Monday 12th July marked a milestone achievement for the Critical Minerals Association and our members. We were delighted to launch our ESG Paper ‘A Blueprint for Responsible Sourcing of Critical Minerals’.
As the global race for critical minerals accelerates, major economies in the west are increasingly realising the scale of the task ahead. The need for international collaboration, to create supply chains outside of external spheres of dominance, is evident.
It is imperative that the UK positions itself strategically to nurture international relations and secure responsible supplies of critical minerals to fuel the green energy transition. To do this effectively, the UK Government must listen to the collective voice of the industry and act with urgency – or face being left behind.
With climate change in mind, greater attention must be paid to where critical minerals are coming from, how they are sourced and what impact they are having on the planet and people. If we are to stay within the 2° climate change scenario, we must produce more electric vehicles, solar panels, wind turbines and green technologies than we have ever done before. To do this, we must first get the raw materials out of the ground.
The UK Government has the opportunity to lead by example through embracing and encouraging environmental, social and governance (ESG) best practice through the entire value chain from exploration through to recycling and reuse. Although the road ahead will not be an easy one, the UK already boasts a pipeline of ESG-compliant domestic critical mineral projects which will welcome the Government’s support and implementation of recommendations outlined in the Blueprint.
The action that is taken today will have lasting impact on how the green energy transition is delivered. Critical minerals are the building blocks of green technologies – so we urge the Government to build a strong foundation of responsibly sourced critical minerals on which a better, greener and cleaner tomorrow can be built.
“We cannot accept irresponsibility today, to build a better tomorrow.” – Jeff Townsend, Co-founder, CMA
Watch our ESG Paper Launch - ‘A Blueprint for Responsible Sourcing of Critical Minerals’ below:
Biographies
Aldo Pennini – Aldo is an Associate at Satarla and the ESG Working Group Chair at CMA. Aldo is a corporate affairs executive with 25 years’ experience and a career spanning government, global corporate and international membership organisation.
Jeff Townsend – Jeff is the Co-founder of CMA, launched alongside Kirsty Benham in 2019. Jeff is an experienced Public Affairs and campaign strategist working at the highest levels in business and politics. He is skilled in lobbying, public and government affairs, campaign strategy development and communications.
Olimpia Pilch – Olimpia is a Business Development and Communications Associate at CMA. Prior to joining CMA full-time, Olimpia project managed the ESG paper and is one of the co-authors. She holds a BSc (Hons) Geology from Durham University and a MSc Exploration Geology from Camborne School of Mines.
Douglas Johnson-Poensgen – Douglas is the Co-founder of Circulor, a provider of traceability systems across mining, recycling and forestry industries. Doug has 25 years international experience as an Executive and Non-Executive Director, operating in TMT, Financial Services, IT and Management Consultancy sectors. His leadership experience spans roles in large corporates (Barclays, BT, Serco, AIMIA), scale-ups (Cadence, ISD) and start-ups (Circulor, Snapdragon).
Read the Critical Minerals Association's ESG Paper here:
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this paper, including our members Satarla, SRK Consulting, Minviro, Roskill, Dalradian, Tungsten West, Cornish Lithium, Cornwall Resources, Tiraputi Graphite, Circulor and external contributors Digbee, Source Certain, NatureMetrics.
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