Andrew Britton
CEO Kumi Consulting
Andrew is the founder and CEO of Kumi, a specialist advisory firm that focuses on responsible supply chains and human rights due diligence. Kumi works extensively with the mining sector in Africa, helping companies to identify and manage human rights risks, prepare for compliance with responsible mining standards, strengthen social performance, and delivering social and environmental due diligence on mining operations on behalf of customers and investors. Under Andrew’s leadership, Kumi has become established as a leading authority on due diligence requirements in EU regulations, with Kumi authoring the Due Diligence Implementation Guidelines for the EU Batteries Regulation and being retained as the compliance assessor for the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation.
2025 Agenda Sessions
Is achieving the social license to operate enough to future proof African mining?
- Are community development efforts as impactful as they could be?
- How do we go deeper than social license?
- Is social license to operate the biggest risk to critical minerals mining?
- How do you close the gap between what the mineral will be used for and the impact on the ground?
Tuesday 04 February 14:00 - 15:00 CTICC1
Sustainability Series
- Are community development efforts as impactful as they could be?
- How do we go deeper than social license?
- Is social license to operate the biggest risk to critical minerals mining?
- How do you close the gap between what the mineral will be used for and the impact on the ground?
Workshop 5 – Delivering effective net zero and just energy transition strategies
Do responsible mining standards really drive positive outcomes for mining in Africa?
There has been a significant growth in the adoption by mining companies of responsible mining standards, such as Copper Mark, IRMA and others. Demand from downstream end-users, is often a key factor driving uptake. However, do such standards provide genuine benefits to local communities and governments in producing countries? Or are the only real beneficiaries the downstream end-users who get to provide easy answers to questions about their responsible sourcing strategies?
Working Group Sessions
- The mining company perspective: Where does the pressure to adopt such standards come from, and what influence does that have on management decision-making? – What are the implications in terms of costs/disruption to the business? – What tangible benefits are seen from achieving certification?
- The community/civil society perspective: Do standards enhance or distract from companies’ engagement and work with local communities? – Does the interest of downstream end-users in mining standards create benefits that materialise at a community level?
- The government perspective: Is the imposition of external standards on miners by international buyers empowering or disempowering for national governments and regulators? – Are there opportunities to align the interests of producing countries with international markets through the use such standards?
- The Downstream perspective: How do downstream buyers, whether automotive or electronic, interplay with the vast array of standards and regulators, and how does Africa get the best from this relationship.
Tuesday 04 February 15:30 - 17:00 CTICC2
Interactive Workshops
Do responsible mining standards really drive positive outcomes for mining in Africa?
There has been a significant growth in the adoption by mining companies of responsible mining standards, such as Copper Mark, IRMA and others. Demand from downstream end-users, is often a key factor driving uptake. However, do such standards provide genuine benefits to local communities and governments in producing countries? Or are the only real beneficiaries the downstream end-users who get to provide easy answers to questions about their responsible sourcing strategies?
Working Group Sessions
- The mining company perspective: Where does the pressure to adopt such standards come from, and what influence does that have on management decision-making? – What are the implications in terms of costs/disruption to the business? – What tangible benefits are seen from achieving certification?
- The community/civil society perspective: Do standards enhance or distract from companies’ engagement and work with local communities? – Does the interest of downstream end-users in mining standards create benefits that materialise at a community level?
- The government perspective: Is the imposition of external standards on miners by international buyers empowering or disempowering for national governments and regulators? – Are there opportunities to align the interests of producing countries with international markets through the use such standards?
- The Downstream perspective: How do downstream buyers, whether automotive or electronic, interplay with the vast array of standards and regulators, and how does Africa get the best from this relationship.
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