24.10.2017 StrategicRawMaterialsandSustainableDevelopment–WorkshopatWRF2017 1
ENTWICKLUNGSFONDS SELTENE METALLE
JointPressStatementontheWorkshopattheWorldResourcesForuminGeneva,October24,2017
StrategicRawMaterialsandSustainableDevelopment
OnOctober24,ESMFoundation,EITRawMaterialsandUNECEorganizedaworkshopon„StrategicRawMaterialsandSustainableDevelopment”attheWorldResourcesFo-
rum2017inGeneva,Switzerland.
Theworkshopwasdividedintothreeparts:inthefirstpart,thefocuswasoncurrentandfutureneedsforrawmaterialswithrelationtomeetingtheSustainableDevelop-
mentGoals,sheddinglightonthedemandsideoftheglobaluseofCriticalRawMaterials.ThesecondpartoftheworkshopwasdevotedtothefuturesupplyofStrategicRaw
24.10.2017 StrategicRawMaterialsandSustainableDevelopment–WorkshopatWRF2017 2
ENTWICKLUNGSFONDS SELTENE METALLE
MaterialswithaviewonSustainableDevelopment.Inthethirdpartoftheworkshop,thespeakerswerejoinedbyfurtherexpertsforacommonpaneldiscussion.Thework-
shopwaschairedbyAlessandraHool,ESMFoundation,RolandGauß,EITRawMaterials,andHarikrishnanTulsidas,UNECE.
Thefirstspeaker,JulianHilton,ChairoftheUNFCSustainableDevelopmentWorkingGroup,explainedtheUnitedNationsFrameworkClassificationforResources(UNFC)inthe
contextofmeetingtherawmaterialneedsforattainingtheSDGs.Hearguedthatwearecurrentlypathfindingtowardsanewenvironmental-economicpointofequilibrium–
anapproachthatattheverycoreconsidersboththeSDGsandtheneedtocombatClimateChange.AccordingtoHilton,theUNFCtoolkitneedstobeupdatedandcentred
aroundresources,customersandservices,security,andvalues.NextstepswouldincludedevelopingacurriculumtoapplytherevisedUNFCtothemanagementofnaturalre-
sources,shaperesourcemanagementpolicyaccordingly,andtodeveloptechnologiesandmaterialflowstofeedtheeco-system.InhistalkonfutureglobalneedsforStrategic
RawMaterials,LuisTerceroEspinoza,ESMFoundationandFraunhoferISI,outlinedtheexpectedincreaseddemandfornon-energyrawmaterialsassociatedwithemerging
technologiesthatwillbecrucialtoattainingtheSDGs.Tercerolookedattheexamplesofrawmaterialsdemandforwindpowerandlithium-ionbatteries.Thetalkconcluded
withadiscussionofglobalinterdependenciesregardingrawmaterialsandanexaminationoftheroleofrecyclinginsecuringsupply:evenifrecyclingratesincreasesubstantial-
lyalsoforspecialmetals,therewillbestillaglobalneedforprimarymining.MichaelHaschke,DMTandChairoftheUNFCMineralWorkingGroup,explainedhowmanyexist-
ingmineoperationsshowgraduallydepletingoregrades.Erosionofmanyhistorictailingssitesworldwidehaveraisedhealthissues.Zero-wastesolutionswheretailingscanbe
reprocessedandrecycledarean importantsteptoaddresstheseproblems.Haschkeshowedasuccessfulprojectonreprocessingofphosphogypsumtailings,which, ifper-
formedsystematically,wouldhaveasignificantimpactonrareearthelementandphosphoroussupply.Newautomatedtechnologiescouldleadtoamoresustainable,envi-
ronmentally friendlyand lesshazardousmining.Haschkepointedout the importanceof integrating thesecommodities intoaglobal resourcemanagementsystemsuchas
UNFC.
