The clear message from COP26
Dr. Sarah Gordon, CEO at Satarla and consulting partner for Digbee ESG, noticed a broad omission from proceedings in Glasgow during the COP26 climate summit.
Where were the mining focused discussions?
Despite the last minute weakening of language around its departure, coal extraction and usage is clearly on its way out. Beyond this hot button topic, however, mining-related conversations were few and far between. While a spotlight shone on the need to electrify the world’s transportation fleet, the raw materials required to make this happen were left in conversational shade. Sarah notes:
“Now, whilst lots of different mining companies are perhaps here along with some of our industry bodies, they’re not necessarily in the centre of those discussions. They’re certainly not taking part in the big plenary discussions, rather the world of mining and in fact, it’s not even called mining here. It’s called raw materials and is very much on the fringes.”
An opportunity missed
Perhaps it is the association with coal extraction that means the entire mining industry gets barred from the best debating tables. Perhaps the world doesn’t quite realise the massive opportunity for job creation, value creation and revenue injection into developing nations that mining represents. Or perhaps it is the inevitable lack of trust felt for a sector that has trouble producing reliable ESG data.
An opportunity to grasp
Whatever the case may be, there is a clear need for reliable, credible data to be shared and benchmarked across the sector. This is where Digbee has seen an opportunity to provide clarity, transparency and robust measurement for investors and miners alike. The broad macro level changes are all pointing towards the inevitability of tighter regulation and increasing standardisation. Sarah comments:
“The world certainly will not condone irresponsible practices; ESG principles will have to be adhered to. There will be active measurement of how we do all of this, especially with regards to our greenhouse gas emissions. There are enough satellites and different forms of remote sensing now to keep an eye on what we’re all up to. So therefore, we may as well get it right and in fact, view ESG as an opportunity, rather than a threat that needs to be minimised.”
Where Digbee comes in
The Digbee ESG platform supports everything related to COP26 and net zero ambitions. At the very least, the free set of questions you can access at the start of the process will help you to carry out a gap analysis of your current ESG activities. These are aligned with all relevant global frameworks and can be consolidated into an expertly evaluated report upon completing a full submission through the platform.
