Gold
The production of gold and jewellery has been linked to widespread social injustice and environmental damage. Too often industrial mining companies ignore basic social and environmental safeguards. Artisanal and small-scale miners work under the most severe and unsafe labour conditions. Their production is limited and the price they receive is usually far below the international market prize.
There is growing awareness among jewellers of the need for action. Thanks to the recently launched Fairtrade and Fairmined standard for small-scale mining and initiatives aimed at large-scale industrial mining, they can now act upon their intentions and improve the sustainability of the gold supply chain.
Gold programme: pushing for greater responsibility
Since 2006 Solidaridad has supported the development of a fairtrade standard for small-scale miners. After groundbreaking efforts, the standard was adopted in March 2010. The gold programme is now concentrating its efforts on helping mining communities adopt to greener and fairer practices required to obtain certification.
In 2009 Solidaridad expanded the gold programme to the industrial sector. In a recently launched pilot project, industrial mining companies have started making their operations safer for workers, local communities and the environment. Once they have improved their operations, mining companies can become certified under the Responsible Jewellery Council Code of Practices.
At the other end of the supply chain, Solidaridad is helping jewellers and mainstream market actors to buy gold from more responsible mines. We also increase consumer awareness for responsible gold, for example in the Netherlands, where we launched the succesful 'On Our Way to Good Gold'-campaign.
Impact: fairer and cleaner mining practices
Solidaridad has facilitated pilot testing of the Fairtrade and Fairmined standard for artisanal gold mining at nine sites in Latin America. The Solidaridad training programme for small-scale miners' organizations has led to the formalization and legalization of these organizations, improvements in their organizational skills and reduced environmental impacts. Most of the organizations recently became certified and the remainder are expected to become certified soon.
Fairtrade and Fairmined certification gives mining communities access to new markets where they can sell their produce at a fair price, allowing them to reinvest the proceeds in fairer and cleaner practices. The Fairtrade and Fairmined scheme als aims to improve working and social conditions and reduce environmental impacts.
History and prospects of the gold programme
| Start of the gold programme | 2006 |
| Main issue | environmental factors, such as the use of mercury and cyanide; social issues at the mine sites, including labour standards, gender inequality, and the lack of safety training and equipment; negative impacts on nearby communities, such as displacement and violence due to security issues and competition for resources. |
| Countries | Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya |
| Partners | Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM), local NGOs for miners in Peru, Bolivia and Colombia Fairtrade organizations |
| Donors | Adessium Foundation |
Outlook
In the next five years the gold programme will focus on:
- helping more small-scale mining communities to improve their social and environmental practices, with the goal of becoming certified under the Fairtrade and Fairmined standard;
- working with industrial mining companies to encourage better social and environmental practices at their mines, and to support economic development in adjacent communities;
- making responsibly-sourced gold available to a growing number of European jewellers, in partnership with jewellers and other members of the gold supply chain, such as manufacturers and refineries;
- exploring whether to expand our work to other mined minerals used by jewellers, such as silver and coloured gemstones.
New partnerships
The gold programme seeks partners to join us in improving practices at mine sites and at each point along the jewellery supply chain. We are alsow seeking financial contributions from philantropic organizations and government agencies, and may seek matching funds from private companies that commit to purchase certified gold. We also expect other opportunities for target investments.
Cases
We offer
Solidaridad aims to establish a sustainable and fair gold chain, from miner to consumer. Several Solidaridad Regional Expertise Centers (RECs) are involved in the implementation of the gold programme. Together we offer the following services:
Our services
- Supporting small-scale mining organizations in adopting environmentally and socially responsible practices
- Expanding the market among jewellers for gold mined by responsible small-scale miners
- Guiding companies in corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives related to sourcing from small- and large-scale mines in developing countries
- Supporting innovative business concepts in order to broaden the marketplace for sustainable products from developing countries
- Leading a dialogue with stakeholders and the public using our knowledge and experience on sustainable economic development and responsible supply chains
Results
Some of the key results in Solidaridad´s Gold programme
Solidaridad is pleased to announce the recent launch of a formal Gold Programme. Based on the success of our early work and the need for additional work in this sector, we are:
- Leading stakeholders in discussions on how to expand the market for ethical jewellery in a way that can benefit producers in developing countries
- Working one-on-one with European jewellers to help them source more responsibly, which may include purchasing Fairtrade certified gold in their supply chains
- Evaluating current sustainability initiatives in the jewellery supply chain to identify leading practices, gaps and areas for improvement.
Solidaridad has supported the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) in developing a Fairtrade standard for artisanal gold mining. Assistance has facilitated pilot testing of the standard at nine mining sites in Latin America. ARM’s training programme with these small-scale miners organizations has led to:
- Formalization and legalisation of the miners organizations
- Reduction of environmental impact
- Improvement of organisational skills and increase of occupational safety.
The miners organizations are now part of a regional network which allows them to exchange experiences. The aim is to have at least six organisations certified for the Fairtrade/Fairmined standard this year, giving the mining communities access to markets at a fair price and allowing them to re-invest the proceeds into fairer, cleaner practices. We are also reaching out to new communities that could benefit from future assistance.