The Natural Resources Podcast

Welcome to Highgrade and this podcast series on the responsible sourcing of minerals. Over the last four episodes, we have looked at the main production steps in the supply chain of cobalt - a metal necessary for high-performing batteries, and as such key to support the transition to a future free of fossil fuels.

Today in our final stop, we explore the role of regulators in responsible sourcing. As the public grows increasingly concerned about the human and environmental cost of the products they buy: how should policymakers respond? Our guest today joins us from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, BMZ: Heike Henn is Director for Climate, Energy and Environment.

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Highgrade Media is a not-for-profit organisation that produces interviews and documentaries that identify, capture and disseminate analysis and insights in the field of natural resources and social progress.

Our mission is to provide open and free access to specialist knowledge and to disseminate good practice and innovation in this field. See www.highgrade.media for our portfolio of published material.

With support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, through BGR.

Welcome to Highgrade and this podcast series on the responsible sourcing of minerals. Starting at mine site, we have followed cobalt through the supply chain.

Today, we'll look into the making of automobiles at a time in which the industry is being transformed by the growing craze for electric cars. Global sales are on the rise, and so is the demand for the cobalt that goes into the batteries that power these vehicles.

The challenge is great: When a single car relies on the inputs from 60,000 suppliers, how can you truly appreciate the ultimate impact of your supply chain? Our guest joins us from Mercedes-Benz: Johannes Danz looks after the sustainability of supply chains.

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Highgrade Media is a not-for-profit organisation that produces interviews and documentaries that identify, capture and disseminate analysis and insights in the field of natural resources and social progress.

Our mission is to provide open and free access to specialist knowledge and to disseminate good practice and innovation in this field. See www.highgrade.media for our portfolio of published material.

With support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, through BGR.

Our ability to store electricity is central to the ongoing energy transition – and cobalt is a critical input into efficient batteries. But cobalt is a metal tainted by a reputation of human and environmental harm.

Can battery producers reconcile the increasing social appetite for both cobalt and responsible mining?  We are joined by Gillian Davidson, Chair of the Global Battery Alliance.

This is the third episode in our series on responsible sourcing.

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Highgrade Media is a not-for-profit organisation that produces interviews and documentaries that identify, capture and disseminate analysis and insights in the field of natural resources and social progress.

Our mission is to provide open and free access to specialist knowledge and to disseminate good practice and innovation in this field. See www.highgrade.media for our portfolio of published material.

With support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, through BGR.

Our second episode in this podcast series on responsible sourcing puts the spotlight on commodity traders – the invisible hand moving natural resources around the world.

Traders connect production from artisanal miners in DRC with global customers, and as such they are critical to improving the traceability and sustainability of cobalt supply chains.

To understand the virtues and faults of commodity traders, join our conversation with James Nicholson, Head of Corporate Responsibility at Trafigura.

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Highgrade Media is a not-for-profit organisation that produces interviews and documentaries that identify, capture and disseminate analysis and insights in the field of natural resources and social progress.

Our mission is to provide open and free access to specialist knowledge and to disseminate good practice and innovation in this field. See www.highgrade.media for our portfolio of published material.

With support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, through BGR.

Are the products we consume responsible for human and environmental degradation?  To answer this question, this podcast series takes us on a journey through the supply chain of cobalt, a commodity that is critical to the global energy transition. 

We start at mine site - but not any mine site. A significant proportion of cobalt is sourced from artisanal and small-scale mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where life is tough and often linked to child labour and environmental harm.  To help us unpack the role of artisanal and small-scale mining in the cobalt supply chain we speak with Mickaël Daudin, Deputy Director at Pact. 

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Highgrade Media is a not-for-profit organisation that produces interviews and documentaries that identify, capture and disseminate analysis and insights in the field of natural resources and social progress.

Our mission is to provide open and free access to specialist knowledge and to disseminate good practice and innovation in this field. See www.highgrade.media for our portfolio of published material.

With support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, through BGR.

In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. Oil prices surged overnight – reaching their highest level since 2008. Was this short-term stress or a structural shift? How will current events reshape the global energy agenda? 

To help us look beyond the fog of war, we sat down with Professor Paul Stevens – one of the brightest and clearest thinkers on the subject of energy economics.  Together we make sense of this troubled energy market – and beyond.

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Highgrade Media is a not-for-profit organisation that produces interviews and documentaries that identify, capture and disseminate analysis and insights in the field of natural resources and social progress.

Our mission is to provide open and free access to specialist knowledge and to disseminate good practice and innovation in this field. See www.highgrade.media for our portfolio of published material.

With support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, through BGR.

The Financial Times called it one of the best books of 2021. The World for Sale is an eye-opening dive into one of the most secretive and powerful business sectors in the world: commodity trading.

