Responsible mining

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Responsible mining is commonly defined as mining that involves and respects all stakeholders, minimizes and takes account of its environmental impact, and prioritizes a fair division of economic and financial benefits. [1] [2] [3] There is a strong focus on stakeholder engagement, involving governments and the affected communities.

Contents

The underlying principles are based on existing international agreements, such as the Rio Declaration and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), involving polluter responsibility, equity, participatory decision making and accountability and transparency. [4] Because the Earth contains a finite amount of minerals – making mining a finite activity – the term responsible mining is preferred over sustainable mining. [5] In practice, responsible mining has different interpretations, referring to advocacy to reform mining activity, as well as to a marketing strategy used by mining companies to promote their operations as environmentally or socially sound. Goals may vary by group.

Responsible mining first appeared in an article entitled "Re-inhabitory Mining" [6] and next in another article titled "Ecological Mining". [7] The term "Responsible Mining" is also claimed as having been formulated by Ranil Senanayake of the International Analog Forestry Network and Brian Hill of the Institute for Cultural Ecology.[ citation needed ]

Overview

The mining and mineral industry produces necessary components for use in people’s daily lives. [8] Additionally, this industry plays a large role in many developing countries – such as Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Philippines, and Angola, yet has historically created a negative relationship between economic dependence and natural resources and GDP. [8] Companies operating in the mining and minerals industry navigate market demand for essential components and society’s expectations of social and environmental responsibility. [9]

Local communities expect that the risks and impacts of mining are compensated with employment and infrastructure benefits. [9] The industry is also expected to avoid ecologically and culturally sensitive sites, and to produce safe products that do not violate environmental and social standards. [9] In 1998, representatives from ten of the world’s largest mining corporations congregated at the Global Mining Initiative to address the negative attention surrounding the industry. [10] Their 2002 report found that the industry has damaged communities and ecosystems throughout the world, but there is also the potential to generate larger and quicker profits while supporting the community and the environment if mining activities are managed appropriately. [11]

If managed irresponsibly, the mining and minerals industry can foster economic growth and development at the detriment of society and the environment. [3] This can include environmental degradation, displaced populations, and local conflicts. [8] However, responsible mining can create economic growth and development by managing an equitable distribution of mining benefits amongst affected stakeholders. [3]

Media coverage

The Nation was critical of the concept in a February 2010 article by Matt Kennard titled "How Responsible Is Socially Responsible Mining?". [12]

Meanwhile, The New York Times has covered the marketing of jewelry made of 'responsibly-mined' gold [13] and the Pew Campaign's efforts to change the 1872 mining law. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mining</span> Extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth

Mining is the extraction of valuable geological materials from the Earth and other astronomical objects. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agricultural processes, or feasibly created artificially in a laboratory or factory. Ores recovered by mining include metals, coal, oil shale, gemstones, limestone, chalk, dimension stone, rock salt, potash, gravel, and clay. Ore must be a rock or mineral that contains valuable constituent, can be extracted or mined and sold for profit. Mining in a wider sense includes extraction of any non-renewable resource such as petroleum, natural gas, or even water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecotourism</span> Tourism visiting environments

Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds for ecological conservation, to directly benefit the economic development and political empowerment of local communities, or to foster respect for different cultures and for human rights. Since the 1980s, ecotourism has been considered a critical endeavor by environmentalists, so that future generations may experience destinations relatively untouched by human intervention. Ecotourism may focus on educating travelers on local environments and natural surroundings with an eye to ecological conservation. Some include in the definition of ecotourism the effort to produce economic opportunities that make conservation of natural resources financially possible.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triple bottom line</span> Accounting framework

The triple bottom line is an accounting framework with three parts: social, environmental and economic. Some organizations have adopted the TBL framework to evaluate their performance in a broader perspective to create greater business value. Business writer John Elkington claims to have coined the phrase in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corporate social responsibility</span> Form of corporate self-regulation aimed at contributing to social or charitable goals

