Metal Tech News - The Elements of Innovation Discovered

To make it easier for mining companies to demonstrate the economic contributions of their operations to local communities through the purchases of goods and services, Onyen Corp. has added a local procurement mechanism to its ESG (environmental, social, and governance) reporting software.

Spending on goods and services often represents the largest financial flow from a mining project to the local communities and country. In addition to being a major lever for economic and social development for the surrounding communities, the local spending by mining companies plays an enormous role in ensuring their operation gains the social license to operate by their host company and nearby residents.

Tracking and reporting such data, however, can be expensive, difficult, and time-consuming.

To address this issue, Onyen has signed an agreement with Mining Shared Value, a non-profit initiative of Engineers Without Borders Canada, to offer mining companies using its innovative ESG reporting software the ability to report in accordance with the Mining Local Procurement Reporting Mechanism.

"We consistently see mining companies who want to report on vital ESG issues, such as local procurement, but lack the time to aggregate and disclose corporate activities. Onyen provides a great solution for time-strapped sustainability practitioners," said MSV Managing Director Jeff Geipel. "We are thrilled that the Mining LPRM's disclosures are now available as an option for mining companies to include in their Onyen-generated reporting."

Launched at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention in 2021, the Onyen reporting software provides an intuitive and easy-to-use online dashboard that asks pertinent questions related to ESG topics tracked by regulatory bodies – even offering definitions and instructions to assist users not deeply familiar with ESG terms and standards.

The Mining Local Procurement Reporting Mechanism standards will now be included in the Onyen solution, which already has ESG reporting standards from the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, World Economic Forum, Task-Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures, Global Reporting Initiative, the World Gold Council's Responsible Gold Mining Principles, and the Mining Association of Canada's Towards Sustainable Mining Framework, and others.

"As most global standards focus on different sustainability aspects, we are excited to integrate the LPRM protocols into our ESG reporting system, as it addresses an important and not fully covered sustainability factor," said Onyen CEO Laurie Clark.

Onyen says the incorporation of the Mining Local Procurement Reporting Mechanism with the other standards in its system eliminates duplicative reporting, as well as centralizing data collection, management, and distribution.

Mine operators will have the ability to track real-time local procurement progress, including trends, benchmarking, and targets on the Onyen dashboard. At the same time, public disclosures generated to the Onyen ESG scorecards and to sustainability reports allow stakeholders to better evaluate social economic impacts of the mining project.

"Local procurement is a key component of building long-term successful businesses with a strong social licence to operate," Clark added. "Now our customers will have an opportunity to transparently illustrate their local social impacts."

More information on the award-winning Onyen ESG reporting software can be read at Onyen honored for ESG reporting solution in the November 17, 2021 edition of Metal Tech News.