Commodity traders pull the invisible strings that move natural resources around the world. Their dealings have long been kept in the shadows, but the industry is now being forced into the daylight. We are joined by Jack Farchy, Bloomberg journalist and one of the authors of the book.

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Highgrade Media is a not-for-profit organisation that produces interviews and documentaries that identify, capture and disseminate analysis and insights in the field of natural resources and social progress.

Our mission is to provide open and free access to specialist knowledge and to disseminate good practice and innovation in this field. See www.highgrade.media for our portfolio of published material.

With support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, through BGR.

Following dense weeks packed with global climate talks in Glasgow, Highgrade brings to you an executive summary of the climate change crisis; a digest of the discussions and all you need to know about COP26.

To do this, we have called upon Tom Burke, climate change expert, founding Director of E3G – and an old friend of the house.

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Highgrade Media is a not-for-profit organisation that produces interviews and documentaries that identify, capture and disseminate analysis and insights in the field of natural resources and social progress.

Our mission is to provide open and free access to specialist knowledge and to disseminate good practice and innovation in this field. See www.highgrade.media for our portfolio of published material.

With support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, through BGR.

Chile has often been praised as an example of how to use natural resources to foster economic growth. The industry is now at a crossroad - and Chilean society has made it clear that it expects to see more tangible benefits from it. Will it succeed?

Our guest today has had a remarkable trajectory at the top of Chile’s copper industry:  Diego Hernández Cabrera is former CEO of Codelco, BHP Chile and Antofagasta Minerals, and is currently President of the National Mining Society. 

Diego joins the Natural Resources Podcast to explore the past and future of Chile’s mining sector. 

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Highgrade Media is a not-for-profit organisation that produces interviews and documentaries that identify, capture and disseminate analysis and insights in the field of natural resources and social progress.

Our mission is to provide open and free access to specialist knowledge and to disseminate good practice and innovation in this field. See www.highgrade.media for our portfolio of published material.

With support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, through BGR.

For nearly a century, fossil fuels have been a key source of geopolitical tension.  How is international politics changing with the surge in renewables? 

Join us in this fascinating conversation with Morgan Bazilian, Professor at the Colorado School of Mines and Director of the Payne Institute, and a global specialist in energy security and geopolitics.

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Highgrade Media is a not-for-profit organisation that produces interviews and documentaries that identify, capture and disseminate analysis and insights in the field of natural resources and social progress.

Our mission is to provide open and free access to specialist knowledge and to disseminate good practice and innovation in this field. See www.highgrade.media for our portfolio of published material.

With support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, through BGR.

Nobody knows what the future holds, but this may be the closest you’ll get - for the extractives industry anyway.

Join the Highgrade Editorial team in conversation as we discuss five key trends that will define the industry in the years to come.

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Highgrade is a not-for-profit organisation that produces interviews and documentaries that identify, capture and disseminate analysis and insights in the field of natural resources and social progress.

Our mission is to provide open and free access to specialist knowledge and to disseminate good practice and innovation in this field. See www.highgrade.media for our portfolio of published material.

With support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, through BGR.

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Interviews mentioned in the episode:

Tom Burke
David Humphreys
The Future of Resource Taxation
Mark Cutifani
Henrik Ager

In 2001, the world's largest mining corporations created the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) to improve the industry sustainability credentials.

20 years on, the Council sees change on the horizon and in response it has just appointed  Rohitesh Dhawan as its new CEO. His mandate is to steer the organisation through strong winds of global change. And he’s taking it personally.

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Highgrade is a not-for-profit organisation that produces interviews and documentaries that identify, capture and disseminate analysis and insights in the field of natural resources and social progress.

Our mission is to provide open and free access to specialist knowledge and to disseminate good practice and innovation in this field. See www.highgrade.media for our portfolio of published material.

With support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, through BGR, and the Inter-American Development Bank.

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You can't manage what you can't measure. Strange as it may sound, until recently, there has been no serious attempt to compare mining company performance across environmental, social and governance dimensions.

Enter the Responsible Mining Index. Launched in 2018, the index has been gaining momentum since. Today we talk to Hélène De Villiers-Piaget, head of the Responsible Mining Foundation.

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Highgrade is a not-for-profit organisation that produces interviews and documentaries that identify, capture and disseminate analysis and insights in the field of natural resources and social progress.

Our mission is to provide open and free access to specialist knowledge and to disseminate good practice and innovation in this field. See www.highgrade.media for our portfolio of published material.

With support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, through BGR, and the Inter-American Development Bank.

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Do you want to leave a lasting mark on the world? Throw a plastic bottle into the sea – and chances are that it will still be there well after you are gone.

