Governance

Reporting standards and principles

All IPA PGM mining companies are publicly listed (London, Johannesburg, New York) companies which routinely report about their environmental, social and governance performance and abide by the regulations set out by national/local authorities and the respective stock exchanges. IPA members implement sustainability reporting principles for how organizations should communicate and demonstrate accountability for their impacts on the environment, economy and people, following global best practices from the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), and the UN Global Compact. The GRI now also features a sectoral standard on mining. GRI 14: Mining Sector 2024, which addresses the pressing need for consistent, granular, and complete reporting on the sector’s wide-ranging impacts and contributions to sustainable development. It enters into effect for reporting in 2026, with early adoption encouraged. 

All members (except Japanese members) are contributing to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and report according to the standards developed by the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation. The IFRS Foundation features two standard-setting boards, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB, founded in 2021). Six out of 12 members apply the sector specific standards of the Sustainability Accounting Standard Board (SASB, now part of the IFRS Foundation), and 2/3 of members disclose information following recommendations from the Task Force on Climated-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) which has now achieved its mission and has been incorporated into the ISBB Standards (IFRS S1 and IFRS S2). Fabricators (Heraeus, Johnson Matthey, Umicore, Tanaka) have made public commitments to set science-based targets to reduce their Greenhouse Gas Emissions on the road to Net-Zero in alignment with the Science-based Target Initative's(SBTi) target-setting criteria. BASF provided funding to help the SBTi launch a project to derive science-based climate protection targets for the chemical sector, in which they also involved as a member of an advisory group.

Other guidance like the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) Sustainability Disclosure Guidance (2022) are currently evolving and only apply to those companies listed on the respective stock exchange. Regulatory authorities are increasingly making sustainability reporting according to outlined criteria mandatory. An example for this is the European Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) which entered into force in January 2023. This new directive modernises and strengthens the rules concerning the social and environmental information that companies have to report. A broader set of large companies, as well as listed SMEs, will now be required to report on sustainability. The CSRD aims to ensure that investors and other stakeholders have access to the information they need to assess the impact of companies on people and the environment and for investors to assess financial risks and opportunities arising from climate change and other sustainability issues. Finally, reporting costs will be reduced for companies over the medium to long term by harmonising the information to be provided. The first companies will have to apply the new rules for the first time in the 2024 financial year, for reports published in 2025.

Supply chain due diligence

More and more regulations are being developed which cover supply chain due diligence such as the European Supply Chain Due Diligence Directive  or the German LkSG (Lieferkettensorgfaltspflichtengesetz, Act on Corporate Due Diligence Obligations in Supply Chains) which regulates the responsibility of German enterprises to respect human rights in global supply chains. All these regulations do affect companies that are selling their products into the European market, and are likely to have spill-over effects into other jurisdictions.

Responsible sourcing standards

The PGM industry adheres to responsible sourcing standards such as:

- the London Platinum and Palladium Market (LPPM) Guidance for refining of platinum and palladium, including the Good Delivery list of acceptable refiners (accreditiation also of ingots and sponges). The LPPM’s Responsible Platinum/Palladium Guidance ensures Good Delivery platinum is conflict-free due to compliance with an audited sourcing process. The guidance has been created to help Good Delivery Refiners and members of the Sponge Accreditation Lists to combat systematic or widespread abuses of human rights, to avoid contributing to conflict, to comply with high standards of Anti-Money Laundering and fighting terrorist financing practice.

- the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) Responsible Sourcing Guidances for gold, platinum, palladium and silver. The Responsible Platinum and Palladium Guidance (RPPG) has been introduced and is aligned with the existing LBMA Responsible Sourcing Guidance documents. Platinum and Palladium refiners are required to comply with this new guidance since 2019.