Sustainability

We refer often to Onn & Woodley who in a research paper from 2014, reported 70 different definitions for “sustainability” and more than 100 for “sustainable development” each with varying levels of complexity and sometimes used interchangeably. In their study they focused on 11 definitions of sustainability in the context of mining, subdivided into three groups. The first is perpetual sustainability, which in a mining context focuses on shareholder benefits and the continuation of the business itself. The second is transferable sustainability, which looks more to the stakeholders outside of the business, with the third going further still, to the broader intergenerational environment and termed transitional sustainability.

Swiss Sustainable Finance defines ESG as follows: “ESG stands for Environmental (e.g. energy consumption, water usage), Social (e.g. talent attraction, supply chain management) and Governance (e.g. remuneration policies, board governance). ESG factors form the basis for the different sustainable investing approaches.”

Swiss Sustainable Finance also has an online glossary of terms related to sustainable finance and sustainable investments, which can be found under this link: https://www.sustainablefinance.ch/en/resources/what-sustainable-finance/glossary.html

The European Commission provides the following information in their Sepetmber 2020 report: “Those raw materials that are most important economically and have a high supply risk are called critical raw materials. Critical raw materials are essential to the functioning and integrity of a wide range of industrial ecosystems. Tungsten makes phones vibrate. Gallium and indium are part of light-emitting diode (LED) technology in lamps. Semiconductors need silicon metal. Hydrogen fuel cells and electrolysers need platinum group metals.”

The European Comission writes: “Raw materials are crucial to Europe’s economy. They form a strong industrial base, producing a broad range of goods and applications used in everyday life and modern technologies. Reliable and unhindered access to certain raw materials is a growing concern within the EU and across the globe. To address this challenge, the European Commission has created a list of critical raw materials (CRMs) for the EU, which is subject to a regular review and update.”

Economic importance to the EU as well as supply risk are the two main parameters used to determine criticality.

The 2023 EU list contains 34 materials, published in Annex II of the Regulation proposal COM (2023). In 2011, 14 were reported, 20 materials in 2014, 27 materials in 2017, and 30 materials in 2020.

Aluminium/Bauxite, Coking Coal, Lithium, Phosphorus, Antimony, Feldspar, Light rare earth elements, Scandium, Arsenic, Fluorspar, Magnesium, Silicon metal, Baryte, Gallium, Manganese, Strontium, Beryllium, Germanium, Natural Graphite, Tantalum, Bismuth, Hafnium, Niobium, Titanium metal, Boron/Borate, Helium, Platinum group metals, Tungsten, Cobalt, Heavy rare earth elements, Phosphate Rock, Vanadium, Copper, Nickel

The United Nations Develpment Programme (UNDP) website defines the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. They were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015.

17.

1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts*
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

The sustainability-related disclosures can be found on the fund administrator’s website using this link.