Responsible Mica Initiative - RMI

🎉 Exciting Milestone for the Responsible Mica Initiative! 🎉 We are proud to announce that our "Global Workplace ESG & Due Diligence Standard for Mica Processors", developped together with the Responsible Business Alliance has been recognized by the International Trade Centre as the 351st standard included in their equivalency platform! This important milestone reinforces the legitimacy of a standard that has been applied for over two years and widely adopted by our members. The standard equivalency exercise was designed to compare our standard to others like SA 8000, GRI, and SMETA, ensuring that our members and non-members have a clear comparative tool to evaluate mica processors. ✅ The equivalency allows mica processors and suppliers to understand how their existing audits (e.g., SA 8000) align with the requirements of the RMI standard. ✅ It strengthens our global efforts to promote responsible mica supply chains and fosters transparency across industries. A big thanks to the International Trade Centre for conducting this thorough review. 🌍 Check out the full analysis on ITC’s platform here: https://lnkd.in/eFAtcQ_a #ResponsibleMica #Sustainability #StandardsEquivalency #GlobalESG #SupplyChainTransparency #MicaMineral #CSR Fanny Frémont, Farid Frédéric Fernandez, Cindy Penningnieuwland, Pushkar Jha, Gauthameswar Anandhasayanam, Marine Gourvès, Franconi Manera, Isemael Aubin, Rado RANAIVOARIFENINA

🌟 New Team Members at the Responsible Mica Initiative! 🌟 We are thrilled to welcome two new members to our team: Rado RANAIVOARIFENINA, our new Corporate Social Responsibility Audit & Training Manager, based in Madagascar, and Cindy Penningnieuwland, our Members Engagement Manager! Rado RANAIVOARIFENINA brings a wealth of experience in conducting supplier audits and training technicians, having worked with one of Madagascar's largest telecommunications companies. With a strong background in international standards compliance, including several ISO frameworks, Rado is dedicated to helping Madagascar's exporters implement responsible practices, particularly at sorting facilities. His passion for social impact and commitment to fostering positive change within communities align perfectly with our mission at RMI. Cindy Penningnieuwland joins us with over a decade of expertise in digital engagement strategies and strategic communications. Her background working with nonprofits and corporate partners equips her with a unique understanding of engaging diverse stakeholders. At RMI, Cindy will focus on elevating member engagement and co-creating impactful initiatives to advance responsible mica sourcing, leveraging digital tools to amplify our collective efforts for sustainable change. We are excited to have Rado and Cindy on board as we continue our mission to promote responsible mica sourcing and empower communities. Join us in welcoming them to the RMI family! 🎉 #NewTeammates #MicaMineral #CSR #MemberEngagement #SustainableChange #ResponsibleSourcing #Madagascar Fanny Frémont, Farid Frédéric Fernandez, Marine Gourvès, Franconi Manera, Isemael Aubin, Gauthameswar Anandhasayanam, Pushkar Jha

A free health camp was organized under the #Community #Empowerment #Programme for the families of #Mica pickers, providing general health checkups for a total of 160 people, along with screenings for various diseases, the distribution of medicines and offering general health counselling and guidance. This initiative aims to provide accessible healthcare and promote community well-being. #HealthCamp #CommunityCare #FreeHealthCheckup #EmpowermentThroughHealth #HealthcareForAll Responsible Mica Initiative - RMI Fanny Frémont

🌍 Promoting Safer Working Conditions for Mica Miners in Madagascar 🛠️ In August 2024, we reached a significant milestone by completing our second round of training on Occupational Health and Safety (#OHS) for mica miners at our pilot sites in Madagascar. With 38 men and 19 women miners trained, the sessions focused on: 🔸 Identifying intolerable risks that pose serious health and safety hazards. 🔸 Addressing risks that could lead to immediate withdrawal of #mica purchasers according to OECD-OCDE criteria. 🔸 Tackling ergonomic and psychosocial risks based on injury data. The miners not only identified key risks but also began developing risk mitigation plans to ensure a safer working environment. We are incredibly proud of their commitment to applying what they have learned to their everyday practices. However, we recognize the challenges ahead. Implementing these mitigation plans requires investment, and low literacy levels among miners remain a barrier. We continue to seek the support of economic actors in the mica supply chain to overcome these obstacles. 💼 In September, we extended our efforts by hosting the 2nd Exporters Training on Zero-Tolerance and OHS Criteria in Fort Dauphin. Topics like incident management, personal protective equipment (PPE) use, and fire safety were discussed. As we gear up for internal audits with exporters, we’re determined to drive continuous improvement across all stages of mica production. Looking ahead, October will bring first aid training for miners and new initiatives to address water management at mining sites in partnership with Mada Green Power. Together, we are committed to fostering safer, more responsible mica supply chains, and empowering mining communities. #OHS #ResponsibleMining #MicaMineral #SustainableSupplyChain #SafetyFirst #Madagascar Fanny Frémont, Marine Gourvès, Franconi Manera, Isemael Aubin, Pushkar Jha, Gauthameswar Anandhasayanam, Noëmie TANTER, Cindy Penningnieuwland

