BMZ High-Level Forum on Mineral Supply Chains

Responsible Mining for the Just Transition

The BMZ is organising a High-Level Forum on Mineral Supply Chains – Responsible Mining for the Just Transition on Thursday, 1 June 2023 at the BMZ in Berlin. The event addresses the geopolitical, social, environmental and governance dimensions of mineral supply chains and highlights the commitment of German Development Cooperation to responsible mining worldwide.  

The Livestream starts on Thursday, 1 June 2023, at 9:30 a.m. (CEST)

Development cooperation plays a pivotal role in supporting partner countries in aligning their local development goals with the requirements for responsible mineral supply chains. The BMZ High-Level Forum will bring together policymakers and representatives from civil society, academia and the private sector from around the world to discuss the challenges and opportunities in shaping responsible and resilient mineral supply chains. The forum will be a hybrid event with 100-150 participants on-site. 

Event Booklet

Agenda

Download the Agenda

Keynote

Federal Minister Svenja Schulze

Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development

Since December 2021, Svenja Schulze is the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development. She first joined the Federal Cabinet when she became Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety in March 2018. She served in that capacity until December 2021. From 2017 to 2018, Svenja Schulze was General Secretary of the North Rhine-Westphalia SPD. Between 2010 and 2017, she served as Minister for Innovation, Science and Research of the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia. In 1997, Svenja Schulze became a member of the parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia for the first time, continuing in that capacity until 2000. From 2000 to 2004, Svenja Schulze worked as a business consultant with a focus on the public sector.From 2004 to 2018, she again was a member of the parliament of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Between 1993 and 1997, Svenja Schulze chaired the SPD youth organisation (Jungsozialisten, Young Socialists) in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. From 1993 to 1997, during and after her university education, she worked as a freelancer in advertising and public relations. In 1988, Svenja Schulze joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).

Svenja Schulze passed her final high school exams in 1988, obtaining her higher education entrance qualification (Abitur). From 1988 to 1996, she attended Bochum University, where she graduated with a Master of Arts degree in German studies and political science in 1996.

Picture: © BPA/Steffen Kugler

Ambassador João Samuel Caholo

International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR)

João Samuel Caholo is the Executive Secretary of ICGLR since 20th November 2020. Before joining the Secretariat, he served in the Angolan Government in various capacities including as Senior Advisor on Diplomacy and International Cooperation at the Angolan Presidency (2018-2020), Senior Advisor in the Ministry of Petroleum (2015-2017) and Deputy Minister of Fisheries (1992- 1999). He has extensive professional working experience with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) having been the Deputy Executive Secretary, Director for Infrastructure and Services; Director Energy, Commission for SADC; Regional Energy Sector Coordinator and Principal Consulting Geologist.

Speaker

Dr. Jürgen Karl Zattler

Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development

Dr. Jürgen Karl Zattler is the Director-General for International development policy and United Nations; 2030 Agenda; social and environmental transformation and climate at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Mr. Zattler is a development and macroeconomist with more than 30 years of experience in international cooperation. Until the end of 2020 he served as World Bank Group Executive Director representing Germany. Prior he had various positions in the BMZ, the European Commission and a private bank. Jürgen Karl Zattler studied economics and political science. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Giessen (trade theory and policy).

Dr. Emmanuel Makumba Mali

International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR)

Dr. Emmanuel Makumba Mali, a Zambian National, born on 12th December 1976, was appointed Director for Democracy and Good Governance of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) in June, 2021. Before joining the Secretariat, he served in the Zambian Government in the office of the President as a Public Policy Specialist. Dr. Mali, is an Economist and Good Governance expert by training with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Zambia. He also holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the Hertie School of Governance in Germany and a Doctor of Philosophy in Governance from the University of Lusaka. He speaks fluent English and has working knowledge of French.

Jesus Rolando Luque Mogrovejo

Peruvian Ombudsman's Office

Jesus Rolando Luque Mogrovejo is a civil servant with 25 years of experience working in the Peruvian State. In 2003, he introduced the topic of prevention, management and transformation of social conflicts in the Peruvian Ombudsman’s Office, and developed it in conceptual and instrumental terms together with a team. Lawyer, Bachelor in Philosophy, Master in International Protection of Human Rights (University of Alcalá de Henares, Spain), with a Master’s degree in Political Science (Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú). He has been Head of the National Office of Dialogue and Sustainability of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. Postgraduate professor at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú and the Centro de Altos Estudios Nacionales.

