The report examines how traceability can support responsible critical mineral supply chains. It outlines policy drivers, system components, costs and limitations, and mineral-specific challenges, concluding that well-designed traceability can enhance due diligence, transparency and supply security when proportionate and risk-based.

This investor briefing outlines sustainability risks and opportunities across the lithium-ion battery value chain. It examines mineral extraction, processing, manufacturing and end-of-life impacts, highlights supply-chain concentration and ESG risks, and provides guidance on disclosure, engagement, circularity and responsible investment strategies.

Global Investor Commission on Mining 2030 is a collaborative, investor-led initiative defining a vision for a socially and environmentally responsible mining sector by 2030. It develops consensus on the role of finance, publishes strategic reports and recommendations, and engages stakeholders to address systemic mining risks and support sustainable investment and governance.

This month’s sustainable finance roundup traces the shift from ambition to enforcement, as climate and nature risks become financial, regulatory and legal realities. It covers Australia’s environmental law reforms, the embedding of climate and nature risk through prudential supervision, disclosure and shareholder pressure, and insurer warnings on the limits of insurability. It also highlights how markets are responding to deforestation and biodiversity risk, and how litigation and regulation are reshaping governance and long-term financial resilience.

The study finds that deep-sea mining disturbance leaves long-lasting physical impacts, with partial biological recovery after 44 years. Some mobile and sessile fauna have re-established, but communities remain altered. Plume effects are limited, yet track disturbance persists, indicating slow ecosystem recovery and informing future management.

The report analyses how critical minerals sourced in the Uyghur Region—titanium, lithium, beryllium and magnesium—are linked to state-imposed forced labour. It identifies companies involved, downstream exposure risks, and implications for global supply chains, underscoring the need for stronger due diligence and avoidance of forced-labour-tainted inputs.

This article explores the growing interest in deep-sea mining as a source of critical minerals for clean technologies, detailing how it works, its potential economic benefits, and the significant ecological and governance risks it poses. It also examines ongoing international regulatory disputes and alternative solutions such as recycling and circular mineral economies.

The study assesses the impact of industrial mining on African great apes, revealing that up to one-third of the population about 180,000 individuals faces direct or indirect mining-related threats. West Africa is most affected, with limited habitat protection and minimal survey data, underscoring urgent needs for transparent environmental monitoring.

This month’s sustainability roundup covers Australia’s new 2035 emissions target, ASIC’s final climate disclosure guidance, and Fortescue’s revised transition plan. It also examines global developments, from ISSB reporting updates and TNFD nature disclosures to Woodside’s gas extension, rising physical climate risks, and evolving ESG policy debates shaping corporate and investor responses.

International Resource Panel (IRP) is a science-policy platform established by United Nations Environment Programme in 2007. It produces peer-reviewed assessments and data such as the Global Material Flows Database to guide governments, industry and civil society on resource efficiency, sustainable use, circular economy and environmental impact.

Life Cycle Initiative stewards global standards, tools and training for life-cycle assessment (LCA) and life-cycle thinking. It supports practitioners, policymakers and industry in applying LCA across plastics, textiles, tourism and construction. The initiative develops data networks, e-learning modules and hotspot analysis frameworks to advance sustainable decision making.

This report from the Asia Investor Group on Climate Change analyses place-based just transition policies in India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Japan. It outlines market-specific policy baselines, labour and social dynamics, financing needs and case studies, providing investors and policymakers with insights into ensuring equitable low-carbon transitions in Asia.

The Environmental Hotspots tool by UNEP offers an interactive map of high-risk ecological zones worldwide, allowing users to explore environmental pressures across sectors (e.g. ecosystems, resource extraction).

German Mineral Resources Agency (DERA) is Germany’s national information and consultancy platform on mineral raw materials, hosted within the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR).
DERA analyses global commodity markets, assesses supply-chain risks, and advises industry and government on raw material strategy and sustainable sourcing.

MapX is an open-source, cloud-based geospatial platform for visualising, analysing and managing environmental data. Developed by UNEP/GRID-Geneva, it supports decision-making in biodiversity, climate, land use and disaster risk, through map views, dashboards and storytelling tools.

This tool provides interactive visualisations and tabular data of country-level trade flows in raw materials (imports, exports, trends). It enables comparisons across years, commodities and nations, and cites metadata and definitions.