EstathiosPeteves,Headof theKnowledgefortheEnergyUnionUnit intheDirectorateC fromtheEuropeanCommission’s JointResearchCenter (JRC),highlightedtheas-
sessementoftheEUresiliencetothesupplyofseveralkeymaterialsandcomponentsrequiredforthelargedeploymentofselectedlow-carbontechnologies,namelywind,
photovoltaicsandelectric vehicles.A comprehensivemethodologybasedonvarious indicatorswasused todetermine theEU’s resilience to supplybottlenecksacross the
completevaluechain.TheanalysisshowsthattheEUisvulnerabletosupplybottlenecksofseveralkeymaterialsandcomponentsneededincrucialfuturetechnologies.Unless
mitigationmeasuresaretaken,Europeanresiliencetopotentialsupplyissueswilldeterioratesubstantiallyoverthenextdecade.SorayaHeuss-Aßbichler,UniversityofMunich
andvice-chairoftheUNFCAnthropogenicResourcesWorkingGroup,explainedtheneedforimprovementinkeepingvaluablematerialsinthevaluechaintoavoidtheirdissi-
pationintotheenvironment.Reliabledataaboutquantityandqualityofvariouswastestreams,theirsourcesanddisposalroutesarelargelymissing.Thepossibilityofclassify-
ingnon-salesquantities,suchasresidues,tailingsandwastes,makestheUNFCsystemattractivetovisualizethepotentialforwasteasaresource,whichisatopicofgrowing
attentioninstrivingtowardsacirculareconomy.Theworkinggroup4oftheCostActionMINEA(MiningtheEuropeanAnthroposphere)aimsatprovidingacoherentandcon-
sistentframeworkfortheclassificationofanthropogenicresources,underconsiderationofitsimpactonthesociety,environmentandeconomy.
24.10.2017 StrategicRawMaterialsandSustainableDevelopment–WorkshopatWRF2017 3
ENTWICKLUNGSFONDS SELTENE METALLE
Theworkshopcontinuedwithavideostreamtoasessionon”CircularEconomyandSDGs“attheG-STICconferenceinBrusselson“ConnectingTechnologicalInnovationto
DecisionMakingforSustainability”.KarenHanghøj,CEOofEITRawMaterials,andKarlVrancken,VITO,summarizedtheoutcomeofthesessiontotheaudienceinGeneva:
Systemic changes are required to achieve the transition to a circular economy. This transition is very complex and challenging, requiring behavioural, regional and global
changeaswellasahighpolicyawareness.Thecontinentsareevolvingdifferently.Policymakers,industry,andconsumershavetolearnwithinadialogueframework.Leading
countriesthatactivelyadvancenewbusinessmodelsare,forexample,Finland,Netherlands,andBelgium,actingasfront-runnersinrespectivepolicyactionsandinenabling
stakeholderprocessesorganisedataregionallevel.TheG-STICsessionincludedstakeholderpresentationsfromBangaloreandKenya,stimulatingalivelydiscussionandhigh-
lightingtheglobaldimensionofthetopic.
TheafternoonsessioninGenevacontinuedwithAlexandraPehlken,UniversityofOldenburg,whopresentedanassessmentofresourceefficiencyrelatedtostrategicrawma-
terials.Manyproductsundergomorethanoneownerandarenotre-enteringthesamelifecycleagain.ExamplesfromautomotiveandWEEEhighlightedthepotentialofhigh-
efficiencyopen-looprecycling.ChristianHagelüken,ESMFoundationandDirectorofEUGovernmentAffairsatUmicore,talkedaboutthefuturedemandforcobaltandactions
foritssustainablesourcing.Thesustainablesupplyanduseofmetalsisakeyrequirementforthesuccessfulimplementationofmanyemerginglowfossilcarbontechnologies.
Forexample,thegradualtransitionfromcombustionenginestoelectromobilitywilltriggerasignificantdemandforbatterymetalssuchascobaltandlithium.Itisanimportant
taskofindustriesacrossthevaluechaintodevelopresourceefficientproductionchainsandtosecureareliableandresponsiblysourcedmetalssupply.Closingthematerials
loopbyestablishingeffectivetake-backandrecyclingsystemsisoneofthekeyactivitiesinthiscontext.Legislationandinterplayofstakeholdersinthemarketplacesetim-
portantframeconditions,andtherecentCircularEconomyPackageoftheEUCommissioncanbeapowerfulenablertoclosingmaterialsloops.Finally,ErikaIngvald,Geologi-
calSurveyofSweden,putUNFC inthecontextasatool forthesustainablemanagementofcritical rawmaterial (CRM)resources.Eventhoughextractionofrawmaterials
mightbelocal,therawmaterialsmarketandminingindustryareglobal,andsotherearechallengeswhenitcomestosharingglobaldata.UNFChasthepotentialofbeinga
tool for resourcepolicyand strategy formulation, government resourcemanagement, industrybusinessprocessmanagement, andcapital allocation,bydeliveringglobally
comparabledata.Thiswillbeextremelyimportantforsourcingandmanagementofcriticalrawmaterials.Hence,thereareactivitiestodevelopguidanceforSweden,Finland
andNorwaywiththepurposeofmovingbeyondclassificationtowardsmanagingresourcessustainably.UNFCisapplicableandappliedtoanumberofnaturalresources,bridg-
ingtothecodesusedbyindustry,andusedasacommunicationstoolforfinance,businessprocesses,resourcemanagementandpolicymaking.However,moreworkisneeded
inthecomingyearstodevelopUNFCintoatoolthatsupportssustainableresourcing.
