Investors help launch commission on global mining industry
UN PRI and Church of England Pensions Board behind drive to reform industry in wake of allegations of labour abuses and biodiversity loss.
Investor organisations such as the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI) and the Church of England Pensions Board have successfully led the push for the creation of a UN-advised global investor commission on mining.
By 2050, the World Bank forecasts a 500% surge in demand for metals and minerals, such as lithium, nickel and graphite, used to produce the clean energy technologies needed to meet Paris Climate Agreement goals.
The commission will focus on longstanding issues within the mining sector such as child labour, indigenous community rights, impacts on biodiversity, climate change, tailings dams, and corruption. It will look to address risks in the mining sector that could threaten the industry’s role in the net-zero transition.
The Global Investor Commission on Mining 2030 is to be led by institutional investors, chaired by the Church of England Pensions Board and advised by the United Nations Environment Programme.
Investors collective efforts can play an important role in driving change in the way corporate practices impact people and communities.
Investor scrutiny of mining industry
Adam Matthews, chair of the commission and chief responsible investment officer of the Church of England Pensions Board, said: “To achieve net zero requires an expansion of mining. And yet, the industry will not be able to expand without managing inherent systemic risks.
“Working practically, transparently and in partnership with industry and other stakeholders, the new commission aims to bring the finance and corporate worlds together to ensure the mining industry retains its social licence as it scales to meet demand for the low-carbon transition.”
The commission will also look to identify global best practice standards and disclosures, including where ESG data can be consolidated, and where investors, banks, insurers and mineral demand-side companies can align to responsible mining practices and standards.
David Atkin, chief executive of the UN PRI, said: “Investors collective efforts can play an important role in driving change in the way corporate practices impact people and communities, and the way the corporate sector can increase their positive social impact as an integral part of their core business strategies.“
The formation of the commission coincides with the fourth anniversary of the Brumadinho tailings dam disaster in Brazil, which claimed 270 lives. To commemorate, Matthews held a remembrance service in London with Angelica Amanda Andrade, who lost her sister in the disaster.
Earlier this month, Daniel Litvin of the Grantham Research Institute argued that climate activist need to step up and engage with the mining sector on a greater scale.
