We are delighted to announce that, in collaboration with our partner company, Better Sourcing Program, we have launched land-mark not-for-profit initiative to prove artisanally mined cobalt from the DRC can be validated as responsibly produced at source and traced, allowing for eventual traceability throughout the supply chain.

The pilot project was officially launched today in the Financial Times and you can read the full story here. 

The ‘Better Cobal’ pilot will deliver up to 5 supply chains originating from ASM or semi-mechanized mine sites. Cobalt produced at these sites will be validated against the highest global standards on ethical sourcing as set by the OECD while also specifically focusing on child labor and human rights abuses.

The pilot project will open up mine sites to continual monitoring and, for the first time, provide site-level incidents and contextual data recorded in real-time onto online dashboards, closing down the space for child labor and other human rights issues.

Additionally, Better Sourcing’s technology-based traceability solution will mitigate against the risk of supply chain contamination and allow for precise provenance claims. Integration with blockchain technology and expansion of traceability down to global brands to provide even greater trust in these claims is already deemed feasible and under way.

The project is a collaboration between some of the largest actors within the cobalt sector and is backed by several global brands.

Later this week we will be launching at independent microsite for the initiative where you can get more information and also learn how your company can support the project. In the meantime, if you have any immediate enquiries please contact [email protected]