Start Here Guide for Small Producing Mining Companies

Sustainability frameworks are useful tools, but can be a challenge to navigate. This guide helps junior mining companies navigate them.

Sustainability for Exploration, Development and Small Producing Mining Companies

Sustainability frameworks provide clarity on risks and responsibilities, and can kick-start a company’s sustainability strategy. But, it can be a challenge for companies to navigate the Canadian and international frameworks available.

In mining, the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada’s e3 Plus, the Mining Association of Canada’s Towards Sustainable Mining, ICMM’s Sustainable Development Framework, the UN Global Compact and the IFC’s Performance Standards make up the go-to sustainability frameworks.

How can a company know which framework to use and when to use it? What are the specific benefits of aligning your company with one of these frameworks? How can a manager know where to start?

Start here.

This Start Here Guide is written for exploration, development and small producing companies (EDSPs). It introduces managers and mining professionals to the sustainability standards, guidelines, frameworks and toolkits that are most relevant to them. Specifically the guide

• Clarifies external expectations for the environmental and social performance of mining projects

• Supports efforts to build reputation, benchmark performance and gain access to financing

• Outlines a step-by-step approach to understanding the most relevant sustainability frameworks

It distills the most widely used resources into a easy-to-understand format so managers can achieve sustainability requirements.

A set of topic-specific Quick Sheets, specifically targeted to EDSPs, accompany this guide. Download the Quick Sheets from the list below:

Downloads

Base Management Quick Sheets

Equator Principles III (Original source)

Ehs Quick Sheets (Select The Quick Sheet Relevant To Your Company):

Best Practices Quick Sheets

The above-listed Quick Sheets are applicable to the majority of projects. Depending on the phase and context of the mining project, managers and mining professionals may want to refer to the following Quick Sheets.

IFC Strategic Community Investment (Original source)

Check out the companion guide to access templates, tools and research on Community Engagement.