NGOs

and other organizations sent a letter to the ICMM, CopperMark, the Mining Association of Canada, and the World Gold Council expressing concerns over their Consolidated Mining Standard Initiative.

In doing so they “recognize that strong voluntary standards can help drive improved mining industry human rights and environmental performance if they have the level of transparency and rigor necessary to provide credible information,” and provides criteria that such a standard must meet.

As an example, the letter recognizes only IRMA by name: “There are existing standards, notably IRMA, that meet many of these criteria.”

released a new report “The Impact of the Bauxite Boom on People and the Planet.”

In the accompanying press release “Mighty Earth calls for all actors across the bauxite supply chain to join the Initiative for Responsible Mining (IRMA) and adopt its standards. IRMA is the only independent third-party program for assessing industrial scale mine sites for all mined materials. It is governed equally by the private sector, communities, civil society, and workers.”

released the report “Short Circuits: Exploring the broken links of mineral supply chain policies in the electric vehicle industry.”

In looking at third-party assurance, the report highlights that “only the IRMA standard is contingent on FPIC.” With respect to mining and sensitive ecosystems, the report mentions “the IRMA mining standard expands those commitments [not to mine in legally protected areas] by establishing as a requirement that mining projects should not adversely affect IUCN protected area management categories I-III, and core areas of UNESCO Biosphere reserve.”

published “Transition Minerals Tracker: 2024 Analysis.”

The report declares “The standard developed by the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) represents the most comprehensive, transparent, and credible mining sector audit standard available today.”

issued a press release “Ford Sustainability Report Shows Important Progress on the Rights of Workers and Indigenous Peoples but Disappoints on Clean Steel and Aluminum.”

The release declares that “Sourcing from an IRMA-audited mine is a step in the right direction, but Ford can and should do more to leverage its influence to safeguard its supply chain from human rights and environmental harms. The next step for Ford is to publicly disclose its timeline for demanding that all mines in its supply chain undergo IRMA audits.”

submitted a letter in response to a “Request for Comments on Promoting Supply Chain Resilience” by the United States Trade Representative.”

The letter requests the USTR to “ensure that critical minerals operations meet all standards set in the Indigenous Peoples and Free, Prior and Informed Consent chapter of IRMA.” The letter also calls on the USTR to require the IRMA Occupational Health. & Safety chapter, as well as “all environmental responsibility and other related standards set in IRMA.”

published “From Forests to Electric Vehicles: Quantifying and Addressing the Environmental Toll of Indonesian Nickel.”

The first recommendation of the report includes “we strongly encourage all actors to join the Initiative for Responsible Mining (IRMA) and adopt its standards. IRMA is the only independent third-party program for assessing industrial-scale mine sites for all mined materials. It is governed equally by the private sector, communities, civil society, and workers.”

submitted a letter to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) urging them to strengthen their upcoming supply chain standard.

Part of the letter strongly endorses IRMA, “There are fundamental criteria that standards must include to be credible and effective at protecting people and the planet. The Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) contains these elements and more, which is why there is broad consensus within civil society that IRMA is the strongest mining standard and should serve as the baseline for any global guideline on critical mineral supply chains.”

published a memo “EU Battery Regulation – Due diligence rules: what next in the implementation?”

The memo’s recommendations to companies include “Source from IRMA-audited mines, directly or indirectly.”

, a diverse network of local, national and global advocacy partners working for an equitable, sustainable, and fossil-free auto supply chain released “The Race to Cleaner Automotive Supply Chains,” a scorecard of major automobile manufacturers’ supply chains assessing their environmental, human rights, and responsible sourcing performance.

In addition to using commitment to IRMA as part of the scoring rubric, the methodology of the scorecard offers that “to drive change at the level of extraction companies may join the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA). IRMA is the only third-party certification of industrial scale mine sites for all mined materials that is governed equitably by the private sector, local communities, civil society, and workers.”