Rio Tinto’s Kennecott copper operation, in Utah, US, on Tuesday became the first to be awarded the Copper Mark – the industry’s independent assurance programme – verifying its copper is responsibly produced.
Kennecott copper has been assessed against 32 criteria – based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals – across environment, social and governance categories. These include health and safety, emissions, human rights and community development.
The Copper Mark is the only programme for responsible production in the copper industry. Originally developed by the International Copper Association with input from a broad range of stakeholders including customers, nongovernmental organisation and producers, the Copper Mark is now an independent entity with a multi-stakeholder council.