Kennecott the first to receive Copper Mark for responsible production

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 allows our customers to purchase copper from operations that have been independently assessed as meeting the highest environmental, social and governance standards, responding to the growing expectations of consumers around the world for sustainable supply chains,” said Rio Tinto Copper and Diamonds CE Arnaud Soirat.

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.

International Copper Association president Tony Lea said that the Copper Mark was an important milestone for the global copper industry and reflected stakeholders’ needs for greater transparency.

“We hope more producers will follow Rio Tinto’s lead and apply for the Copper Mark.”

The Copper Mark was launched on March 30.