In this podcast, we discuss our global plastic addiction and what we can do about it. We spoke with Denise Hardesty, an expert on plastic pollution at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

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Highgrade is a not-for-profit organisation that produces interviews and documentaries that identify, capture and disseminate analysis and insights in the field of natural resources and social progress.

Our mission is to provide open and free access to specialist knowledge and to disseminate good practice and innovation in this field. See www.highgrade.media for our portfolio of published material.

With support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, through BGR, and the Inter-American Development Bank.

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If you are interested in the field of natural resources and economic development, then you surely know Veronica Nyhan Jones. Currently at the IFC Sustainable Infrastructure Advisory, she has been central to the implementation of World Bank Group development programmes in the extractives.

After decades of persistent reduction in global poverty, do we still need global development banks?  In this personal conversation with Veronica, we revisit the relevance of multilateral organisations,  discuss the nature of economic development and consider the most pressing global development challenges ahead.

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Highgrade is a not-for-profit organisation that produces interviews and documentaries that identify, capture and disseminate analysis and insights in the field of natural resources and social progress.

Our mission is to provide open and free access to specialist knowledge and to disseminate good practice and innovation in this field. See www.highgrade.media for our portfolio of published material.

With support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, through BGR, and the Inter-American Development Bank.

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Follow us on social media for daily insights and behind the scenes moments:

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Are there unethical companies, or economic sectors altogether?  Is the ethical choice down to the producer or the consumer?  In this episode, we tackle the thorny issue of morality in investment decisions.

We discuss with John Howchin, Secretary General of the Council on Ethics for the Swedish National Pension Funds.  His job is to discern good from bad - and there are billions of dollars at stake.

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Highgrade is a not-for-profit organisation that produces interviews and documentaries that identify, capture and disseminate analysis and insights in the field of natural resources and social progress.

Our mission is to provide open and free access to specialist knowledge and to disseminate good practice and innovation in this field. See www.highgrade.media for our portfolio of published material.

With support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, through BGR, and the Inter-American Development Bank.

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La edad de piedra le daba el bronce. La Edad del Hierro. La manera en la que usamos minerales ha ido de la mano con el desarrollo humano. Hoy la humanidad contempla un futuro más allá de los combustibles fósiles y así crece la demanda por nuevos minerales.

El litio aparece como un posible ganador, con oportunidades y desafíos para países que lo producen.

Nuestra invitada hoy es abogada, es especialista en recursos naturales, Florencia Heredia es socia del estudio Allende y Brea y lidera la división de Energía y Recursos Naturales.

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Highgrade es patrocinado por el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID) y el  Ministerio Federal de Cooperación Económica y Desarrollo (Alemania).

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For centuries the undisputed energy king, coal has made possible the great advancements of the industrial age.

But coal is now tarnished with a dirty reputation, and both investors and consumers have started to avoid it.  We met Anne-Claire Howard, Executive Director of BetterCoal, to ask: is the end of coal coming with a bang or a whimper?

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Highgrade is a not-for-profit organisation that produces interviews and documentaries that identify, capture and disseminate analysis and insights in the field of natural resources and social progress.

Our mission is to provide open and free access to specialist knowledge and to disseminate good practice and innovation in this field. See www.highgrade.media for our portfolio of published material.

With support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, through BGR, and the Inter-American Development Bank.

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Follow us on social media for daily insights and behind the scenes moments:

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Images of Australia, Brazil and California literally burning triggered global sorrow. And suddenly, we remembered the trees. The fires are now raging again and so we ask, what is happening to the forest?

Daniel Nepstad, founder and director of the Earth Innovation Institute, believes that the challenge is dire, but there are solutions.

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Highgrade is a not-for-profit organisation that produces interviews and documentaries that identify, capture and disseminate analysis and insights in the field of natural resources and social progress.

Our mission is to provide open and free access to specialist knowledge and to disseminate good practice and innovation in this field. See www.highgrade.media for our portfolio of published material.

With support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, through BGR, and the Inter-American Development Bank.

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Not a mineral producing nation per se, Germany is a fundamental player in international cooperation in the extractives sector.  Consolidating this position, the German Federal Institute for Geoscience and Natural Resources (BGR) has launched the LION programme, seeking to improve local procurement in the mining supply chain.

To understand the programme's goals and progress, we talk to Nils Handler, Policy Advisor with BGR and Project Manager of LION.  


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Highgrade is a not-for-profit organisation that produces interviews and documentaries that identify, capture and disseminate analysis and insights in the field of natural resources and social progress.

Our mission is to provide open and free access to specialist knowledge and to disseminate good practice and innovation in this field. See www.highgrade.media for our portfolio of published material.

With support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, through BGR, and the Inter-American Development Bank.