ResponsibleSteel and the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance join forces

The Initiative of Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA), a global platform that will strive to create a multi-stakeholder and independently verified responsible mining assurance system that will imrpvoe social and environmental performance, has announced a strategic partnership that will significantly advance that cause.

In a partnership with ResponsibleSteel, IRMA together with the company will serve the interests of purcharsers seeking clarity and consistency in the responsible sourcing of iron and steel throughout supply chains.

The objectives of the partnership are twofold;

1. To create value for companies implementing environmentally and socially responsible practices from the source of the mined raw material, through the steel supply chain and to the final product.
2. To assure purchasers and investors seeking more consistency in responsibility standards that ResponsibleSteel™ and IRMA are responsive to this need and actively working to provide aligned solutions.

“Steel is a key component for thousands of the products that make our lives possible, from building materials to automobiles,” said Aimee Boulanger, Coordinator for IRMA.

Leading purchasers and manufacturers are seeking consistent environmental and social responsibility in their sourcing throughout the supply chain. Through our collaboration IRMA and ResponsibleSteel™ will serve the needs of downstream purchasers of steel, and assure accountability from mine to market.”

In the modern mining industry where transparency in the supply chain and legal frameworks are under intense scrutiny, this deal represents a key event that may very well be felt the world over.

Matt Dransfield, Managing Director for ResponsibleSteel™, said, “Our mission is to provide businesses and consumers worldwide with confidence that the steel they use has been sourced and produced responsibly, from suppliers of raw materials, through to end users. This can only be achieved through cooperation and mutual commitment of companies at all levels of the steel supply chain, their customers and representatives of civil society.”

And in news that will only encourage the industry to follow suit, ResponsibleSteel and IRMA are looking for partners to achieve a consistent shared goal of social and environmental responsibility.

“As we develop the ResponsibleSteel™ standard in consultation with our multi-stakeholder membership, key themes that have come through are ‘don’t reinvent the wheel’ and ‘form effective partnerships’.  Our new partnership with IRMA provides a leading response to these requests for collaboration. We will actively seek further collaboration with others that share our goal to increase market value for comprehensive environmental and social responsibility,” he said.