Presentation and discussion of the research «International standards and practices of responsible sourcing in metals industry»

The Association of European Businesses is pleased to invite you to its supported event aimed to present and discuss the research on «International standards and practices of responsible sourcing in metals industry».

This event is co-organized by WWF-Russia, EU Delegation to Russia, Skolkovo Moscow School of Management and supported by the Association of European Businesses.

The event will take place on Monday, July 5, 2021, from 11:00 until 14:00 online.

Russian mining and metals companies participate in the global supply chains for chemical, automobile, construction, electronical and many other industries, as well as consume metals and raw materials extracted in Russia and abroad.

In the face of growing public awareness and legal obligations, companies have come to recognize their responsibility in managing risks along their supply chains. Failure to identify sustainability issues in supply chains can pose a risk for companies and for that reason transparency and accountability are increasingly prioritized. Notwithstanding the risks, many companies are still in the early stages of developing the tools and practices needed to identify and manage these issues.

During the last 15 years many countries, global organizations and companies have introduced the policies to monitor and manage supply chains from the origins of raw materials to the distribution of the products. There are a growing number of regulations that require businesses to take their supply chains into account ranging from the high-level aspirations of the Paris Agreement on climate change and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to the OECD Responsible Business Conduct, the European Commission’s Directive on Non-Financial Reporting, the UK’s Modern Slavery Act as well as the listing requirements on several stock exchanges.

While the environmental issues and climate agenda have become the priorities for many international processes, the European Green Deal gains the particular attention of businesses. The initiative may result in decreasing the export to EU from the countries with no carbon management policies, which highly affects the mining and metals industry in Russia.

The research prepared by SKOLKOVO Moscow School of Management as a part of the joint WWF-Russia and EU project «People for Nature» aims at identifying the modern trends for building sustainable supply chains in mining and metals industries, analyzing the best practices of Russian companies, and proposing recommendations for engaging standards and improving the efficiency of supply chains to meet the requirements of global market.