RBA Conference 2025 — IRMA Partner Session

From Community to Consumer – Meaningfully Linking Both Ends of the Supply Chain

Few consumers realize that they very likely have a piece of the Democratic Republic of Congo in their pocket or surely a chunk of Indonesia under the hood of their car. Everything we consume in modern society comes from somewhere – usually somewhere else – and has undertaken a journey through global supply chains about which consumers are often only marginally aware.

However, a lack of visibility does not equal a lack of impact, and a mixture of due emerging diligence regulation and growing consumer consciousness is creating a greater responsibility on brands to better understand the provenance of the materials in their products and to contribute to minimizing impacts in their supply chains, even at the far upstream end.

Rapid improvements in traceability are aiding downstream brands in better understanding their complex supply chains and importantly who they impact. Though due diligence helps a company identify short-term risk, only through responsible sourcing and meaningful engagement can companies enable long-term transformational change in reducing impacts and risks in the long-term.

This panel and workshop session will look at key case studies of how mining impacted communities are engaged in countries such as D.R. Congo and Indonesia and how that engagement plays an important role in more responsible – and more resilient – supply chains. Confirmed speakers include:

• J.J. Messner, Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance
• Joanne Lebert, IMPACT
• Christopher McGoldrick, Stewart Investors
• Yuna Tae, Google
• Jim Wormington, Human Rights Watch