José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs (tbc)

Executive Secretary Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)”

Mr. José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs was appointed Executive Secretary of ECLAC by the United Nations’ Secretary-General on September 1, 2022. He took office as from October 3, 2022. Previously he served as Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the International Labour Organization (ILO) from 2015-2018. He joined the ILO in 2005 as Executive Director of its Employment Sector and served as Assistant Director General for Policy from 2013 to 2015.
Prior to joining the ILO, he served from 1998 to 2005 as Director of the Trade Unit of the Organization of American States. Mr. Salazar was Minister of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica from 1997 to 1998, Executive President of the Costa Rican Development Corporation from 1988-1990 and Chief Economist and then Executive Director of a Central American private sector think tank (FEDEPRICAP) from 1990-1996. In the academic sphere, he is also the author of numerous journal articles on development, trade, productive transformation, competitiveness and employment policies, and has written and edited several books. He has taught at the University of Costa Rica, the National University of Heredia, Cambridge University and Georgetown University.
He holds a master’s degree in Development Economics and a doctorate in Economics from Cambridge University and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Costa Rica.

Dr. Olumide Abimbola

Africa Policy Research Institute

Dr. Olumide Abimbola is Executive Director of APRI – Africa Policy Research Institute. Prior to APRI, he worked at the CONNEX Support Unit, a GIZ-hosted technical assistance facility supporting governments in negotiation mining agreements. Before CONNEX, he worked at the African Development Bank on trade and regional integration. 

Matthias Baier

DEKSOR, Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR)

Matthias Baier (born 1970) focused on interdisciplinary development cooperation as well as European integration and globalization in his economics studies and later as a research assistant. Today, he has over 25 years of experience in international cooperation as a consultant and project coordinator. From 2009 on, he worked as a project coordinator at the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) for, among others, the certification project for so-called “conflict minerals” in the DR Congo. Since 2019, he has been applying his many years of experience on the design and practical im-plementation of due diligence in mineral supply chains as head of DEKSOR at BGR.

Cécile Billaux

European Commission, DG International Partnerships

Cécile Billaux has been working for the European Commission for more than 15 years, holding various positions in relation to health, climate, development and trade. She is now the Head of Unit E2 in DG INTPA, in charge of Micro-Economic Analysis, Investment Climate, Private Sector, Trade and Employment. Prior to that, Cécile Billaux worked for the Cabinet of Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan and was previously Head of the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Unit in DG TRADE, European Commission. She also worked as Deputy Head of Unit in charge of Agriculture and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) issues in DG TRADE where she contributed to remove barriers to trade for exports of agriculture products in third countries. In addition, Cécile Billaux worked in the Cabinet of the former EU Trade Commissioner Cécilia Malmström in the first half of her mandate, from 2014 to 2017, where she notably covered trade relationships with ACP countries, sustainable development and relations with the European Parliament. She also worked in DG Health and Consumer Protection (DG SANTE) during the first 4 years of her career in the European Commission. Prior to working for the Commission, Cécile Billaux worked in the private sector as a Consultant in public affairs for major international companies, in the Cabinets Hill & Knowlton and Edelman. She is French and studied political sciences. She also holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.  

Rebecca Burton

Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA)

With over a decade of experience in sustainability, corporate responsibility and philanthropy, Rebecca Burton believes there is enormous capacity within the private sector to propel positive change and lead the way in driving responsible business practices. Within IRMA, Rebecca Burton works to bring new constituents in the private sector into IRMA—specifically purchasers of mined materials and investors—by demonstrating the tangible ways their membership, involvement and investment can influence market uptake and ultimately forward more responsible mining practices. She has a BA in Linguistics and International Studies from the University of Utah and a Master’s in Economic and Political Development from Columbia University.

Nsama Chikwanka

Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Zambia

Nsama Chikwanka is the National Coordinator of Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Zambia, part of the global movement for an open and accountable extractive industry. PWYP Zambia supports communities affected by mining, and is a coalition of more than 50 civil society organisations from all the country’s regions. He’s a development worker specialised in CSO movement building, development policy, research, advocacy, and entrepreneurship development.

Aidan Davy

International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM)

As COO, Aidan Davy is responsible for strategy development and implementation, and provides strategic support across all ICMM’s programmatic work on environmental resilience, social performance, mineral resource governance and innovation. He led the work to develop ICMM’s Mining Principles – which define good practice environmental, social and governance requirements for the mining and metals industry – and is responsible for ICMM’s work on mining standards, sustainability reporting, tailings management, and policy engagement. Aidan Davy has 35 years of cross-sectoral experience on sustainable development issues, working with a range of private, multi-lateral and not-for-profit organizations, including the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation in Washington DC.

