TheResponsible Mining Index 2018 is a fact. That is good news! Minister Kaag launched the ranking list for corporate responsibility regarding mining. A good step forward in regards to ‘human rights’ and the Agenda 2030. Something which Global Compact Network Netherlands spends a lot of attention towards. The Index is based in correlation with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. GCNL previously launched a practical guide about ‘Doing business with respect for human rights’ in collaboration with Shift and Oxfam, which can also be found online under Guide Doing business with respect for human rights. GCNL assembled this guide with the help of ABN AMRO, akzoNobel, KPMG, Philips, Rabobank, Randstad, Shell and Unilever.
The objective index that is currently being presented measures how mining companies perform on six crucial themes, like labor circumstances, environment, economic development and human rights. The index is formatted in rankings in showing to which extent mining companies are corporately responsible. Kaag: ‘Based on this information, those of interest, like labor unions, investors, local residents and governments, can keep track and correct the possible lack of corporate responsibility the mining companies are taking.
The first edition of the ranking lists consists of thirty companies who collectively operate over eight-hundred mines in over forty countries, making their production consist of around a quarter of all worldwide production. Among others, the ten biggest mining companies are addressed in the index. The index is an initiative from the former Nederlands Speciaal Gezant Natuurlijke Hulpbronnen, Jaime de Bourbon de Parme, and is established in collaboration with the Responsible Mining Foundation (RMF). During the launch, Jan-Willem Scheijgrond spoke on behalf of Philips and nonetheless is the chairman of GCNL.