A roadmap for sustainable extraction
European nations agreed to the Green Deal to meet the challenges of the climate crisis. This vision for the future, which includes a commitment to no net emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050, will have a significant impact on mining. To help companies and other stakeholders prepare, the EU-funded SUMEX project gathered resources to support extraction industries as they evolve to meet new environmental and societal standards.
Sustainability framework
A major resource developed by SUMEX is the sustainability framework. This document provides guidance for how industries can achieve sustainability goals while operating within the political framework established by the Green Deal. To create this resource, the project solicited input from multiple stakeholders throughout Europe. There are many guidelines related to sustainable extraction already in place, such as the EU principles for sustainable raw materials, but the SUMEX team envisioned a product that would go further. According to project coordinator Michael Tost: “We decided to take a future-oriented, roadmap-based approach and describe various sustainability conditions that have to be met as milestones on the way. Many of these conditions go well beyond what we currently see and therefore this framework should be used as a guide into the future.”
SUMEX repository
Another important resource developed by the team was the SUMEX repository. This is a digital platform that contains a variety of European best practices, handbooks and guidance documents. The repository is intended for industry players and government officials, but is available to the public as well, so that citizens can see what industry and policy initiatives are already in place to advance sustainability goals. Resources are only helpful if they directly meet the needs of the intended constituencies. SUMEX partnered with industries in Sweden and Spain to incorporate two case studies into the project. The cases focused on two different uses of raw materials - batteries and construction. Feedback from various parties regarding the resources developed by SUMEX have been quite positive.
Rounding out the toolkit with MOOC
Dissemination of information and outreach are critical components of the project. A major goal of SUMEX was for the project to outlive its closing date. One way the project achieved capacity building was by using the sustainability framework and repository to develop a massive open online course MOOC. The second live run of the course occurred in August 2023. The MOOC was not originally planned but became a viable alternative during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Tost: “This worked out well for us, because in the first live run in November 2022, we were able to reach far more people, including from outside the European Union, than we had planned for originally.” European sustainability initiatives are ambitious and demanding. Nothing less will help curb climate change. So that Green Deal initiatives translate into practice, extraction companies, policy makers, permitting authorities and ordinary citizens need access to information that explains what sustainability in mining looks like and how it can be achieved. SUMEX has done much to create and disseminate the necessary resources.
Keywords
SUMEX, sustainability, extraction industries, Green Deal, mining, sustainability framework, sustainability repository
