GRI Standard for Mining: public consultation and invitation for webinars Feb 23 or Mar 02

GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) is developing a new reporting standard for mining companies, which aims to provide common metrics that reflect growing demands for transparency from the sector. The Standard features comprehensive reporting on a company’s impacts on the environment, people, and economies, specially on a mine-site level.

Maybe you do not know that GRI was founded in Boston (USA) in 1997 following public outcry over the environmental damage of the Exxon Valdez oil spill . The aim was to create the first accountability mechanism to ensure companies adhere to responsible environmental conduct principles, which was then broadened to include social, economic and governance issues. Then in 2002, the GRI's Secretariat relocated to Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The first version of the GRI Guidelines (G1) was published in 2000, providing the first global framework for sustainability reporting. Since then, it has been developing and expanding, and in 2016, GRI guidelines became the first global standards for sustainability reporting – the GRI Standards.

Back to the draft GRI Standard for Mining, the public comment period is currently underway, running until the end of April. This proposed Sector Standard identifies 25 topics that encapsulate the sustainability impacts of organizations engaged in mining and quarrying, with GRI seeking feedback to ensure the final Standard reflects the reporting expectations of all stakeholders.

The 25 topics : GHG emissions, Climate adaptation and resilience, Air emissions, Biodiversity, Waste, Tailings, Water and effluents, Closure and rehabilitation, Economic impacts, Local communities, Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Land and resource rights, Artisanal and small-scale mining, Security practices, Critical incident management, Occupational health and safety, Employment practices, Child labor, Forced labor and modern slavery, Freedom of association and collective bargaining, Non-discrimination and equal opportunity, Anti-corruption, Payments to governments, Public policy, Conflict-affected and high-risk areas.

To learn more about the contents of the Standard, you can sign up for one of the free global webinars (in English) that will take place on 23 February and 2 March. Click at the image below to know more .