November 2020

Annual Progress Report Metals 2019/2020

Lessons learned and bottlenecks

One of the main lessons learned with regards to due diligence is that supporting the companies with their due diligence is only possible after the companies themselves clearly express their needs and challenges. The planning in the roadmap regarding the due diligence aspirations was considered very ambitious by both the working group on due diligence and the companies. Developing tools and templates required more time than anticipated.

For the working group on sustainable secondary mineral supply chains, COVID-19 affected a lot of the planned activities and events. Moving forward, there is a need to explore alternative actions to achieve stated goals in case of any eventuality.


A list of potentially interested companies was made for outreach purposes. At the time of year 1 ending (June 2020), no new parties have joined, although three companies have formally expressed their interest in joining the Metals Agreement. In the first year, more focus was placed on developing due diligence and communication products that will aid the implementation of the Metals Agreement. Additionally, the impact of COVID-19 has been severe along the entire metals supply chain. The need for better communication, the right motivational strategy and a more proactive stance by all Metals Agreement parties in reaching out to potential new parties have all been identified as lessons to be learned from the first implementation year.