Participants of the following joint discussion includedKerstin Brinnen, Swedish Association ofMines,Mineral andMetal Producers (Svemin), Constantin Ciupagea, Joint
ResearchCenter,EuropeanCommission,KeisukeNansai,NIEMS, Japan,Hans-JürgenWachter,Heraeus,StevenYoung,UniversityofWaterloo,Canada,ArminReller, ESM
FoundationandUniversityofAugsburg,andVitoCorreia,PresidentoftheEuropeanFederationofGeologists.Severalimportantaspectsoftheoveralltopicwerediscussedin
24.10.2017 StrategicRawMaterialsandSustainableDevelopment–WorkshopatWRF2017 4
ENTWICKLUNGSFONDS SELTENE METALLE
theplenary:firstly,theparticipantsagreedthatwhilstthereisnoSDGspecificallyonrawmaterials,rawmaterialsarekeyforattainingmanyoftheSDGs.Furthermore,there
wasabroadconsensusthatrecyclingandthetransitiontowardsacirculareconomywillbeaglobalkeygoalinthefuture,butthatminingwillcontinuetobeofimportance
andthatstrategiesandtechnologieshavetobedevelopedtomakeminingbotheconomicallyviableandresponsible.Ataconsumerlevel,alternativebusinessmodelssuchas
leasingofcomponentswereidentifiedasoneimportantaspectofenablingthetransitiontowardsacirculareconomy.Europe’sfocushastobeoncontinuingtoraiseaware-
nesstowardsrawmaterials,andcollaborationhastohappennotonlyonEuropeanbutalsoonnationalandregionallevels.Here,therearestilllargedifferenceswithinEurope
regardingtransparency,andthedialoguemustbeimprovedandfostered.Driversfortransparencyaretodaynotonlygovernmentsbutalsocustomers,companiesandvarious
actorsacross thevalue chain. Itwasagreed that theUnitedNationsFrameworkClassificationbears thepotential tobeavaluable tool toenable collaborative systemap-
proaches,notatleastbecauseitisbackedbyaninternationallycredibleorganization.
Insummary,thekeyresultsoftheworkshopwere:
§ Sustainabledevelopmentisfundamentallylinkedtotheaccesstostrategicrawmaterials.Potentialbottlenecksmustbeconsideredacrosstheentirevaluechain,ad-
dressingrawmaterials,processingcapacities,semi-finishedaswellasfinishedproducts.Mitigationmeasurestoensuresustainablefuturesupplyhavetobetakento-
day.
§ Itiscrucialtodefineobjectivesonhowtoresponsiblymanagerawmaterialsacrossthewholevaluechain.Secondaryrawmaterialssourcingwillbecomeincreasingly
important,butminingwillstillbeneeded.Innovativeapproachesarerequiredtotackletechnologyandbusinessrelatedissuesinminingbutalsotodealwithaspects
ofsocialresponsibilityandecologicalimpact.
§ Reliabledataandeffectivepolicyinterventionscanonlybedevelopedinadefinedframeworkandrequireimprovedcollaborationofallinvolvedactorsinasystematic
andtransparentapproach.
Thepresentationsareavailableontheeventwebsiteathttps://www.esmfoundation.org/event/wrf2017/.
TherewasahighinterestoftheparticipantstofurtherdeveloptheinterlinkedtopiconSDGs,criticalrawmaterialsandclassification.Ifyouwanttojointhisdialogue,[email protected].
Afollow-upworkshoponSustainableManagementofStrategicRawMaterialsanditsapplicationsinindustrywilltakeplaceintheafternoonofTuesday,April24,2018,intheframeworkoftheUNECEResourceManagementWeek2018.YouwillfindfurtherinformationontheUNECEwebsiteoverthecomingweeks.
