Business
Developing the first ESG handbook for marine minerals
A broad international consortium has been established to develop the first handbook for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosure in relation to
About this update from Tmc The Metals Company Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"A broad international consortium has been established to develop the first handbook for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosure in relation to marine minerals. The purpose of the guidance document is to enable evidence-based assessments of the ESG performance of marine mineral projects in the context of global standardsNEW YORK, Feb. 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The IEA estimates a quadrupling of the amount of critical minerals required for the energy transition to meet the sustainable development scenario by 2040. The greater our climate ambition – the greater the demand for minerals will be. The renewable energy system is far more mineral intensive than the current system powered by fossil fuels. While recycling will play an important role, increased recycling rates will be insufficient to meet the increasing demand for minerals necessary for the energy transition for at least the next couple of decades. Marine minerals are emerging as a potential source of minerals to help meet the growing demand. As with any extractive industries, consideration of ESG issues is key to ensuring transparent and responsible supply chains. While some ESG challenges and opportunities are shared across different sources of minerals, others are unique to marine minerals. The ESG handbook will be a guidance document to addresses material topics related to marine mineral projects in the deep-sea environment using a standardized approach. The need for creating a tailored ESG handbook for marine mineral mining is to specifically address the unique material topics of this new industry and provide guidance for companies to disclose ESG performance of their operations in a consistent manner. The handbook will build upon existing broad ESG reporting standards such as GRI and CDP, and industry specific standards such as IRMA (The Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance) and Towards Sustainable Mining. The handbook seeks to become a useful disclosure guidance tool for companies, and to enable internal and external stakeholders to access this data in a format that is consistent across the ESG disclosure world. The handbook will not drive any legal framework and is not intended to be used as a compliance tool. The development of this handbook is also intended to promote ESG thinking and improvements before any commercial activity begins. The ...