#4 Mineral Value Chains - bad image, great potentials

06/28/21 • 32 min

New Potentials for Driving Sustainability in Mineral Value Chains

Mining often happens under poor working conditions, the transport of raw materials is energy intensive and the recycling of used minerals is yet often not profitable and sometimes illudes todays state of the art. In this podcast we want to ask. How is it possible that mineral supply chains can become more sustainable? Are voluntary goals of the industry enough or do they need stronger legislative guidelines?

Moderator Nicolas Martin is welcoming three guests. Christina Saulich and Svenja Schöneich - two global value chain experts at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) and Jean-Pierre Imbrogiano, a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Economics and Management at the University of Helsinki.

https://www.swp-berlin.org/en/swp/about-us/organization/swp-projects/transnational-governance-of-sustainable-commodity-supply-chains

https://www.swp-berlin.org/publikation/due-diligence-act-responsibility-in-supply-chains

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1086026619897532

https://www.swp-berlin.org/wissenschaftler-in/christina-saulich

https://www.swp-berlin.org/wissenschaftler-in/svenja-schoeneich

https://researchportal.helsinki.fi/en/persons/jean-pierre-imbrogiano

New Potentials for Driving Sustainability in Mineral Value Chains

https://www.swp-berlin.org/en/swp/about-us/organization/swp-projects/transnational-governance-of-sustainable-commodity-supply-chains

https://www.swp-berlin.org/publikation/due-diligence-act-responsibility-in-supply-chains

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1086026619897532

https://www.swp-berlin.org/wissenschaftler-in/christina-saulich

https://www.swp-berlin.org/wissenschaftler-in/svenja-schoeneich

https://researchportal.helsinki.fi/en/persons/jean-pierre-imbrogiano

Previous Episode

#3 Myths of African food supply chains

Revisiting what we know about African food supply chains

In the last two episodes, we looked at models and policy frameworks for supply chains. Going forward we will dive into different supply chains in different regions. Today, we look at food supply chains in Africa. Food plays - like everywhere else on this planet - a big role on the African continent. Partly because it's still scarce in many places. Hunger is still the biggest health risk in Africa. But partly also because the middle class is growing rapidly and people are eating more and more diversified.

Listen to moderator Nicolas Martin and our guest Dr. Saweda Onipede Liverpool Tasie from the Michigan State University in the US. There she is an Associate Professor at the Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics and an expert on development policies.

https://www.canr.msu.edu/people/liverpool_tasie

https://youtu.be/ObdufFyXMlc

Next Episode

#5 Due diligence regulations in supply chains

Well intentioned, but also a risk for sustainability?

Many European countries have passed due diligence laws. They are supposed to tackle human rights violations - like child labor, or poor working conditions - along the entire supply chain. The European Union is also working on such a law which will also focus on environmental risks in supply chains.

But the new legislation also carries risks. This is what we want to highlight in this episode. We want to focus on the agricultural sector and specifically on smallholder farmers which present particular situations with regards to such regulation with our special focus on the agricultural sector.

Listen to moderator Nicolas Martin and his guest Dr. Bettina Rudloff from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP).

Dr Rudloff specialises in European trade and development issues. And she advises stakeholders who negotiate or are affected by trade agreements, so will bring the bigger picture to our show.

Dr. Michael Bruentrup focuses on the local perspective. He is an agricultural economist and expert on rural development and food security at the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE). He has been doing research on the ground for more than 30 years with a focus on West African cotton producers. But he's also been researching other smallholder farmers and agricultural workers and their labour conditions.

https://www.swp-berlin.org/publikation/sustainable-supply-chains-in-the-agricultural-sector-adding-value-instead-of-just-exporting-raw-ma

https://www.weltohnehunger.org/results-details/labels-customs-tariffs-and-supply-chain-legislation-do-they-benefit-or-harm-smallholders.html

https://www.weltohnehunger.org/details/lieferketten-die-grundidee-der-eu-ist-es-zu-unterst%C3%BCtzen-statt-zu-strafen.html

https://www.die-gdi.de/michael-bruentrup/

https://www.swp-berlin.org/wissenschaftler-in/bettina-rudloff