The past few years have been marked by rapid growth of sustainability governance initiatives addressing the mining industry and governance of resources, leading to a myriad of complementary and competing initiatives. Inital research at CSRM on the effectiveness of sustainability certification schemes has revealed that the success of such schemes also depends on the extent to which they can engage, recognise and collaborate with other certification schemes, governance initiatives, standards and legal provisions (interoperability).

Interoperability has the potential to reduce costs and can amplify the outcomes achieved by individual initiatives as initiates coordinate and exchange knowledge and practices. Interoperability can also be designed to avoid duplication, which can lead to inconsistencies and loss of credibility, and to interact with governments, industry sectors and civil society organizations, in addition to amongst initiatives themselves.

Therefore, this research project explores the interoperability between existing mining sustainability certification schemes, initiatives and legal provisions with a focus on the gold, bauxite and copper to develop practical resources and recommendations. The overall aim of this research project is to discover potentials for aligning and streamlining of initiative requirements for enhanced efficiency and effectiveness in a coordinated application.

Associated CSRM Staff / Students

• Professor Saleem Ali
• Dr. Kathryn Sturman
• Dr. Renzo Junior

Other Associated Researchers

• Jean-Pierre Imbrogiano