María Laura Castillo Díaz

Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales

María Laura Castillo Díaz coordinates the High Andean Programme of the Environmental Policy area at the Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (FARN) Argentina, where she works for the defence of the high Andean wetlands affected by lithium mining and the rights of the indigenous communities who inhabit them. She has experience in the public sector, the private sector and other civil society organisations. María Laura Castillo Díaz is a lawyer (University of Buenos Aires). Prior she was a Master’s candidate in Environmental Management at the Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires, had a scholarship from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Young Leaders Programme, 2013) and worked as a former assistant professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Buenos Aires. 

Jonathan Dunn

Anglo American

Jonathan Dunn has responsibility for Group public policy positioning and advocacy on climate change, leads on UK Government Relations, provides Government Relations support to Anglo American’s operations to Brazil, and strategic stakeholder management for the Group’s Executive Committee. Prior to joining Anglo American in 2018, Jonathan Dunn served as a British diplomat for 21 years, during which time he spent four years in Hanoi, Vietnam and eight years in Brazil. His time in Rio coincided with the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games and Jonathan Dunn led the UK Government’s work on the Games, receiving an OBE from HM Queen Elizabeth II for this work. Jonathan Dunn holds a batchelors degree in geography from the University of Sheffield and is based in London. 

Suneeta Kaimal

Natural Resource Governance Institute

Suneeta Kaimal became NRGI’s president and chief executive officer in February 2021, having formerly served as its deputy director, chief operating officer, and interim president and CEO. She is an envoy for the Open Government Partnership (OGP), having served as OGP’s first female civil society chair and on its steering committee. Suneeta Kaimal was the founding chair of the global council of Publish What You Pay and the vice-chair of the board of directors of the International Center for Not-For-Profit Law.

Benjamin Katz

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Benjamin Katz leads the OECD’s work on responsible mineral supply chains, having worked on natural resource governance for the past decade. In his current role, the team oversees implementation of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains. To promote effective implementation, the OECD works with policymakers, the private sector, and civil society to foster responsible investment in high-risk areas, and alignment of initiatives on the risk-based approach of the Guidance, increasingly in a broader set of commodities like transition minerals. Prior to the OECD, Benjamin Katz worked on field projects on due diligence and formalisation of small-scale mining. 

Franziska Killiches

Volkswagen Group/Brand

Franziska Killiches is leading the Volkswagen Group’s activities on responsible raw material sourcing. She is heading the raw materials and environment team of the sustainablity management procurement department of the Volkswagen Group/Brand. Before joining Volkswagen she was working as an advisor for the German Government on topics of human rights, anti-corruption and sustainability in the extractive and commodity sector.

Jan Kosmol

German Environment Agency (UBA)

Jan Kosmol has been a research and policy officer at the German Environment Agency (UBA) since 2009. He works on environmental aspects of responsible business conduct in global mineral supply chains and more broadly on a circular economy. He provides science-based policy advice to the German government and contributes to the design and implementation of government strategies such as the German Raw Materials Strategy. In this role, he developed an initiative of the German Environment Ministry towards an OECD Handbook on Environmental Due Diligence in Mineral Supply Chains. Jan holds a Diploma degree in Environmental Engineering from the Technical University of Berlin. He has studied abroad at the Universidade de Aveiro in Portugal and the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco in Brazil.

Ellen Lenny-Pessagno

Albermarle Corporation

Ellen Lenny-Pessagno is Global Vice President for External Affairs and Sustainability for Albemarle (ALB), one the largest lithium producers globally. As a member of the Energy Storage Leadership Team, Ellen Lenny-Pessagno and her colleagues developed and are leading the execution of the 10-year energy storage growth strategy. Prior to this role, Ellen was Global VP Lithium Sustainability and Country Manager Chile.  Ellen Lenny-Pessagno led ALB to become the first lithium company to begin its third-party audit with the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) standard in its mine site in Chile. Ellen Lenny-Pessagno is a frequent speaker in the most important forums related to lithium, sustainability and community dialogue. Ellen Lenny-Pessagno served as a career diplomat for the United States for more than 25 years.

