1. Introduction
Metals, minerals and natural materials are part of our daily lives. Those raw materials that are most important economically and have a high supply risk are called critical raw materials. Critical raw materials are essential to the functioning and integrity of a wide range of industrial ecosystems. Tungsten makes phones vibrate. Gallium and indium are part of lightemitting diode (LED) technology in lamps. Semiconductors need silicon metal. Hydrogen fuel cells and electrolysers need platinum group metals.
Your access to Member Features is limited.
Please sign in or apply for membership to continue reading this post.
Access to resources is a strategic security question for Europe’s ambition to deliver the Green Deal. The new industrial strategy for Europe proposes to reinforce Europe’s open strategic autonomy, warning that Europe’s transition to climate neutrality could replace today’s reliance on fossil fuels with one on raw materials, many of which we
Responsible Business Alliance Announces Compass Award Winners
Applied Materials, AMD, and Flex Win for CSR Leadership, Innovation and Implementation
Published 5 hours ago
RBA Compass Awards
ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 7, 2021 /CSRwire/ The Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) today announced the winners of its 2020 Compass Awards for corporate social responsibility excellence across three categories: Leadership, Innovation and Implementation.
The goals of these awards are to recognize CSR efforts in the global supply chain that lead to meaningful, positive change in line with the RBA s vision and mission and serve as examples of successful actions that other companies can emulate. An independent panel of judges from intergovernmental organizations and civil society evaluated the submissions and chose the following winners:
You have successfully joined our subscriber list.
Currently, Apple tries to explore the crypto space and implements very measured steps. Notably, many analysts agree that Apple should invest in BTC or even create its own crypto exchange.
Tech giants like Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT), Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB), Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA), to name a few, are actively embracing the fast-growing crypto industry. For example, last year, Microsoft launched an Identity Overlay Network (ION) built on the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain and filed a patent for a crypto mining system powered by human activity. Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN), which was heavily investing in Ethereum (ETH), is planning to launch its own crypto project. EV-maker Tesla has also started buying cryptocurrencies and invested as much as $1.5 billion in Bitcoin. Meanwhile, Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL), one of the largest companies in terms of market value, seems to remain neutral about Bitcoin and BTC-related activities
Despite major progress towards new mandatory frameworks aimed at tackling sustainability and ethical issues in supply chains coming into Europe, the EU’s ambitious legislation will see little impact if not backed up by deep and long-lasting partnerships with producing countries.
Boukje Theeuwes is Head of Policy at Solidaridad Europe. Solidaridad is an international CSO operating in over 40 countries worldwide on fair and sustainable supply chains, inspired by 50 years of solidarity with under-resourced producer communities.
Over the course of the next year, we expect the Von Der Leyen Commission, with the backing of the major groupings of the European Parliament, to make strides on European sustainability policies and ethical trading. Such steps forward, which include supporting the recent implementation of the Conflict Minerals Regulation, should form part of a comprehensive regulatory framework that includes the smart mix of measures needed to tackle human rights violations an