RCS Global will work with Mercedes-Benz AG to select specific mine sites in the Democratic Republic of Congo and review their performance against a subset of IRMA‘s Standard for Responsible Mining as a first step toward a future third-party audit against the full IRMA Standard.

This phased approach builds on the established collaboration between RCS and Mercedes-Benz AG over the last two years, with more than 120 suppliers identified and 60 audits conducted after a corresponding risk assessment.

November 2020. RCS Global is proud to be expanding its work with Mercedes-Benz AG to support the company’s ambitious goal to exclusively source cobalt and lithium from mines certified by the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA).

RCS Global will work with Mercedes-Benz AG on a step-by-step approach with a limited number of cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Drawing on IRMA’s Standard for Responsible Mining, RCS Global will review the performance of these sites against a series of requirements related to human rights and the environmental impacts of raw materials extraction, as well as other key aspects relating to the consequences of industrial mining.

In the medium term, this approach aims on the one hand to formulate realistic expectations of the mining suppliers in this challenging context, while pressing for increasingly responsible practices in order to meet Daimler’s requirements for sustainable supply chains.

RCS Global has been key role in the automotive sector’s significant progress on responsible sourcing over the last five years. The collaboration with Daimler has been at the forefront of this trend and an example of best practice in the sector.

Speaking about the announcement, Harrison Mitchell, RCS Global Co-Founder and CSO said:

“By combining IRMA assessments with corrective action and training support, Mercedes-Benz is truly promoting continuous supplier improvement that is resulting in a real change in supplier behaviour to ensure human rights and the environment are safeguarded in battery supply chains.

We have a well-established program of work with the company already and are excited to be supporting Mercedes-Benz to achieve this ambitious goal.”

To read the full Mercedes-Benz media release please click here.

About IRMA

IRMA envisions a world where the mining industry respects the human rights and aspirations of affected communities; provides safe, healthy and supportive workplaces; minimizes harm to the environment, and leaves positive legacies. IRMA offers objective, independent third-party verification of industrial-scale mine sites against a comprehensive definition of responsible mining agreed to through a collaborative, multi-stakeholder process. This definition, which forms the basis of IRMA’s Standard for Responsible Mining, covers the full range of issues related to the impacts of mining.

Further information can be found at: www.responsiblemining.net