Joint Due Diligence Standard for Copper, Lead, Nickel and Zinc Open for Public Consultation

27 August 2020

The Copper Mark, the International Lead Association (ILA), the International Zinc Association (IZA), the Nickel Institute and the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) are pleased to announce that the Joint Due Diligence Standard for Copper, Lead, Nickel and Zinc has been published for consultation.

The five organizations are collaborating to develop a joint Standard to enable companies to comply with the London Metal Exchange (LME) Responsible Sourcing requirements. With this collaboration, partner organizations expect to significantly reduce administrative burdens, minimize costs and provide a mechanism for brands to meet LME requirements using a single framework.

The public consultation period is open from 27 August 2020 to 30 September 2020. Interested stakeholders may access the Standard, as well as the feedback form. Completed feedback forms should be submitted via email to info@coppermark.org. Please note that submissions after 30 September 2020 will not be considered.

Please join us for an informative webinar to introduce the joint Standard, explain the focus of this public consultation and provide further details on the support available to brands to comply with the LME’s requirements.

Development of the Joint Due Diligence Standard for Copper, Lead, Nickel and Zinc

Facilitated by The Copper Mark, a working group has been established to develop the joint Standard to enable brands’ compliance with the LME Responsible Sourcing requirements. The group also includes other interested commodity associations and multi-metal company representatives, along with the OECD and LME. Through the working group, the partner organizations will implement a clearly defined roadmap to ensure copper, lead, nickel and zinc brands will be able to rely on the shared framework to respond to the LME before June 2022. The process includes four main phases:

Phase 1 – 2019 / early 2020: Development of the roadmap and formation of the working group (completed)
Phase 2 – 2020: Development of the joint Due Diligence Standard and Tool, including a public consultation (in progress)
Phase 3 – Early 2021: Pilot implementation of the joint Due Diligence Standard.
Phase 4 – 2021 / early 2022: Independent third-party OECD Alignment Assessment and application for approval by LME as Track A “OECD-aligned external standard”.

For more information on the joint Due Diligence Standard, please contact:

For the Copper Mark: info@coppermark.org

For the International Lead Association: enq@ila-lead.org

For the International Zinc Association: sgrund@zinc.org

For the Nickel Institute: communications@nickelinstitute.org

For the Responsible Minerals Initiative: RMI@ResponsibleBusiness.org