Electricity and Control July 2021

ENGINEERING THE FUTURE

Sharing Africa’s voice in EU responsible sourcing initiative

A s the European Union (EU) works to ensure responsible and sustainable sourcing of minerals for a low-carbon future, SRK Consulting is contributing its expertise to an EU-funded stakeholder platform project on the governance of raw material sourcing in the EU. The RE-SOURCING project – funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme – aims to build a global stakeholder platform for responsible sourcing. According to SRK Director and Principal Consultant Andrew van Zyl, a key aspect of defining standards for the EU will be the input of stakeholders in the regions from which the minerals are currently being sourced and most likely to be sourced in future. “As a global network of scientists and engineers that has a long history in the mining sector, we have been requested to identify and reach out to stakeholders in Africa and Asia,” said Van Zyl. “This is to facilitate their input to the RE- SOURCING process, to help guide the EU’s efforts to ensure mineral supply chains do not cause negative environmental and social impacts where minerals are sourced.” He highlighted SRK Consulting’s extensive hands-on involvement in technical studies for the mining sector, grounded in environmental, social and governance (ESG) good practice. “These ESG issues are critical to the way that mines and mineral-related supply chains operate, and the RE- SOURCING project is an important step in developing

SRK Director and Principal Consultant, Andrew van Zyl, and Senior Engineer, Bjanka Korb. and aligning global policies with the drive towards decarbonisation and a just transition to renewable energy,” he said. Reliance on mining At the heart of the RE-SOURCING initiative is the recognition that technologies being developed for renewable energy,

[Photo credit: Antonio Garica from Unsplash]

Technologies being developed for renewable energy, mobility and electronics rely on a range of key minerals – and hence on mining.

30 Electricity + Control JULY 2021