Co-conveners of the Global Tailings Review (GTR) – the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) – have endorsed the first Global Industry Standard on Tailings Dams.
GTR said the global standard, which is due to be launched next month, will establish “much needed robust requirements for the safer management of both existing and new tailings facilities globally”.
In a joint statement, Adam Matthews, director of ethics and engagement for the Church of England Pensions Board (CEPB), and John Howchin, from the Council of Ethics of the Swedish National Pension Funds, said:
“For decades people have called for a global standard that can drive best practice. It is tragic that it has taken the Brumadinho disaster to make this happen.”
Early last year the two organisations called for a new industry standard that would drive best practice to address the risk of tailings facility failure.
“We have been assured by the Global Tailings Review’s independent expert panel that if this standard had been in place, the disaster at Brumadinho would not have happened,” they stated.
In April 2019 the CEPB and Sweden’s AP funds wrote to nearly 700 listed mining companies with an “urgent request” for information about their management of tailings dam facilities.
The duo said:
“We expect all mining companies to comply with this framework, and responsible investors looking to address the risks of tailings failure now have a responsibility to drive implementation, incorporating the standard into stewardship and active ownership strategies.”
According to GTR, the next steps are to finalise reports that will provide additional detail, context, background and recommendations on the standard.
The standard will be published once it has been translated and all accompanying documents are ready. GTR expects to publish these in the coming weeks.
Originally published by IPE.
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Decipher is designed to provide you with key data and insights, enabling you to effectively monitor your TSF and your environmental obligations and compliance. Our solution can be securely accessed by industry, regulators, designers and operators involved in the management of TSFs. Decipher offers a comprehensive and functionally rich solution which combines regulatory (Compliance Management Software), mining waste management, stakeholder engagement, environmental monitoring, and environmental management system (EMS) tools to assist with tailings management:
