The Copper Mark and the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) have jointly said that they have opened a public consultation period for its draft Risk Readiness Assessment (RRA) and revised Criteria for Responsible Minerals and Metals.
The consultation period is open from May 2 to July 1. With the revision, the two groups are hoping to get the RRA to be recognized and further accepted as a credible criteria group for responsible mineral production by key stakeholders. It also wants to respond to findings of benchmarking exercises and clarify requirements for the RRA’s implementation.
The RRA, RMI explained, is a set of criteria for responsible production it created for use by mining, smelting, refining and manufacturing sites across a broad range of metals.
It is also the foundation of the Copper Mark Criteria for Responsible Production, against which operations are independently assessed during the Copper Mark Assurance process.
The Criteria Guide, the two added, can offer explanations to help companies implement and assess performance with the 32 industry norms of the RRA across environmental, social and governance issue areas.
“The RRA has been pivotal to enable risk monitoring in mineral supply chains” said RMI Vice President of Responsible Sourcing Jennifer Peyser.
“Jointly with the Copper Mark, we see this revision as a critical milestone in our efforts to align the RRA criteria with fast-evolving human rights and environmental due diligence expectations and provide our members and their suppliers with a future-fit risk assessment tool.”
Copper Mark Executive Director Michèle Brülhart added the RRA is the basis for the Copper Mark’s framework.
“This revision is key to ensure the commitment our participants make to responsible production practices continues to meet the expectation of consumers, customers and investors. Working jointly with the RMI, we look forward to further strengthen this important tool and support companies along the mineral supply chain in their responsible production and sourcing efforts.”
The groups expect to release its revised RRA criteria and Criteria Guide in 2023.