Industry/Multi-stakeholder Initiatives - including certification
A selected list of industry and multistakeholder sustainability initiatives is outlined below, some of which include standards and certification. The list is not exhaustive.
Some initiatives are members of the ISEAL Alliance. ISEAL defines the core values and practices of credible and effective sustainability systems through the ISEAL Credibility Principles and ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Sustainability Systems. Organisations listed below with an asterisk have applied and been approved as ISEAL Code Compliant, as of September 2026.
Mining and Metals
- *Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance: IRMA is a multistakeholder initiative offering independent assessment against a comprehensive sustainability standard for all mined materials.
- Copper Mark: The Copper Mark was initiated by the International Copper Association (ICA),and is built on a genuine commitment from the copper industry to ensure responsible production practices.
- International Council on Mining and Metals Principles: ICMM’s Mining Principles defines the good practice environmental, social and governance requirements of company members through a comprehensive set of performance expectations and related position statements.
- The ICMM was a co-convener of the Global Tailings Management Institute (GTMI) set up to oversee the implementation of and conformance with the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM).
- Towards Sustainable Mining: The Mining Association of Canada’s Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) standard is a sustainability programme that supports mining companies in managing environmental and social risks.
- Consolidated Mining Standard Initiative (CMSI) CopperMark, the ICMM, TSM and the World Gold Council are combining and evolving their standards and principles into a single global standard to reduce complexity and clarify responsible practices for mining companies of all sizes, across all locations and commodities.
- Aluminium Stewardship Initiative: This organisation aims to set standards, as well as an assurance and certification system, for the responsible production and sourcing of aluminium.
- RMI, which is run by the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) aims to support responsible mineral sourcing. It convenes stakeholders to shape dialogue and practices. RMI has developed tools such as the Conflict Minerals Reporting Template and participates in the Joint Due Diligence Standard (below).
- The Joint Due Diligence Standard is a collaboration between The Copper Mark, the International Lead Association (ILA), the International Molybdenum Association (IMOA), the International Zinc Association (IZA), the Nickel Institute and the Responsible Minerals Initiative (RMI) which enable companies to comply with the London Metal Exchange (LME) Responsible Sourcing requirements. The standard and implementation have undergone a third-party alignment assessment of industry programmes with the OECD Minerals Guidance and found to be "fully meets." A list of mine-sites which have completed a stand-alone assessment against the standard is available.
- Global Battery Alliance (GBA): GBA members collaborate on key initiatives related to ensuring a sustainable and responsible battery value chain. The GBA Battery Passport is a global sustainability reporting and certification scheme for batteries. Aiming for launch in 2027, it makes battery supply chains more visible, traceable, accountable and comparable.
- International Tin Supply Chain Initiative (ITSCI): ITSCI works to achieve avoidance of conflict financing, human rights abuses, or other risks such as bribery in mineral supply chains focussed on tin, tantalum and tungsten (3T) in the Great Lakes area, with standards aligned to the OECD Minerals Guidance.
- Responsible Commodities Sourcing Initiative (RECOSI): RECOSI is a membership organisation working with members and suppliers to raise social and environmental standards in global energy supply chains. It includes RECOSI Gas, designed to bring collaboration and continuous improvement to global gas supply chains, and BetterCoal focussed on building a global responsible coal supply chain.
- Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative: EITI is a multistakeholder initiative involving companies, governments and civil society organisations that seeks to promote understanding of natural resource management and accountability in the extractive sector by surfacing the data to inform policymaking and multi-stakeholder dialogue. The 2023 EITI Standard requires governments, state-owned enterprises or third parties appointed by the state to disclose the revenues collected from the sale of oil, gas and minerals, as well as the volumes sold broken down by buying company (EITI Requirements 3.3 and 4.2). In 2020 EITI issued guidelines on disclosure for companies - including commodity traders - that buy oil gas and minerals from states, and state-owned enterprises.
- Concrete Sustainability Council: CSC is an independent, multi-stakeholder organization that advances responsible sourcing and production across the concrete value chain, including through a certification system to assess sustainability performance, from cement producers and aggregate suppliers to ready mixed and precast concrete manufacturers.
Agricultural Commodities
- Better Cotton Initiative: a non-profit, multistakeholder governance group that promotes better standards in cotton farming and practices across 21 countries.
- *Bonsucro: Focusses on the sugarcane supply chain including products and derivatives – sugar, ethanol, molasses, and bagasse. Offers certification standards for production, and trading/chain of custody.
- Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil: RSPO brings together stakeholders from the seven sectors of the palm oil industry: oil palm producers, processors or traders, consumer goods manufacturers, retailers, banks/investors, and environmental and social NGOs, to develop and implement global standards for sustainable palm oil.
- Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS) promotes production, trade, and use of responsible soy through dialogue and standards/certification. These standards also apply to corn.
- *Trustea Sustainable Tea Foundation: an Indian sustainability code and verification system for the tea sector that endeavours bringing sustainability to environment, welfare to communities, quality and health safety to consumers.
- Global Coffee Platform: a multistakeholder initiative advancing coffee sustainability through collective action across the entire value chain to tackle shared challenges. It includes 10 country platforms.
- 4C System: an independent, stakeholder-driven certification system for coffee and cocoa, which emerged from the 4C Association and Common Code for the Coffee Community.
- World Cocoa Foundation: a membership organization representing the global cocoa and chocolate sector which undertakes sustainability initiatives. The membership includes farmer cooperatives, cocoa processors, cocoa traders, chocolate manufacturers, supply chain companies and other companies worldwide. It undertakes various sustainability initiatives.
- *Forest Stewardship Council: FSC is a certification system that provides internationally recognised standard-setting, trademark assurance and accreditation to companies, organisations, and communities interested in responsible forestry.
- Sustainable Forestry Initiative: SFI works to advance sustainability in the forest sector and offers a range of standards for certification.
- *Rainforest Alliance: certifies sustainable production of tropical products including bananas, cocoa, coffee, tea, flowers, fruit, herbs and spices, nuts, palm oil and coconut oil.
- *Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials: The RSB is a global multistakeholder organisation provides a certification against RSB Principles & Criteria for producers of fuel, biomass and material products from bio-based and recycled carbon – including fossil waste.
- *Fairtrade International: provides sustainability certification for crops and gold, with a focus on fair prices and decent working conditions.
- Ethical Trade Initiative: a multistakeholder initiative focused on addressing human rights impacts in supply chains, including agriculture.