Would you like to gain new insights into sustainable management in extractives and deepen your knowledge in this field? Join moderator Tony Hand in our podcast “Sustainable Management in the Extractive Sector: Navigating Challenges and Forging New Paths” to explore the main challenges faced by the extractive sector, including environmental impact, social responsibility, legal compliance, and stakeholder engagement. Our podcast also discusses the role of public authorities in addressing these challenges and provides good practice examples as well as insights from the SUMEX project that are relevant to facilitate sustainable practices in the extractive sector.
Moderator Tony Hand is currently the Sustainable Mining Project Manager in the Division of Mining and Mineral Technology at Tallinn University of Technology – TalTech, in Estonia. With over 30 years of experience in the mining sector and 3 years as Senior Advisor in Mining Technologies and Sustainability at EIT RawMaterials, Tony understands the challenges faced by the extractive sector operating in society today. Society cannot move forward without responsible sourcing and extraction of raw materials. Consumer behaviour creates more demand for products and this is an area that Tony believes more must be done to inform and educate businesses and society in general, on the impact of increased production on communities, the environment and the health of the planet in general.
Episode 6: Reporting
In this episode, we will delve into the topic of sustainability reporting. We will introduce and compare different standards for the public reporting of environment, social and governance performance.
Moderator: Tony Hand (TalTech University)
Experts: Aimee Boulanger (Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance, IRMA) and Kimmo Collander (Finnish Network for Sustainable Mining)
Episode 5: Permitting
This episode explores the difficulties that arise when extraction sites are located in nature-protected spaces, such as Natura 2000-labelled areas. It also discusses how the EU’s nature restoration law is increasing the pressure on extractive companies to achieve a net positive impact on biodiversity.
Moderator: Tony Hand (TalTech University)
Experts: Lia Mergulhão (Portuguese Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests, ICNF) and Michael Rademacher (Bingen Technical University)
Episode 4: Health & Safety
This episode introduces the current state of health and safety in the extractive industry and underlines the efforts made in the last decades. It presents good practice examples, both from the industry and the trade unions’ side, on how to improve working conditions in the extractive sector.
Moderator: Tony Hand (TalTech University)
Experts: Sophie Grenade (industriAll European Trade Union) and Alexander Tsanov (Dundee Precious Metals)
Episode 3: Land use planning in the extractive sector
This episode explores the role of mining compared to other land uses. It discusses the complexity of land use planning and the difficulty to find an appropriate balance between different types of land use.
Moderator: Tony Hand (TalTech University)
Experts: Sybil Berne (MacCabe Durney Barnes) and Thomas Hartmann (Technical University of Dortmund)
Episode 2: Impact assessment in the extractive sector
This episode presents an overview of the challenges surrounding Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and potential pathways to improve it in the future. It underlines the importance of trust in the mining industry and how crucial it is to apply more holistic approaches for impact assessments.
Moderator: Tony Hand (TalTech University)
Experts: Guillermo Aguirre (Anglo-American) and Tommi Kaupilla (Geological Survey of Finland)
Episode 1: Introduction to the topic of sustainability in the extractive sector
This episode provides an overview of the topic of sustainability in the extractive sector in light of recent global and European developments. It also highlights the contribution made by the SUMEX project.
Moderator: Tony Hand (TalTech University)
We hope you enjoy listening and invite you to stay tuned for the next episodes!