Dr. Melanie Müller

Institute for International and Security Affairs

Dr. Melanie Müller is a Senior Associate with a focus on South Africa/Southern Africa at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, SWP). She also heads a research project investigating transnational governance approaches for sustainable commodity supply chains and co-heads the Research Network Sustainable Supply Chains, both funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Dr. Melanie Müller has published extensively on the developments in South Africa/SADC, on resource governance, geopolitics and sustainability in supply chains, and on European-African relations. Before joining SWP, she worked as a research associate and lecturer at Free University of Berlin and as an advisor for public and private actors. Picture: © David Baltzer

Inga Petersen

Global Battery Alliance

Inga Petersen is a seasoned international affairs and sustainability professional with over twelve years’ experience in natural resource management, governance, and transparency. Prior to joining the Global Battery Alliance as Executive Director in 2022, Inga Petersen acted as Senior Extractives Adviser to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Previously, she worked as senior manager in the Extractive Industries team of the global advisory firm Adam Smith International, engaging directly with governments and donors, designing and managing extractive industries governance projects across Africa. She subsequently worked with global business leaders and policy makers at the World Economic Forum to lead the mining and metals sector’s transition to a sustainable world.

Greg Radford

Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF)

Greg Radford is the Director of the IGF and has overall strategic and operational responsibility for the Secretariat and for the execution of the IGF mission. The IGF supports more than 80 member countries in advancing their sustainable development goals through effective laws, policies, and regulations for the mining sector. Greg Radford manages all Secretariat activities and is a member of the Executive Committee. Greg Radford holds a M.Sc. degree in Environmental Management and has more than 30 years of experience in over 50 countries. His senior management experience includes the private, public and NGO sectors. He has held executive management positions at several international organizations, including as Director of the Environmental, Social, and Governance Department at the International Finance Corporation and President of the International Association for Impact Assessment. 

Dr. Mark Robinson

Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)

Dr. Mark Robinson is Executive Director of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), bringing together governments, companies, and civil society organizations to promote governance reforms in oil, gas and mining. Dr. Mark Robinson serves as Board Secretary and is responsible for managing the International Secretariat, fundraising and financial management, and oversight of implementation in EITI’s 57 member countries. Dr. Mark Robinson has over 30 years’ experience in governance, extractives, climate and international development, and a career spanning the worlds of policy, operations, research and philanthropy.

Dr. Miriam Saage-Maaß

European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR)

Dr. Miriam Saage-Maaß is a qualified lawyer and Legal Director at ECCHR, where she had built up the Business and Human Rights Program. Furthermore, she is engaged in criminal proceedings against high-ranking managers for their involvement in international crimes. She regularly publishes articles on the subject of legal liability of corporations regarding human rights violations in the global supply chain, and is internationally consulted as an expert on the topic of corporate responsibility and human rights. In 2016, the Vereinigung Demokratischer Juristinnen und Juristen – VDJ in Germany awarded Dr. Miriam Saage-Maaß and ECCHR’s General Secretary with the Hans Litten Prize. Since 2018 she is furthermore a member of the Advisory Board of the Bonavero Human Rights Institute, Oxford.

Busisipho Siyobi

Good Governance Africa

A public policy researcher with a focus on Southern Africa’s mineral resources governance and management. Her research expertise includes Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) integration and corporate social responsibility initiatives that promote sustainability and social inclusion for mining-host communities. Busisipho Siyobi holds an MPhil in Public Policy and Administration from the University of Cape Town with a research focus on Corporate Social Responsibility within the South African mining industry. During her Masters, she worked under the Governance of Africa Resources Programme as a research scholar at the South African Institute of International Affairs.

Prior to joining GGA, Busisipho Siyobi led a research team for the Corporate Intelligence Monitor Desk at S-RM Intelligence and Risk Management consultancy, where she was responsible for overseeing the delivery of due diligence monitoring products and services to various clients. She specialised in conducting high level due diligence and corporate investigations focused on oil and gas and mining industries. At GGA, she has conceptualised and led on research campaigns focused on implications of the Resource Curse in Southern Africa, and the role of mining codes that aim to promote transparency and accountability in the extractives industries.

Marie-Christine von Hahn

Aurubis AG

Marie-Christine von Hahn is Vice President Corporate External Affairs of Aurubis AG, multimetal producer and one of the largest copper recyclers worldwide. The company with headquarter in Hamburg and six smelters in Europe is currently building the first multimetal recycling plant in the State of Georgia, USA. Marie-Christine von Hahn is responsible for the group’s advocacy, its political positioning and strategy. Until 2015, she was deputy representative of German oil and gas producer Wintershall in Berlin. Before that, she worked as a research assistant to a member of the Bundestag. She studied Hispanic, English and American Studies in Potsdam, Berlin and Barcelona.

