakeholders assess impacts and risks by specific location and minerals. Topics covered by the new standard include three – tailings management, artisanal and small-scale mining, and operating in conflict zones – that have not previously been covered by GRI. The standard applies to all organizations involved in mining and quarrying, including exploration and extraction, primary processing and related support services.
GRI stated that the standard was developed by an independent group of stakeholders including companies, investors, labor groups, civil society and mediating institutions, and incorporated expectations for responsible mining guidance and relevant standards, with input from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). , Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA), International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), Copper Mark, OECD and Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM).
Adams added:
“We need detailed, consistent and globally comparable reports on the most significant impacts of mining companies, which this new GRI Standard will provide. Importantly, it will help mining organizations improve how they communicate with key stakeholders on the issues most important to building community trust.”
Click here to access the new GRI mining standard.
