In September, IRMA’s equally-governed, multi-stakeholder board approved IRMA’s new Chain of Custody Standard (CoC Standard). The CoC Standard sets requirements for tracking material produced from mining operations audited against the IRMA Standard for Responsible Mining, enabling consumer-facing brands and other actors along the supply chain to make credible claims that they are using materials from  IRMA-assessed mines.

Chain of Custody Standard v1.0 coverIRMA developed the CoC Standard and system in response to demands from consumer-facing brands and other companies for independently verified socially and environmentally responsible mined materials. Using specific requirements for tracking material from verified IRMA-audited mines and mineral processors, companies can better understand impacts in their supply chains, choose to buy from operators increasing transparency, and support their suppliers to improve practices.

The CoC Standard is also designed to be compatible with other standards programs that ensure responsible sourcing of mined materials downstream of the mine (e.g., ResponsibleSteel). In addition, IRMA developed the CoC Standard to work in concert with existing and emerging traceability services and technologies (e.g., block chain, mineral ID scanning, testing, etc.).

Based on the ISO 22095:2020 guidance, the CoC Standard allows for five different chain of custody models for chain of custody systems. Four models require and assure the actual physical presence of material with an IRMA Achievement Level: Identity Preserved, Segregated, Controlled Blending, and Mass Balance. One model is not connected to the physical flow of material, but an administrative record to ensure the quantity and achievement levels booked for materials from IRMA-assessed mines are not exceeded by the claims for those materials: Book and Claim Credits. Each model has specific requirements that allow different claims to be made about materials or products that are delivered using that chain of custody model.

“The release of the IRMA Chain of Custody Standard is an important milestone for Fairphone and the rest of the industry. This Standard enables us to provide independent proof that our responsible sourcing practices are in line with our material use responsibility: the Book and Claim Credits model provides a legitimate and workable solution for complex supply chains assuring we cover our material use with responsible production, whilst the Mass Balance model also assures the flow of these materials throughout the supply chain. At Fairphone, we look forward to piloting this standard to improve transparency and invite our industry peers to join.” – Lisa Minère, Project Manager Fair Mining at Fairphone.

“The lack of visibility into the origin of key metals in our renewable energy projects is a big hurdle to mapping and mitigating social and environmental risks in our metal supply chains. While increasing transparency has its challenges, it is possible and needed to advance our work to ensure responsible mined materials for the renewable energy transition. We support IRMA developing their new Chain of Custody Standard to work towards this goal.”– Joel Frijhoff, Sustainability Due Diligence Manager at Ørsted.

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