VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) has announced that it will adopt a mining sustainability standard developed by the Mining Association of Canada, called the Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) initiative.

The announcement made the Philippines the first Southeast Asian nation to adopt the TSM, and the fourth outside of Canada, including Finland, Argentina and Botswana to adopt the TSM principles.

“It is our privilege to share our tools and expertise in sustainable mining practices with the world. With the Philippines’ adoption of TSM, we’re proud to say that our made-in-Canada programme is now in five countries on five continents. We applaud the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines for taking this important step forward as it works to enhance its industry’s environmental and social performance,” advised MAC president and CEO Pierre Gratton in a statement on Tuesday.

The MAC launched TSM in 2004, with implementation of the programme being mandatory for all MAC members’ Canadian operations, but many voluntarily apply it to their international sites. MAC shares TSM for free with other countries seeking tools to improve the environmental and social performance of their mining industries, including engagement with civil society and enhanced transparency and accountability.

TSM requires mining companies to yearly assess their facilities’ performance in key areas, including tailings management, community outreach, safety and health, biodiversity conservation, crisis management, and energy use and greenhouse gas emissions management. The results are freely available to the public and are externally-verified every three years to ensure what has been reported is accurate.

While COMP will tailor its performance areas so that they reflect the unique aspects of its domestic mining sector, they will strongly align with those of Canada’s.

To ensure TSM reflects the expectations of civil society and industry stakeholders, it was designed and continues to be shaped by an independent, multi-interest advisory panel. As part of its implementation, COMP will implement a similar advisory body to provide this valuable oversight function.