Frequently Asked Questions
Please note that this content is under development and is not ready for implementation. This status message will be updated as content development progresses.
Please note that this content is under development and is not ready for implementation. This status message will be updated as content development progresses.
What are critical raw materials (CRMs)?
Critical raw materials (CRM) are metals, non-metals (minerals) and other substances (e.g. Helium) that are considered essential for renewable energy transition, digital economy, and national security and whose supply may be at risk due to geological scarcity, geopolitical issues, trade policy or other factors. CRM classifications might vary between countries, different sections of governments, and different industries (eg. Figure 1. The US DoE Matrix). However, the criticality assignment is always defined by potential supply risk, economic importance (demand), and ESG impact of CRM substances.
Why do CRMs require high levels of traceability?
Due to their scarcity and concentration in select geographic regions, many countries rely on the import of CRMs, creating a high supply risk. Critical minerals receive increased pressure for traceability in accordance with international climate regulation, and digital technology has been identified as a valuable tool to support these initiatives.
What is UN/CEFACT’s Critical Raw Materials Traceability and Sustainability Project?
Critical raw material (CRM) producers provide essential materials like lithium, cobalt, copper, and graphite to countries across the world. CRM supply chains are often long and complex, involving multiple organizations and crossing several international borders as materials move from raw material extraction to finished products.
Globally, sustainability data is held on various platforms using differing standards. CRM producers are increasingly being asked to meet a range of evolving domestic and international requirements to satisfy regulatory and consumer demand. There are many supply chain traceability solutions on the market, but most do not allow data to be shared between them. CRM producers need an efficient and trustworthy way to prove their sustainability performance along international supply chains.
The UN/CEFACT Critical Raw Materials Traceability and Sustainability Project (“the project”) is connecting experts from across the world to research current international sustainability standards and reporting platforms. The project will use this research to identify ways to improve compatibility between current sustainability standards and digital tools and create a framework for international data exchange that increases trust and traceability.
With simple and secure methods to prove their sustainability performance, actors along CRM supply chains are better positioned to compete in global markets that prioritize sustainable goods, encouraging a wider adherence to responsible mining practices.
What is the Project trying to achieve?
The project seeks to make CRM supply chains more sustainable and resilient by improving transparency and traceability.
- Sustainable supply chains minimize environmental impacts and maximize human welfare.
- Resilient supply chains avoid risky dependencies and can withstand disruptions.
- The project aims to create standards for:
- Compatibility between digital tools and reporting platforms;
- Identifying areas of consensus within existing sustainability certifications.
- These standards will enable data to be exchanged internationally, making it easier to prove where and how critical raw materials are extracted and used.
The project aims to create standards for:
- Compatibility between digital tools and reporting platforms;
- Identifying areas of consensus within existing sustainability certifications.
These standards will enable data to be exchanged internationally, making it easier to prove where and how critical raw materials are extracted and used.
Who is hosting the project?
The project is hosted by the UN Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic-Business (UN/CEFACT).
Building on the success of the Textile and Leather Traceability project, the project unites organizations from around the world, and all organizations are welcome to participate.
What is the timeline for the project?
The project has been divided into several phases of work:
How does the project align with existing initiatives?
The project embraces all environmental, social, and governance (ESG) platforms, standards, and regulations. Our environmental scan illustrates the broad range of platforms, standards, and regulations that inform the project work.
The project will not create a new traceability platform, nor will it define new sustainability standards. Instead, this project is focused on increasing the compatibility and identifying points of consensus between existing tools and standards.
We welcome participation from CRM supply chain participants, technology providers, standards authorities, and regulators to ensure that their work is considered as the project examines tools and regulations across jurisdictional boundaries.
How is the project addressing legal considerations?
The project will undertake analysis to understand legal and governance considerations related to supply chains. This research will include considerations of how audit and verification processes are connected and recognized across multiple jurisdictions.
What is the scope of work for the project?
The project covers a broad spectrum of ESG concerns as they relate to both regulatory purposes and consumer demand.
Existing initiatives, such as the Global Battery Alliance, have identified a range of issues that are valuable to regulators and consumers. The project will build on the work of existing initiatives to focus on areas of work that are of the highest priority for the global community.
The project will not recreate or reinvent ESG standards or traceability solutions. Rather, this work will focus on mapping between existing standards and providing a framework for determining points of convergence. This includes primary production to finished product, encompassing all stages of supply chain exchange.
Which digital platform will the project use?
The project will not identify a single platform or technical solution. There are thousands of platforms for the exchange of sustainability data worldwide, and the challenge being explored cannot be solved with a single tool. Our focus is on the exchange of trusted data between many users across various platforms.
Technology vendors are welcome to participate in the project through voluntary contributions to standard development and implementation testing. This offers the opportunity to be listed as a compliant vendor by UN/CEFACT.
Why is the project focused on decentralization?
In the journey from extraction to final product, information about a critical mineral shipment crosses multiple countries, sectors, and technology platforms.
Successful global scale data exchange is reliant on:
- a range of interoperable tools, and,
- consensus on data standards and policies.
While the project aims to identify tools and standards for critical raw material supply chains, there are examples of this model at work for other purposes worldwide today, demonstrating the viability of this model.
For example, a traveler with a Canadian passport can enter Australia without the need for an Australian passport. There are existing policies in place that enable the Canadian passport to be recognized by Australian border patrol. There is no need for a single, central database of global passports since the standards between Canada and Australia are mutually recognizable.
How can I participate in the project?
There are three ways that organizations across the world can get involved:
- Contributors participate in meetings, draft key deliverables, and support policy recommendations.
- Observers join meetings, receive emails, and participate in the Slack chat to stay informed on project progress.
- Implementers will test and offer feedback on project standards and deliverables after drafts are completed.
What is the time commitment for participation?
Participation in the project is voluntary, meaning that we welcome as much or as little time as participants are able to commit. The average expected time commitment depends on the level of participation:
- Contributors – 4-8 hours per week.
- Observers – As needed.
- Implementers – 4-8 hours per week, during the implementation phase.
How will my contributions be used?
Contributors to the project will register as UN Experts. We are happy to assist you with this process if you are not already registered. All contributions made to this project are the intellectual property of the UN.
Ideas, deliverables, or language developed as part of this project cannot be commercialized or patented.
What value will I receive from participating in the project?
This project offers value to many different sectors, but will be of particular interest to:
- Primary Producers & Manufacturers: Digital technology has the potential to reduce the administrative burden of sustainability reporting, streamline business processes, and lower the cost of regulatory and ESG compliance. Using interoperable technology, CRM producers can share information about their sustainable practices in seconds. By proving their ESG performance, CRM producers are better positioned to compete in global markets that prioritize sustainable goods.
- Certifiers, Auditors, and Standards Setters: As more companies are incentivized to comply with ESG regulations, the demand for sustainability audits will increase. * Current certifications, standards, and audit reports will become more valuable as they become globally recognized.
- Software Providers: Technology platforms that are compatible with other platforms offer higher value to customers who need to exchange credentials internationally.