The World Gold Council (WGC) has announced that all 33 gold miners it represents globally have committed to reporting their positions and progress on climate-related risks, in line with the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

The TCFD recommendations and reporting framework is now widely recognised as the preferred method for embedding climate change into the governance, strategy and risk management systems of organisations, and the means by which they disclose comprehensive and high-quality information on these factors to investors and stakeholders.

This unified approach on climate-related reporting further clarifies the commitments already embedded in the WGC’s Responsible Gold Mining Principles (RGMPs), which require companies to take action to combat climate change and report in line with accepted standards.

The RGMPs, launched in 2019, represent a framework that sets out clear expectations for consumers, investors and industry stakeholders as to what constitutes responsible gold mining.

All WGC members have committed to a three-year implementation timeline, as well as third-party assurance and public disclosure on that assurance.

The new commitment to report through TCFD offers clearer definition of how principles on combating climate change and energy efficiency and reporting will be implemented.

WGC chairperson Randy Smallwood says making progress on climate change is a vital aspect of the gold mining sector’s commitment to responsible mining.

“TCFD-aligned reporting, combined with the implementation of the RGMPs, will further demonstrate to investors, consumers and other stakeholders gold mining’s ability to make a positive and demonstrable contribution to social and environmental progress.”

WGC CFO Terry Heymann adds that climate change is the biggest threat of the twenty-first century and all industries need to show progress in responding to this.

“Investors are keen to better understand how their investments are being made climate-resilient in the face of a myriad of climate challenges and the gold industry is eager to show how it is adapting to these challenges.

“This includes reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. Through our own research over the last few years, we have been able to gather substantial evidence that the gold mining sector is in a strong position to reduce emissions in line with Paris Agreement targets.”

The WGC believes there is still much work to be done to reduce the emissions generated by the gold mining industry, but it is making good progress.

“Having our member companies commit to reporting [through the] TCFD will help further demonstrate the industry’s determination to address climate-related risks and report on its progress in a clear and transparent way,” Smallwood concludes.