UPDATE: A revised report was released on July 15, 2016, and is now available for download. The report takes into consideration hundreds of comments received during the public consultation.
The Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI), UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the World Economic Forum have released for public consultation a
draft report, Mapping Mining to the Sustainable Development Goals: A Preliminary Atlas.
The draft report is a collection of maps to help mining companies navigate where their products and activities – from exploration, through mining itself, to end products and eventually mine closure – can help the world achieve the SDGs. At the same time, the partners hope to support governments, civil society and other stakeholders identify the opportunities for shared action and partnership with the sector.
Download the full report
The public consultation opened to all stakeholders on January 13, 2016, and will run until April 8, 2016. Comments should be submitted online via the form below (click to open the form in a new window). Please be sure to click through to the end to ensure comments are received. You will conclude on a confirmation page!
In addition to submitting comments online, several regional consultations will be planned. Stakeholders in the Australia Pacific Region are invited to contribute to a consultation hosted by the University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute on February 17th from 2 to 4 pm AEST. This “click and mortar” consultation may be attended in person or via Google Hangout. Kindly RSVP online to receive connection details. Questions may be sent to email@example.com. Stay tuned for additional regional consultations!
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent the world’s post-2015 agenda for equitable, socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable economic development. It is our shared belief that the mining industry has an unprecedented opportunity to mobilize significant human, physical, technological and financial resources to advance the SDGs.
Mining is a global industry and is often located in remote and less-developed areas including many indigenous lands and territories. When managed appropriately, it can create jobs, spur innovation and bring investment and infrastructure at a game-changing scale over long time horizons. If managed poorly, mining can also lead to environmental degradation, displaced populations and increased conflict, among other challenges. These attributes make the industry a major potential contributor to the SDGs. At the same time, if the mining industry does not participate or if individual companies engage in activities that contradict the goals, their achievement will be hindered.
By mapping the linkages between mining and the SDGs, the aim of this Atlas is to encourage mining companies of all sizes to incorporate relevant SDGs into their business and operations, validate their current efforts and spark new ideas. Success will also require substantial and on-going partnership between governments, the private sector, communities and civil society. We hope the Atlas spurs action that will leverage the transformative power of collaboration and partnership between the mining industry and other stakeholders.
We are releasing the Atlas as a consultation draft. While extensive initial consultations have been undertaken to develop the draft, we realize that the document covers a wide range of topics and will benefit from further review and input. We therefore welcome comments and suggestions for how to strengthen the Atlas during the consultation process from January – April 2016. During this period, we will also organize a number of multi-stakeholder consultation sessions to promote dialogue and garner further inputs for the next draft.