Approaches to responsible sourcing in mineral supply chains

Abstract

Over the last decade, ‘responsible sourcing’ has become a topic of broad interest. Policymakers, consumers and companies refer to ‘responsible sourcing’ as a way to address sustainability risks in globalized mineral supply chains, but the term is used to refer to a wide range of sustainability objectives pursued by a variety of approaches. To address the need for a definition and structuring of the topic, a review was performed of the existing literature and of company policies on ‘responsible sourcing’ of minerals. The study develops a framework for responsible sourcing, here defined as ‘the management of social, environmental and/or economic sustainability in the supply chain through production data’. We propose that ‘responsible sourcing’ should be used as an umbrella term encompassing all sourcing designed to be ‘socially responsible’, ‘green’ or ‘sustainable’. Two approaches to managing responsible sourcing of minerals were identified: supply chain due diligence and sourcing via sustainability schemes. This study maps the sustainability requirements of such schemes and uses these to categorize them as socially responsible sourcing, sustainable sourcing or green sourcing. It also identifies the extent in the supply chain to which the schemes provide assurance or certification and how far traceability extends. The study provides a framework for future research and a springboard for further development of approaches to responsible sourcing that can be used by both companies and academics.