Barbara Strozzilaan 336
1083 HN Amsterdam
The Netherlands
gssbsecretariat@globalreporting.org

1

Item 04 – GRI Sector Standards

2

Project for Mining – Draft project3

proposal

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For GSSB approval
Date

11 February 2021

Meeting

25 February 2021

Project

GRI Sector Standards Project for Mining

Description

This document sets out the draft project proposal to develop a Sector Standard forthe mining sector, for GSSB discussion and approval to send to the GRI Board
and Stakeholder Council for feedback.
After feedback from the GRI Board and Stakeholder Council has been received
and incorporated, the Standards Division will present the proposal to the GSSB forfinal approval, in accordance with the Due Process Protocol.
Please note: the development and submission of this draft project proposal marks
the intention for the GRI Sector Standards Project for Mining to be the next tocommence under the GRI Sector Program. The commencement date of thisproject has not been determined and is subject to the resource availability.

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Contents
Project background ................................................................................................................................. 3
Sector overview ....................................................................................................................................... 3
Sustainability impacts .............................................................................................................................. 4
Project objectives .................................................................................................................................... 5
Division of responsibilities ....................................................................................................................... 5
Timeline ................................................................................................................................................... 5

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Project background7
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In February 2019, the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB) approved the GRI Sector
Program to improve clarity and consistency in sustainability reporting.

91011Since 2019 pilot projects to produce the first three GRI Sector Standards for oil and gas, coal, andagriculture and fishing have been underway. These Standards are expected to be completed andpublished in 2021 and 2022.

12131415

In November 2020, the GSSB approved the list of sectors that will be prioritized to have a GRI Sector
Standard (Sector Standard) developed. Mining was nominated to be next following on from the pilot
projects, because of the high sustainability impact of its activities and because developing the Sector
Standard for mining has synergies with the Oil, Gas and Coal Project.

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Sector overview

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It is proposed that the Sector Standard for mining will apply to organizations whose primary focus lies
on:

1920

•

Exploration and extraction of all types of minerals, metallic and non-metallic, with theexception of oil, gas and coal.

21•

Quarrying.

2223

•

Ancillary activities to mining and quarrying, such as transport, storage and primary processingof minerals.

2425•Supplying specialized goods and services to mining organizations, such as engineering,procurement and construction (EPC) contractors.

26•Trading of minerals.

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3132

The GRI Standard Division (Standards Division) recommends limiting the scope of the Sector
Standard for mining to extractive activities, with the processing stage being the subject of anotherSector Standard to the extent possible. While some organizations are integrated along the value
chain and perform both extraction and processing, and metals and mining are often considered
together, the sustainability impacts of the extraction and processing stages are substantially different
and warrant separate Sector Standards.

333435The Standards Division also recommends including quarrying in the scope of this Sector Standard as
it has similar sustainability impacts to non-metallic mining, particularly in terms of environmental
impacts in and around their extraction sites.

3637

Following learnings from the pilot projects, the proposed sector includes dedicated suppliers to themining sector and some ancillary activities like transport and storage of minerals.

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It is proposed that this project is titled ‘GRI Sector Standards Project for Mining’.

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The scope and name of this standard may deviate from this proposal following recommendations fromthe Mining Working Group.

41424344

Table 1 lists the relevant classifications from external classification standards, specifically theInternational Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC), Industry Classification
Benchmark (ICB), Global Industry Classification System (GICS), and SICS Sustainable IndustryClassification System® (SICS®)1.

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1 Sustainable Industry Classification System®or SICS®is the classification system of SASB.

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Table 1: Proposed sector key for the mining sector projectClassification
StandardISICClassification No.

