Norsk Bergindustri, the national mining association in Norway, on Monday announced that it would adopt the Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) initiative, a corporate social responsibility programme developed by the Mining Association of Canada (MAC) to improve environmental and social practices in the mining industry.

Norsk Bergindustri joins seven other mining associations around the world, becoming the third in Europe and the second in Scandinavia after FinnMin, to adopt the TSM.

Norsk Bergindustri, with MAC's support, will tailor TSM's performance areas to reflect the unique aspects of its domestic mining sector and commits to TSM implementation over the next five years.

"For a long time, our industry has seen the need for good tools and methods for measuring environmental performance. We are very pleased that the Norwegian mineral industry is taking decisive steps to measure its environmental performance," Norwegian mining industry secretary general Anita Hall commented in a statement.

MAC and its members launched TSM in 2004 to enable mining companies to meet society's need for minerals, metals and energy products in the most socially, economically and environmentally responsible way. Implementation of the programme is mandatory for all MAC members' Canadian operations, but many voluntarily apply it to their international sites.

"Exporting Canada's expertise in environmental and social stewardship is one important way that we can contribute to responsible mining practices around the world. In efforts to encourage responsible mining globally, MAC freely shares TSM with any country interested in promoting mining sustainably and we are honoured to have Norway on board,” said MAC president and CEO Pierre Gratton.

TSM requires mining companies to assess their facilities' performance across eight important areas, including energy use and greenhouse gas emissions management, Indigenous and community outreach, safety and health, and biodiversity conservation. The results are freely available to the public and are externally-verified every three years to confirm what has been reported is accurate.