Mining industry falling short on Sustainable Development Goals delivery
The mining industry, which has a significant role to play in contributing to and achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is falling short, according to a new report by the Responsible Mining Foundation and Columbia Centeron Sustainable Investment, titled ‘Mining and the SDGs – a 2020 Status Update’.
While most of the world’s largest mining companies now mention the SDGs in their sustainability reporting, with a few frontrunners having integrated the SDGs into their business strategies, the report indicates that most SDG-related reporting by mining companies is “purely cosmetic” and that there is little public reporting of firms’ negative impacts or progress towards meeting the SDGs.
The report also states that “there is a real risk of companies being accused of ‘SDG- washing’ while reporting remains unbalanced”, and, when looking for evidence of companies taking practical actions to help deliver the goals, the results are mixed.
The report’s findings are based on the Responsible Mining Foundation’s ‘RMI Report 2020’, which assesses the policies and practices of 38 large-scale mining companies around the world.
It found that there are some examples of good practice within the sector, with relatively widespread action on SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
However, the report also found that no one company is taking strong action to address all 17 goals, and the sector’s action on four goals in particular – SDG 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and SDG 14 (Life Below Water) – is especially weak.
There are also “multiple and striking” mismatches between companies’ rhetoric and action, it notes.
The report found, for example, that SDG 3 and SDG 6 are two of the goals that many firms claim to be prioritising, yet they also account for some of the weakest levels of action.
“Working towards the SDGs is about more than doing the right thing; there is a strong and well-established business case for companies to integrate the goals into their business strategies,” the statement says, noting that, as the report states, mining companies that embed the SDGs into their core operations will strengthen their ability to meet future challenges – and will build trust among all stakeholders, including an investment community increasingly concerned about sustainability matters.
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation