Mining and processing metals and minerals causes enormous environmental and human rights problems. While the risks and problems of extracting raw materials often occur in the countries of the Global South, the majority of products and profits flow to the Global North. We are putting the issue of raw materials on the political agenda beyond the industrial discourse on ‘security of supply’. Here you can get an insight into our work on raw materials policy.
Focus of our work
Our mission in raw materials policy
We are committed to an Reversal of raw materials. By this we mean a globally and socially just and sustainable raw materials policy. To this end, we focus on the ecological and social challenges of mining and increasingly on further processing and recycling. trade of raw materials apart. Our goal is the protection of human rights and the environment.
The mining and processing of metals and minerals are often associated with significant environmental destruction and human rights violations, such as the displacement of people, conflicts over water and land use, the destruction of retention basins or the violent crackdown on critics of the extraction of raw materials.
Raw materials are often mined in the global South and in emerging markets. This is where the damage occurs, while most of the products and profits flow to the global North.
Strengthening civil society and its networks
PowerShift has been working on raw materials policy since its inception. We have succeeded in putting the issue of raw materials on the political agenda and making it campaignable beyond the industrial discourse on security of supply. As coordinator of the AK Raw Materials, a network of environmental and human rights organisations, we join forces to make voices of local and international civil society audible at national and international level and to bring about sustainable change. As a network of AK Raw Materials, we closely support German raw materials policy in particular.
At the European level, we are a founding member of the EU Raw Materials Coalition, to represent our positions also in Brussels. Above all, we are working hard to implement the Critical raw material acts.
Analysis and Podcasts
Our detailed analyses and our podcasts Shed light on the complex interrelationships of global raw materials policy. Our studies They are read and taken up by journalists and policy makers. For example, we were one of the first NGOs to comprehensively address the need for raw materials for the Energy transition, mobility or Industry 4.0 as well as its social and ecological consequences have been comprehensively analysed and brought into the debates. We are also committed to ensuring that the Metal consumption in Germany – and we were the first NGO to have this calculated by an environmental institute. In addition, we also have our international colleagues involved in the debate.
Campaigns and political successes
We also participate in successful campaigns, for example for an effective Supply Chain Act, a sustainable EU battery regulation or a turnaround in raw materials. Our successes in political influence show how joint action can bring about change. Through cooperation with local and international Partners We are stepping up our efforts to improve practices in the field of raw material extraction. Together we achieve more.
Dialogues and exchanges
On events We inform multipliers from NGOs, trade unions, business, parties and the media about the urgency of a change in raw materials and enable them to engage competently for a fair raw materials policy.
In the Energy Industry Dialogue, we work together with German energy companies on the deeper supply chain of aluminium components. In close cooperation with civil society and local stakeholders, we are developing remedial measures for human rights violations in bauxite mining in Guinea. We critically monitor our participation and the effectiveness of the format of the sectoral dialogues and have published the paper ‘Five years of sectoral dialogues – A civil society record’ together with all the NGOs involved. In addition, we also enter into a critical dialogue with individual companies (e.g. from the automotive and energy industries) as well as with industry associations. In doing so, we learn more about their business practices and can thus point out potential misdevelopments. Our goal is to work towards future legal regulations, close loopholes and promote sustainable changes in the industry through exchange.
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