Stocktake of Sustainability Standards and Initiatives for Minerals and Metals
Leveraging synergies between sustainability standards and initiatives and public instruments to enhance environmental governance
Amid the global rising demand for minerals and metals, this report from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF) maps over 100 sustainability standards and initiatives (SSIs) operating across value chains to clarify how they interact with laws and regulations and policy commitments, and how they might enhance environmental governance rather than undermine it.
Key Messages
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The number of SSIs has doubled over the past 2 decades. The proliferation of SSIs—which can be very different in their governance, procedure, scope, and substance—across minerals and metals supply chains is confusing to many and has triggered complex interplays between SSIs and public instruments.
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SSIs can complement but not substitute regulation. Well-designed and properly implemented SSIs have potential to promote better sustainability practices and help strengthen environmental governance.
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SSIs with certain attributes are more likely to support public instruments toward positive environmental sustainability outcomes. We identify 15 hallmarks that can serve as a reference tool for policy-makers, standard-setters, and stakeholders to assess the credibility and effectiveness of SSIs.
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Independent assessments of SSI impacts should be prioritized. Few SSIs and their implementation have undergone independent assessments of their impacts, costs, and trade-offs.
This study finds that while standards and initiatives are increasingly used to promote environmental and social performance, their rapid proliferation has created a fragmented and often confusing landscape for governments, companies, and communities.
To address these challenges, the report identifies 15 hallmarks of effective sustainability standards across governance, scope, performance assurance, review mechanisms, and viability. The report further recommends these serve as a practical reference tool for policy-makers, that independent assessments of impacts be prioritized, and that greater cooperation and interoperability become a primary focus moving forward.
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