TÜV NORD CERA 4in1 Performance Standard (CPS) - ESG Certification for Mining, Smelting, and Refining

ESG compliance is the success factor of the future. Also, responsible production processes have arrived in the mining sector. Due to increasing consumer interest in sustainable goods ESG-principles are increasingly integrated into legislation with a tangible impact on the sector of mining, processing, smelting, and refining. ESG principles have rapidly reached the status of being a standard necessity in the mining sector and are becoming more than just a competitive advantage. ESG compliance has become a must-have and the key factor that determines success or failure on the market.
 

Companies that cannot meet ESG requirements face increasing challenges, such as declining sales, increased insurance costs, difficulties acquiring investment next to reputational damages for brand and business, and negative media coverage.

Certified, ESG-compliant companies on the other hand will be able to produce more valuable products and improve their profit margins and their brand image in the long term. Therefore, future sustainable success in the mining sector is not possible without meeting ESG criteria.

The solution? Getting certified to prove ESG-compliance. But the market situation of certificates is often confusing and fragmented: Previous certificates have only been able to cover part of the value chain or certain mineral raw materials.

The CERA 4in1 Performance Standard (CPS) is the first step in achieving one system that covers all minerals and the entire value chain. It is the perfect solution to meet ESG requirements, structured and step-by-step. Moreover, a general set of standard criteria and its individual guiding document for implementation, the audit check list customized to each organization, ensures that companies are not overburdened in the process of compliance.

The CERA 4in1 Performance Standard (CPS) proves the company’s ESG-compliance to investors, shareholders, customers, business partner, governments, employees, and society. Thus, the certified company becomes a trusted and responsible partner that is more attractive in the market and benefits from:

• Well-designed, holistic certification standard:
   
  • Complete scope (certification for all sizes of enterprises, locations, and mineral raw materials)
  • Structured certification process (step-by-step implementation of standard requirements considering ISO 9001 and OECD 5-step framework, standardized audit process according to ISO 19011, avoidance of company overload)
  • Compliance to given national and international legislative requirements such as the EU Critical Raw Materials Act or the German Supply Chain Act etc.
  • Part of the universal (ESG) certification system TÜV NORD CERA 4in1 – a four step solution for sustainable development in the mineral raw materials sector
     
• Proven ESG compliance that leads to:
   
  • Cost reduction:
    efficient production, reduced costs for environmental and social damages, reduced insurance costs, reduced financing costs
  • Increased attractiveness for investors/partners/clients:
    competitive advantages, access to unique markets
  • Improvement of brand image:
    positioning as more sustainable and responsible partner
  • Risk minimization:
    social license to operate, ensured credibility towards stakeholders, reduced supply chain risks
  • Legal certainty:
    preparation for legal compliance, acting as reliable business partner

During CPS certification you can rely on a well-designed and structured certification process. The step-by-step audit cycle helps to avoid overburdening your company in the audit process and during implementation of corrective actions:

The CERA 4in1 Performance Standard CPS is the first step of a bigger vision: to increase worldwide sustainability and reliability of critical raw material tracking. The four-step certification system TÜV NORD CERA 4in1 enables companies to obtain certification from exploration to the final product for all raw materials used.

This certification system proves the ESG-compliance of companies and their processes along the entire value chain in the mining sector: from exploration through extraction and processing up to the end products. The biggest advantage of TÜV NORD CERA 4in1 is that it targets all kind of minerals, everywhere in the world and is applicable to any size of enterprise.  

The goal of TÜV NORD CERA 4in1 is to act as a universal (ESG) system for the mineral raw materials sector, CPS being the first of four standards that is being launched to market.

The actual duration of the certification process depends very much on the company, its size, its location, its status quo, and many other individual factors. Therefore, every certification scope is tailored to the needs of the respective company.