Alejandra Wood

Center for Copper and Mining Studies (CESCO)

Alejandra Wood is a member of the Center for Copper and Mining Studies (CESCO). She is a history graduate with more than two decades of experience in the copper mining industry in positions in Chile and internationally. She is also a non-executive director at Codelco, the biggest copper producer in the world, chairing the Sustainability Committee. At CESCO, she was responsible for the coordination a group of experts from the public, private and academic sectors to propose a strategy to position Chile as the first” green copper” producer in the world. She was a director for The Copper Mark, an assurance system for responsible sourcing of copper. She also worked for BHP as External Affairs Manager, being responsible for its copper operations in the country and overseas.

Yimin Yi

Global Witness (GW)

Yimin Yi is the interim Campaign Strategy Lead of Natural Resources Governance at Global Witness (GW), leading a campaign focusing on critical mineral and just energy transition. Prior to this role, Yimin Yi was leading the China Programme at GW, has rich experience of engaging with various Chinese actors, including relevant government offices, thinktanks, industrial bodies, media and CSOs, especially in the mining and forest sectors. Prior to Global Witness, Yimin Yi worked with Moving Mountains, an NGO focusing on the impacts of economic growth in developing countries like Mozambique and Myanmar. Previous to this, she was the head of the Communication and Public Relationship Department at Friends of Nature, a Chinese local environmental NGO.

Moderation

Conny Czymoch

International Moderator

Conny Czymoch is an experienced international moderator, presenter, facilitator and  media coach, who is passionate about gathering and communicating on solutions for the future of humanity and life on this planet.  

Her core topics comprise sustainability, climate action, biodiversity preservation, reaching the global goals, resource efficiency, food and agriculture, transport and mobility, development cooperation, the labour market, international supply chains, corporate responsibility, human rights and human trafficking.  

With her longstanding journalistic career in print, radio and TV, Conny Czymoch today moderates international conferences, live on stage or virtually, in English and/or in German.  

Regular customers include the majority of German Federal Ministries, ILO, OECD, UN, World Bank, EU Commission and DGs, foundations and think tanks, NGOs, as well as business organisations.  

Conny Czymoch has also been a media and presentation coach for the last 25 years.  

Juliane Kippenberg

Human Rights Watch

Juliane Kippenberg is associate director in the Children’s Rights Division of Human Rights Watch and an expert on global supply chains. Since 2011, she has conducted investigations and published reports on child labor, children’s environmental health, and other human rights abuses in mining and mineral supply chains, including in Ghana, Mali, Tanzania, Zambia, and the Philippines, and advocated for more robust rights protections in mining and in global supply chains. She is the author of many reports and articles on the human rights responsibilities of companies in mining and mineral supply chains, including “Sparkling Jewels, Opaque Supply Chains” (2020) and recent publications on an Ethiopian gold mine and due diligence legislation. 

Liz McGrath

Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI)

Liz McGrath is the Managing Director of NRGI, responsible for organizational effectiveness to increase impact and advance NRGI’s mission. Liz McGrath previously served as NRGI’s Research, Data and Learning Director and was responsible for fostering the organization’s research agenda and supporting the effective translation of resource governance knowledge into policy reform. Before joining NRGI in 2016 she served as the Director of the Ibrahim Index of African Governance at the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, and prior to that worked for national human rights organizations in Colombia, Nigeria and the U.K..  

Dr. Sven Renner

World Bank

Dr. Sven Renner has been with the World Bank for 5 years. Prior to that he held various positions in German development cooperation and was, among others, in charge of designing the federal policy in raw materials. Between 1996 and 2009 he managed the bureaus of the German Cooperation in the mining sector in Chile and Bolivia. He initiated his career in the mining industry in 1986 as an exploration geologist in the Pijiguaos bauxite deposit in Venezuela. Dr. Sven Renner is a geologist by training, holds a PhD from the Tübingen University. Since 2017 he is honorary lecturer at the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law (CEPMLP), University of Dundee.

Side Event “Implementing Responsible Mining for the Just Transition”

In the run-up to the High-Level Forum, the Sector Programme “Extractives and Development”, which is jointly implemented by the BGR and GIZ, is organising the working-level side event “Implementing Responsible Mining for the Just Transition” on Wednesday, 31 May 2023 at GIZ’s Berlin Representation and online.  

The event will bring together policymakers, practitioners, and academics to share and discuss experiences on project activities, research, and innovative instruments that contribute to responsible mineral supply chains. The event will complement the BMZ High-Level Forum by providing space for a more in-depth discussion.   

Different sessions of the side event will explore fields of action towards responsible mining for the just transition. From a practical perspective, the event will discuss topics like ESG-performance and assessment along supply chains, collaborative action and partnerships, benefit sharing in the mining sector as well as digitalisation and gender equality as cross-cutting themes in the mining sector. 

To the Side Event

Links

BMZ Extractives and Development Website
LinkedIn