Towards a Sustainable Development Licence to Operate for the extractive sector: Consultation paper from the International Resource Panel Working Group on mineral resource governance for sustainable development

Abstract

Mineral resources are a foundation of social and economic development. The 17 Goals and 169 Targets in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognise the importance of these resources, and depend on infrastructure and technologies that use them in vast quantities. Mineral resources present major governance challenges for many countries, in particular for developing countries. The governance architecture of the extractive sector currently suffers from a range of well-documented shortcomings, which undermine its ability to deliver social, economic, environmental and governance benefits. This consultation paper introduces—and seeks feedback concerning—the International Resource Panel's efforts to formulate a new multi-level governance framework for the extractive sector, entitled the Sustainable Development Licence to Operate or SDLO. The SDLO builds on the achievements of the social licence to operate, and is not intended to function as a licence in the regulatory sense. It will instead set out clear principles, policy options and best practice that are intended to function as a common reference point, enabling all public, private and other relevant actors in the extractive sector to make decisions compatible with the 2030 Agenda's vision of sustainable development