The Copper Mark is an assurance framework which aims to promote responsible production practices and to demonstrate the copper industry’s contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Copper Mark aims to address 32 environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues related to the responsible production of copper, using the Responsible Minerals Initiative’s (RMI) Risk Readiness Assessment (RRA), the Criteria Guide and additional standards. Each site is independently verified to meet the Copper Mark standards through a site-level assessment process. Conformance is verified by assessors. The Copper Mark Partners are organizations in the copper value chain that use or rely on copper in their business and have made a public commitment to the Copper Mark’s vision and objectives, recognizing the responsible production and sourcing of copper in their business activities through expressing a preference for copper producers assured by the Copper Mark.
The cross-border social dialogue component
There is formal engagement of stakeholders, including of trade unions’ organizations, within the multi-stakeholder Advisory Council of The Copper Mark which advises the Board on the implementation of the Copper Mark’s vision and mission. The Advisory Council also includes an independent expert on labour issues.
The engagement of stakeholders is also reflected in the working groups and technical committees composed of business and non-business representatives. These groups are set up to deal with a specific area of work. For instance, a representative of IndustriAll Global Union participates in the Technical Committee which currently supports the revision of the RRA. Other organizations, including the ILO, have at times participated in the Transparency Working Group.