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) or Social Impact is a form of international private business self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropic, activist, or charitable nature by engaging in, with, or supporting professional service volunteering through pro bono programs, community development, administering monetary grants to non-profit organizations for the public benefit, or to conduct ethically oriented business and investment practices. While once it was possible to describe CSR as an internal organizational policy or a corporate ethic strategy similar to what is now known today as Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG); that time has passed as various companies have pledged to go beyond that or have been mandated or incentivized by governments to have a better impact on the surrounding community. In addition national and international standards, laws, and business models have been developed to facilitate and incentivize this phenomenon. Various organizations have used their authority to push it beyond individual or even industry-wide initiatives. In contrast, it has been considered a form of corporate self-regulation for some time, over the last decade or so it has moved considerably from voluntary decisions at the level of individual organizations to mandatory schemes at regional, national, and international levels. Moreover, scholars and firms are using the term "creating shared value", an extension of corporate social responsibility, to explain ways of doing business in a socially responsible way while making profits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental resource management</span> Type of resource management

Environmental resource management is the management of the interaction and impact of human societies on the environment. It is not, as the phrase might suggest, the management of the environment itself. Environmental resources management aims to ensure that ecosystem services are protected and maintained for future human generations, and also maintain ecosystem integrity through considering ethical, economic, and scientific (ecological) variables. Environmental resource management tries to identify factors affected by conflicts that rise between meeting needs and protecting resources. It is thus linked to environmental protection, sustainability, integrated landscape management, natural resource management, fisheries management, forest management, and wildlife management, and others.

A sustainable business, or a green business, is an enterprise that has minimal negative impact or potentially a positive effect on the global or local environment, community, society, or economy—a business that strives to meet the triple bottom line. They cluster under different groupings and the whole is sometimes referred to as "green capitalism." Often, sustainable businesses have progressive environmental and human rights policies. In general, business is described as green if it matches the following four criteria:

  1. It incorporates principles of sustainability into each of its business decisions.
  2. It supplies environmentally friendly products or services that replaces demand for nongreen products and/or services.
  3. It is greener than traditional competition.
  4. It has made an enduring commitment to environmental principles in its business operations.
<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social impact assessment</span> Reviews infrastructure and development

Social impact assessment (SIA) is a methodology to review the social effects of infrastructure projects and other development interventions. Although SIA is usually applied to planned interventions, the same techniques can be used to evaluate the social impact of unplanned events, for example, disasters, demographic change, and epidemics. SIA is important in applied anthropology, as its main goal is to be able to deliver positive social outcomes and eliminate any possible negative or long term effects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable tourism</span> Form of travel and tourism without damage to nature or cultural area

Sustainable tourism is a concept that covers the complete tourism experience, including concern for economic, social and environmental issues as well as attention to improving tourists' experiences and addressing the needs of host communities. Sustainable tourism should embrace concerns for environmental protection, social equity, and the quality of life, cultural diversity, and a dynamic, viable economy delivering jobs and prosperity for all. It has its roots in sustainable development and there can be some confusion as to what "sustainable tourism" means. There is now broad consensus that tourism should be sustainable. In fact, all forms of tourism have the potential to be sustainable if planned, developed and managed properly. Tourist development organizations are promoting sustainable tourism practices in order to mitigate negative effects caused by the growing impact of tourism, for example its environmental impacts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natural resource management</span> Management of natural resources

Natural resource management (NRM) is the management of natural resources such as land, water, soil, plants and animals, with a particular focus on how management affects the quality of life for both present and future generations (stewardship).

ICMM was founded in 2001, as a CEO-led leadership organization, on the premise of improving sustainable development in the mining and metals industry.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Mines (India)</span>

The Ministry of Mines is the ministry in the Government of India. The ministry functions as the primary body for the formulation and administration of laws relating to mines in India. The head of the ministry is Pralhad Joshi, who has been serving since June 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainability accounting</span>

Sustainability accounting was originated about 20 years ago and is considered a subcategory of financial accounting that focuses on the disclosure of non-financial information about a firm's performance to external stakeholders, such as capital holders, creditors, and other authorities. Sustainability accounting represents the activities that have a direct impact on society, environment, and economic performance of an organisation. Sustainability accounting in managerial accounting contrasts with financial accounting in that managerial accounting is used for internal decision making and the creation of new policies that will have an effect on the organisation's performance at economic, ecological, and social level. Sustainability accounting is often used to generate value creation within an organisation.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artisanal mining</span> Independent, small-scale, subsistence mining

An artisanal miner or small-scale miner (ASM) is a subsistence miner who is not officially employed by a mining company, but works independently, mining minerals using their own resources, usually by hand.

Peak minerals marks the point in time when the largest production of a mineral will occur in an area, with production declining in subsequent years. While most mineral resources will not be exhausted in the near future, global extraction and production has become more challenging. Miners have found ways over time to extract deeper and lower grade ores with lower production costs. More than anything else, declining average ore grades are indicative of ongoing technological shifts that have enabled inclusion of more 'complex' processing – in social and environmental terms as well as economic – and structural changes in the minerals exploration industry and these have been accompanied by significant increases in identified Mineral Reserves.

