The European Council recently adopted the Critical Raw Materials Act, CRMA, to, among other things, strengthen the EU’s supply and access to sustainably produced critical raw materials. It is now clear that it will be Sweden who will lead the European committee where the countries will cooperate and agree on standards that will be needed in the field of sustainable mining
– Sweden is Europe’s leading mining nation and this is a way to take a bigger place in these issues globally, something that is of central importance to strengthening Swedish and European competitiveness, says Lisa Almkvist, head of standardization at the Swedish Institute for Standards.
Sweden and the Swedish mining industry are a leading country in the field thanks to systematic work with environmental and work environment issues. The green transition is high on the EU’s agenda, and the need for common solutions and standards to succeed is great. The European Commission has highlighted standards as an important tool to ensure European access to a sustainable supply and production of critical raw materials, and about a year ago the Commission presented a proposal for a regulation on critical raw materials that has now been adopted by the European Council.
Standards will be needed to develop guidelines and requirements for how Europe ensures a sustainable supply, access and recycling of critical raw materials, substances that form part of the content of, for example, batteries, mobile phones and turbines in wind turbines and are therefore crucial for the transition to a fossil-free society.
The Swedish Institute for Standards has therefore, in collaboration with, among others, Boliden, LKAB and Svemin, and other representatives from the mining industry, highlighted the need to collaborate within the European standardization organization CEN. A committee is now being formed which will be led by Sweden.
– If there is to be a new standard in this area, it is crucial that it is Sweden that has the leader’s shirt. We are the EU’s largest mining nation and leading the work means that we can be involved and influence issues that are very important for the Swedish and European mining industry, says Kristina Branteryd, environmental expert, Svemin
Soon, the work will begin by gathering representatives from the entire European mining industry and starting the planning of the work going forward, as well as appointing a chairman who represents the Swedish mining industry.