Classification Name07

Mining of metal ores

08

Other mining and quarrying

099

Support activities for other mining and quarrying

4662

Wholesale of metals and metal ores

551020000

General Mining

551020000

Copper55102050

Nonferrous Metals

55103020

Diamonds and Gemstones

55103025

Gold Mining

55103030

Platinum and Precious Metals

GICS

151040

SICS®

EM-3

Metals and Mining, with the exclusion of themanufacturers of aluminum and steel, and metal
recycling
Metals and Mining, with the exclusion of themanufacturers of aluminum and steel, and metal
recycling

ICB

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Sustainability impacts

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The key criterion for prioritizing sectors is their sustainability impacts. This takes into account thesignificance of the sector’s impacts, considering their scale, scope, character and likelihood. It also
considers the size of the sector, the sector’s distribution around the world and the number oforganizations from that sector that are in a position to use the GRI Standards.

525354

A second criterion for prioritizing a sector is the potential to exploit learnings and synergies from other
Sector Standards that have been recently developed. Based on these criterion, mining has been
selected to be the first Sector Standard developed after the pilot projects.

555657

Mining organizations have a relatively high rate of reporting. It is the 7th sector by number of reports
registered in GRI database, and, during the public consultation on the GSSB Work Program,
undertaken in 2020, it was the most-requested sector to prioritize in the sector program.

585960616263Mining has a high environmental impact, often concentrated in and around their extraction sites.
Because many mines are in remote locations, the economic impacts can be significant for local
communities; because mining can require exclusive access to large areas and the influx of large
workforces, social impacts can also be severe. Some mines are located in conflict areas where there
is a high risk of human rights abuses; others can be in conflict with, or affect, indigenous peoples’rights.

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Minerals produced by this sector are fundamental for large parts of the economy; other large sectors
can be linked to sustainability impacts that can be traced back to mining. In many low-income
economies mining is a key sector, responsible for a high share of production, exports and government
revenues.

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These impacts are provided to give a first indication of the scope of issues covered by the proposed
project. However, the issues recommended for inclusion within a Sector Standards for the mining
sector will be determined by a multi-stakeholder process in accordance with the Due Process Protocol
and may diverge from those contained within this project proposal.

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Project objectives

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The primary objective of this project is to develop a Sector Standard that improves the sustainability
reporting of mining2 organizations, making reporting more complete and consistent across the sector.

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This Sector Standard will:

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Identify and describe the topics that are likely material for a reporting organization in themining sector based on the sector’s most significant impacts.

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•

Provide evidence and authoritative references for these topics to assist organizations toidentify if they are material for them.

80•

Identify and list appropriate disclosures for reporting on those topics.

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Following the rollout of the new GRI Universal Standards, organizations in the mining sector that want
to report in accordance with GRI Standards will be required to use this Sector Standard.

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Recommendations may also be made by the working group regarding:84•The scope, key and name of the Sector Standard.

85•Considerations that may be relevant to Sector Standards for related sectors.

86•Revisions or updates to other GRI Standards.

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Impacts identified within this project for which no GRI Standard exists will be assessed and prioritizedby the GSSB for future GRI Standards development.

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Division of responsibilities

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A multi-stakeholder working group will be formed to contribute to identifying the most significant
impacts for the mining sector and give recommendations on the development of the Sector Standard.
The Standards Division will draft the Sector Standard, and the GSSB will have oversight and final
approval over the Sector Standard before its release.
The Standards Division will ensure coherence between the mining standard and any Sector
Standards approved or under development.
The project will be conducted in accordance with the GSSB Due Process Protocol.

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Timeline

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The commencement date of this project has not been determined and is subject to resource
availability. Table 2, on the following page, outlines the anticipated project duration. The
commencement date, along with the predicted dates of other key milestones will be confirmed onceknown.

2 For the purposes of this project proposal ‘mining’ or ‘mining sector’ refers to the organizations thatfall within the description of the sector included in the Sector overview section.

Barbara Strozzilaan 336
1083 HN Amsterdam
The Netherlands
gssbsecretariat@globalreporting.org
Table 2: Estimated duration of Sector Standards Project for Mining3104

3 Project scheduling changes may occur over the course of the project, including extensions to the duration of project due to approval processes or other circumstances.