Industry collaboration advancing global standards
The Mining Association of Canada’s (MAC) participation in a multi-stakeholder initiative to consolidate and strengthen mining standards around the world is an opportunity to demonstrate global leadership and move the industry towards meeting the growing expectations of customers, governments and civil society for a uniform set of standards that support responsible mining, says Pierre Gratton, MAC president and CEO.
While MAC’s current Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) program, to which all members must subscribe, is already considered a world-leading standard that has been adopted by 13 mining associations in 13 countries around the world, Mr. Gratton believes that consolidating the best elements of a range of standards used by other organizations will benefit the mining industry as a whole.
The four organizations involved in the initiative – MAC, the World Gold Council, The Copper Mark and the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICCM) – all have standards that are conditions of membership. However, having to comply with multiple sets of standards makes doing business difficult for mining companies and can be confusing for customers and investors, he adds.
MAC’s approach to the development of the new standards is similar to its decision to share TSM with willing partners around the world. “We are participating in this process because we think we can contribute to a better global industry by sharing what we’ve done here in Canada,” he says.
Mr. Gratton notes that in recent years, there has been growing pressure from the mining industry’s customers, particularly in the automotive and tech sectors, who are themselves getting pressure from their customers who want to know that the materials going into their products have been mined responsibly. There has also been similar pressure from investors and civil society NGOs.
“The proliferation of standards in the mineral resource space was the catalyst for the four organizations to get together,” says Mr. Gratton. “Generally speaking, we are all aiming for the same goal although not necessarily in the same way. It seemed to make sense to try to bring our four standards together and consolidate them, taking the best of each and creating one that would make it easier for our members and the industry and clearer for investors and customers. It would help drive performance and should be welcomed by governments and civil society.”
The proposed standard could, at the outset, have the widest coverage of any voluntary responsible mining standard to date, with initial implementation by more than 80 mining companies with around 700 operations in almost 60 countries worldwide. Broader participation by companies beyond the four organizations will help support the industry to further raise the bar on ESG performance.
Of the four organizations participating in the initiative, MAC has the lengthiest experience in negotiating and developing standards, says Mr. Gratton.
“We have a very developed set of standards that are site specific and a robust assurance framework developed over the past 20 years,” he says. “We are experienced in multi-stakeholder dialogue and have a national Community-of-Interest panel that has helped us develop and implement this system, so we are bringing a lot to the table.”
Transitioning to a consolidated standard will be less of a stretch for MAC members due to this lengthy experience than it may be for mining companies in other jurisdictions, he adds. However, it will include elements that MAC’s TSM program currently lacks such as labour rights, which, in Canada, tend to be comprehensively addressed by separate relationships with strong labour unions and by provincial and federal legislation.
“In Canada, we’ve taken the approach of focusing on priority issues that are of critical importance to the industry and can make a real difference in terms of driving performance improvement. So issues like tailings management and Indigenous and community relationships are front and centre,” says Mr. Gratton.
The development of the new standard has already begun. An industry advisory group and a stakeholder advisory group have been formed to review first drafts. Once finalized, the drafts will be taken to public consultation and then revised based on feedback. A second round of public consultation will follow, with the new standard expected to be finalized in late 2025.
Source: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/