Sustainability standards and certifications are voluntary guidelines used by producers, manufacturers, traders, retailers, and service providers to demonstrate their commitment to good environmental, social, ethical, and food safety practices. There are over 400 such standards across the world.

Ocean governance is the conduct of the policy, actions and affairs regarding the world's oceans. Within governance, it incorporates the influence of non-state actors, i.e. stakeholders, NGOs and so forth, therefore the state is not the only acting power in policy making. However, ocean governance is complex because much of the ocean is a commons that is not ‘owned’ by any single person or nation/state. There is a belief more strongly in the US than other countries that the “invisible hand” is the best method to determine ocean governance factors. These include factors such as what resources we consume, what price we should pay for them, and how we should use them. The underlying reasoning behind this is the market has to have the desire in order to promote environmental protection, however this is rarely the case. This term is referred to as a market failure. Market failures and government failures are the leading causes of ocean governance complications. As a result, humankind has tended to overexploit marine resources, by treating them as shared resources while not taking equal and collective responsibilities in caring for them.

Traditionally, market orientation (MO) focuses on microenvironment and the functional management of an organisation. However, contemporary organisations have widened their focus to incorporate more roles, functions and emphasis on the macro environment. Firms have been concerned with short run success and often not taken into account the long-run ecological, social and economic effects from their activities. Despite growth in the MO concept, there is still a need to reconceptualise the concept with a greater emphasis on external factors that influence a firm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business</span>

India's National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environmental and Economic Responsibilities of Business (NVGs) were released by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) in July 2011 by Mr. Murli Deora, the former Honourable Minister for Corporate Affairs. The national framework on Business Responsibility is essentially a set of nine principles that offer businesses an Indian understanding and approach to inculcating responsible business conduct.

References

  1. ↑ Bice, Sara (2016). Responsible Mining: Key Principles for Industry Integrity. Routledge. ISBN   9781317658153.
  2. ↑ Broad, Robin (2014). "Responsible mining: Moving from a buzzword to real responsibility". The Extractive Industries and Society. Elsevier. 1 (1): 4–6. doi:10.1016/j.exis.2014.01.001.
  3. 1 2 3 Arvanitidis, Nikolaos; Boon, Jan; Nurmi, Pekka; Di Capua, Giuseppe (2017). White Paper on Responsible Mining. International Association for Promoting Geoethics.
  4. ↑ Miranda, Marta; Chambers, David; Coumans, Catherine (2005). Framework for Responsible Mining: A Guide to Evolving Standards (PDF).
  5. ↑ Jarvie-Eggart, Michelle, E. (2015). Responsible Mining: Case Studies in Managing Social & Environmental Risks in the Developed World. SME. ISBN   9780873353731.
  6. ↑ "Re-inhabitory Mining", City Miner, 1979, Vol.4, No.1, Berkeley, California
  7. ↑ "Ecological Mining", Restoring the Earth Conference, Berkeley, California, in Modern Gold Miner & Treasure Hunter, Nov./Dec., 1988
  8. 1 2 3 Byambajav Dalaibuyan, Munkhzul Dorjsuren, Vigya Sharma, Usukhbayar Sainjargal, Ivan Gyozo Somlai, Gerelt-Od Erdenebileg (18 March 2019). "Training manual on responsible mining". United Nations Development Programme. Retrieved 18 December 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. 1 2 3 Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development (2002). Breaking New Ground: The Report of the Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development Project. Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development. ISBN   1-85383-907-8.
  10. ↑ Bice, Sara (2016). Responsible Mining: Key Principles for Industry Integrity. Routledge. ISBN   9781317658153.
  11. ↑ Goodland, Robert (2012). "Responsible Mining: The Key to Profitable Resource Development". Sustainability. 4 (9): 2099–2126. doi: 10.3390/su4092099 .
  12. ↑ Kennard, Matt (February 17, 2010). "How Sustainable is Socially Responsible Mining?". The Nation. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
  13. ↑ Johnson, Kirk (April 6, 2006). "With This Ethical Ring I Thee Wed (Published 2006)" – via NYTimes.com.
  14. ↑ "Opinion | Unchanged (for the Worse) Since 1872 (Published 2007)". August 20, 2007 – via NYTimes.com.
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