As part of its members’ commitment to sustainable development, The International Tin Association (ITA) is pleased to publish results from a new Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) quantifying the environmental impacts of the production of refined tin. This study is the first of its kind for the tin industry and provides new insights into the environmental impacts for the production of refined tin. The ITA members who participated in the study are responsible for around 55% of globally refined tin production, including both primary and secondary metal.
The LCA study supports the tin industry’s commitment to understand and improve its sustainability performance. The LCA was undertaken by renowned consultancy Sphera Solutions Inc. in accordance with ISO 14040 and ISO 14044 standards and included impacts of mining (including artisanal and small scale production), recycled material, mineral processing or beneficiation, smelting, and refining.
Kay Nimmo, Head of Sustainability at ITA explained that “This new LCA study provides an updated understanding of average industry impacts and provides aggregated tin industry sustainability performance data which is increasingly sought after by tin stakeholders and users.”
The Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) provides an insight into which processes and inputs contribute the most to potential environmental impacts across the sector as a whole. The study calculated the average global industry impacts of 1 tonne of refined tin metal (99.85% – 99.95%) for the reference year 2018/2019.
The report ‘Life Cycle Assessment of Tin Production’ is available for download.
As part of ongoing ESG efforts, ITA member PT Timah Tbk has recently undertaken a local community initiative to provide educational training on the preservation of mangrove forests to the people of Setunak Island and Karimun Regency in Indonesia.
These areas are characterised by a prominent stretch of pristine mangrove forests which provide many core ecosystem benefits and functionalities. For example, the mangroves provide an optimal breeding environment and habitat to protect marine life such as fish, crabs, shrimp, and shellfish. Mangrove fruit, which can be processed into food and drinks, also provides an opportunity for local MSMEs to earn additional income. The mangrove forests therefore provide many economic and tourism opportunities for the people of Stunak Island and Karimun Regency, the majority of whom work as fishermen.
Realizing the potential of mangrove forests, PT Timah Tbk provided training in mangrove cultivation for the people of Stunak Island in effort to preserve the Mangroves. The mangrove cultivation training carried out by PT Timah Tbk was met with enthusiasm by the community. The chief fisherman of Stunak Apid Island stating that the training and education provided by PT Timah was “very good.” The training provided was also comprehensive not only techniques for sustainable cultivation were taught but the community were also educated on the benefits of preservation and reforestation.
The Indonesian government is currently aiming to undertake several large-scale mangrove conservation and restoration projects across the country and is actively encouraging replanting of mangroves as part of efforts to meet their carbon emission reductions targets. The efforts of PT Timah Tbk have proven valuable as the local community now acknowledge the environmental and economic benefits that could be realised through conservation of the mangrove forests.
PT Timah Tbk continue to empower the local communities through knowledge and training. As an ITA member they participate in the Tin Code which encourages engagement and allows for progressive improvement when necessary. You can read more about some of these initiatives on the news section of the PT Timah website.
The International Tin Association (ITA) is pleased to announce that the Tin Code Standard 7.3 has been conditionally approved by the London Metal Exchange (LME) for use by brands under ‘alignment-assessed standard Track A’ of the LME Responsible Sourcing Rules.
The LME is leveraging its position in the market to support metal producers in their journey to responsible supply chains through transparency and pragmatic use of standards applied without discrimination between large and artisanal sources. The LME ‘Track A’ route is one option for brands to demonstrate appropriate supply chain due diligence.
Nicole Hanson, Responsible Sourcing Manager commented that “The LME Responsible Sourcing policy builds on the well-established work in the metals sector, connecting the industry to organizations that have years of experience and resources to address challenging issues in the metals supply chain. We are glad to be able to work with the ITA to provide the LME tin brands this option for compliance and we congratulate the ITA on being the first to achieve this milestone.”
ITA’s Tin Code encourages transparent reporting of the performance of global tin supply chain participants against a broad range of ESG expectations. The Tin Code Standard 7.3 evaluates company implementation of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance (OECD DDG) for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas (CAHRA).
Kay Nimmo, Head of Sustainability at ITA commented that “ITA is committed to driving progress and is pleased that this conditional approval will provide further confidence for producers and customers of LME listed tin brands that an aligned standard is available to demonstrate compliance with the LME Responsible Sourcing Rules, including for sources from CAHRA’.
The conditional approval is for company assessments under the ITA Tin Code 7.3 performed against the ITA-RMI Assessment Criteria for Tin Smelting Companies. This system has been independently confirmed to be in full alignment with the OECD Guidance standards. ITA is now rolling-out assessments to enable completion of a second stage alignment assessment on implementation and achieve overall approval.
ITA is the world authority on tin representing more than two-thirds of worldwide tin production through its full and associate membership and a global leader in implementing responsible sourcing standards.
The London Metal Exchange is the leading global trading platform of industrial metals including majority of all non-ferrous metal futures business.