Mining is essential to the green transition. The copper, lithium, and rare earths needed for electric vehicles, wind turbines, and solar panels will only mean more, not less mining. If we want a sustainable future, we need a sustainable mining industry.

The sector has long been under intense scrutiny for its environmental and social impacts and as ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) performance becomes a non-negotiable part of doing business, the conversation around mining and sustainability is evolving.

As such, we also must evolve the way we’re speaking about and with the industry.

This isn’t about lowering expectations. It’s about recognising the scale of the challenge and the progress already underway. Mining companies are not only being asked to meet ambitious targets, they are setting them themselves—net-zero emissions, biodiversity restoration, equitable community engagement—all while operating in some of the most complex environments on Earth.

And many are stepping up and going well beyond the call of duty.

The Reality of the ESG Challenge

Mining companies are not just being watched, they’re being held to account by investors, regulators, communities, and consumers. ESG continues to be both a top risk and opportunity driver in the sector. The very nature of resource extraction means the path to sustainability is longer, harder, and more expensive. But necessary.

Yet, progress is happening. According to the 2024 ESG Mining Company Index, 61 of the world’s largest mining companies are now being evaluated across nine ESG indicators, with many showing marked improvements in emissions reduction, community engagement, and governance transparency.

Already, we’re seeing climate resilience, biodiversity, and nature-positive strategies dominate ESG agendas.

Sustainable Development on the Ground

We’ve seen firsthand how mining companies are rethinking their role in sustainable development. In South Africa, our team is partnering with a mining company to launch a regional workforce skilling and job placement platform that prepares youth for the fourth industrial revolution —a global shift driven by advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, automation, and digital connectivity—while emphasising the importance of supporting people to find work after completing their training.

Rather than relying solely on traditional CSR models, the initiative focuses on building a locally governed structure that can work across mining and other industries –agro-processing, manufacturing, automotive—to build a diversified and resilient economy. Critically, the program will unite mining companies to co-design and prioritise skill and job profiles aligned with the future workforce demand and feed that information back to training institutes to ensure graduates are capacitated for jobs that are available. The platform will go beyond skills and help people move into paid work, ensuring they can integrate into the workforce.

This is what ESG in action looks like: shifting from ‘do no harm’ to doing good and actively creating value for host communities now and into the future.

How We’re Evolving the Conversation

The problem isn’t that mining companies aren’t trying. It’s that the public narrative often assumes they aren’t trying hard enough. This creates a defensive posture, where companies are less likely to share progress for fear of criticism, and stakeholders become more skeptical.

Instead, our teams are asking: How can we support mining companies in hitting their ESG targets? What tools, partnerships, measurement frameworks and incentives can accelerate their transition? How can we reward transparency and progress, even when the journey is imperfect?

From Policing to Partnering

We believe in systems change. That means working with companies—not against them—to co-create solutions that are sustainable, inclusive, and commercially viable. It means recognising that transformation is a process, not a switch. And it means celebrating progress, not just perfection.

In Peru, our partnership with Nexa Resources focused on building sustainable, non-mining livelihoods in the Cerro de Pasco region. Under the Legado Positivo Pasco program, our team worked with local institutions to foster entrepreneurship and improve access to finance for small businesses. Two flagship initiatives highlight this effort: an entrepreneurship incubator at the regional university (UNDAC) and a small business financing fund with microfinance bank Caja Huancayo, both anchored by real data and strong partnerships.

The results? Tangible. The UNDAC incubator successfully jump-started new enterprises with mentorship and seed funding. This body now runs independently, with local leadership at the university level. Over the course of about two and a half years, the Caja Huancayo fund unlocked capital for over 30 local, small businesses and actually grew in value over time, given repayment rates were almost at 100%. These efforts, involving partners UNDAC, UTEC Ventures, and Caja Huancayo, are leaving a “legado positivo”– a positive legacy – of empowered entrepreneurs, strengthened local institutions, and a more resilient, diversified regional economy that moves mining out of the center.

Similarly, in Madagascar, we partnered with a mining company to identify investable opportunities and co-design a CSR fund that shares decision making power with the regional government. Through a participatory economic opportunity assessment, we engaged over 60 stakeholders to prioritise high-potential value chains in export agriculture, domestic agriculture, and the blue economy. This effort culminated in the development of three implementation-ready project profiles, each supported by market analysis, theories of change, and strategic co-investment pathways.

The fund is mobilising capital into non-mining livelihoods and infrastructure, addressing socio-economic and environmental vulnerabilities in the region. Ultimately the project reflects a broader commitment to inclusive growth, resilience-building, and sustainable development.

What we know is that change is possible and the conversations are evolving, so let’s stop swinging the bat. Let’s start building the bridge.