The extraction of raw materials is essential for modern society, and it is necessary to expand extraction capacity to enable climate transition and achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. But expanding capacity will bring increased social and environmental challenges, which can challenge both society’s trust in the companies and their future growth if not managed well.
Background
The Council on Ethics has played a leading role in establishing a global open database of information on mine tailings dams, the launch of a first global standard for mine tailings dams and an institute to ensure corporate compliance with the standard. In 2021, the Council closed this wide-ranging engagement project, which then entered an administrative phase. As a follow-up to this successful work, the Council is helping to launch the Global Investor Commission on Mining 2030.
Mining 2030 is an investor-led collaboration that aims to define and promote a vision of a socially and environmentally responsible mining sector, describing how it can be realised by 2030. The mining industry plays a crucial role in the climate transition, and Mining 2030 wants to ensure that the sector contributes to the transition in a manner that is sustainable in the long term.
The extraction of raw materials is essential for modern society, and it is necessary to expand extraction capacity to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. One sign of this is the increasing efforts by governments and companies to secure the supply of the metals and minerals needed to realise climate transition and meet net zero commitments. For example, the ability of car manufacturers to meet the demand for new electric vehicles will partly depend on the availability of raw materials needed for functioning batteries. According to various estimates, lithium extraction will need to increase by 880 per cent and graphite by over 900 per cent from 2020 to 2030. (Source: The Global Investor Commission on Mining 2030)
Even with significantly higher levels of recycling, increased efficiency in the use of minerals and opportunities to substitute key minerals with other minerals, the path to net zero depends on a significant expansion of the mining industry. At the same time, there are a number of social and environmental challenges for the mining industry to tackle. These involve challenges for the companies’ future operations, society’s acceptance of and confidence in the mining industry and minimisation of negative impacts on the environment and people.
Objectives for the project
Specifically, Mining 2030 aims for the mining industry to:
- have a ‘social licence to operate’, i.e. social acceptance and confidence in their activities;
- be able to meet society’s growing demand responsibly without contributing to conflict or corruption;
- act in a way that respects planetary boundaries;
- make a positive contribution to social and environmental development, today and tomorrow.
An important task of Mining 2030 is also to identify and evaluate how different mining standards can contribute to the development of best practices in the industry.
Outcome 2023
The initiative has started work in 2023 on a feasibility study aimed at understanding the supply of and demand for critical minerals for the energy transition, both now and in the future, and will contribute to an understanding of key challenges for the mining sector in meeting that demand. Through its participation in the initiative’s steering group, the Council has been involved in the work leading up to the launch of the initiative.
Next steps
The next step is to develop Mining 2030’s activities, including enabling knowledge and experience sharing between stakeholders. Work on the feasibility study on the supply of and demand for critical minerals for the energy transition and the future challenges of the mining industry will continue in 2024.
About Mining 2030
Mining 2030 is an investor-led collaboration initiative that aims to define and promote a vision of a socially and environmentally responsible mining sector by 2030. Mining 2030, launched in 2022, has identified ten systemic risks related to the mining industry and the necessary transition to a low-fossil fuel society. The mining industry plays a crucial role in the climate transition, and Mining 2030 wants to ensure that the sector contributes to the transition in a sustainable manner in the long term. Mining 2030 also has the important task of identifying and evaluating how different standards can contribute to the development of best practices in the industry.
Mining 2030 is supported by investors representing total assets under management of USD 11 trillion. A commission of around 25 people from companies, academia, stakeholder organisations and the financial sector was recruited during 2023. Mining 2030 provides an opportunity for the Council to build on and share experiences from its previous work on mine tailings dams and learn lessons from other mining stakeholders. The Council on Ethics is part of the Mining 2030 steering group.
Read more about Mining 2030 here.