A development we are observing is that disengagement from suppliers or regions is often justified as a strategy to avoid human rights risks. However, human rights due diligence (#HRDD) standards and regulations address disengagement only as a last resort, not as a general strategy. This misinterpretation arises from a needed change in perspective when conducting HRDD. The focus should be on avoiding, mitigating, and remediating risks to people. Using disengagement as a strategy to avoid human rights risks focuses on risks to the company instead and can leave affected people worse off. Cecilia Barral Diego and I elaborated about this topic using an example of the mica supply chain 🔽 Responsible Mica Initiative - RMI

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✨ A few weeks ago, while part of our team was advocating for Madagascar's mica-dependent communities at the 2024 OECD-OCDE Forum on Responsible Mineral Supply Chains, an even more significant achievement was made on the ground the same day, with the signing of our first agreements with mining associations in Madagascar's Androy and Anôsy regions. ⛏ With these signatures, we are officially welcoming miners into the RMI, alongside all the other players in the supply chain! Together with our other members, the major international brands that use mica and the many industries that transform it, these mining groups will represent the upstream end of the sector and help to improve working conditions throughout the chain. 🎊 The mining community of Mafelefo celebrated this important milestone, in the presence of representatives of the Ministry of Mines, with music and song. Such a beautiful moment that gives meaning to the mission we've dedicated to them. #Madagascar #MicaMineral #RSE #CSR #SupplyChains #ChildLabor Fanny Frémont, Olivier Dubourdieu, Morgane Nzelemona, Farid Frédéric Fernandez, Marine Gourvès, Franconi Manera, Isemael Aubin, Pushkar Jha, Gauthameswar Anandhasayanam

💼 Our visit to India was a fruitful experience! The 5-day visit with our delegation of members, the exchanges with mica-dependent communities, the social challenges they face, their working conditions, the reality on the ground, the difficulties of the local industry, have, as always, enriched our vision. 👏 We would like to thank all our local partners with whom we have been working for nearly 7 years, all the members we accompanied on this visit, all the players in the local mica industry who welcomed us, the authorities, the members of the communities we visited, and, of course, all our fabulous team. ⛏ We leave with many memories of these insightful human encounters, a better understanding of the situation of the mica ecosystem and above all... a lot of work for tomorrow, because the challenges are still considerable and because our mission, thanks to this visit, is energised and enlightened! #MicaMineral #ESR #ResponsibleSourcing #SupplyChains MIYOSHI KASEI, Avon, Elmelin, Merck Group Fanny Frémont, Olivier Dubourdieu, Morgane Nzelemona, Farid Frédéric Fernandez, Pushkar Jha, Gauthameswar Anandhasayanam, Marine Gourvès, Franconi Manera, Isemael Aubin, Paula Kasprzyk

5️⃣ On the fifth day of our visit to India, our delegation of RMI members had the opportunity to interact with the local mica industry in #Rajasthan, its managers and workers, in 2 mines and 2 mica-processing units. ⛏ After also visiting mica-processing units in #Jharkhand, where the industry is older but where the legal framework is still in the process of being formalized, we were able to appreciate the contrasts and differences between the mica industries of these two states. 📣 The Responsible Mica Initiative - RMI, through training sessions, workshops, support for the local industry to prepare for third-party audits using our Global Workplace ESG and Due Diligence Standard for Mica Processors, and the organization of task forces to bring together stakeholders to reflect on ways of formalizing, is working to improve working conditions and eradicate child labor throughout the supply chain, alongside all players in industry, civil society, and all levels of governance. Faced with all these challenges, the key is to support all stakeholders, with a focus on action and concrete results. 📚 Thanks to the experience we have gained in Rajasthan, we are now in a better position to chart a course that may well serve Jharkhand and its mica ecosystem while on the other hand, our experience gained over our 6 years in Jharkhand are a solid foundation for extending our support to the Rajasthan industry. 💼 The delegation comprises representatives of MIYOSHI KASEI, Avon, Elmelin, Merck Group, concerned with combating child labor, improving transparency and working conditions in the supply chain, regardless of whether they source from India or not. #ESG #DueDiligence #WorkplaceStandard #MicaMineral #MultiStakeholder #SupplyChains