Bureau Veritas is helping mining companies set themselves up for an ESG future.
The Australian mining industry is facing tighter regulations than ever before, with heightened decarbonisation and disclosure reforms being imposed amidst the clean-energy transition.
Stakeholders are demanding greater transparency in sustainability performance and corporate governance, seeking a demonstration of intent, progress, and integrity.
While there’s a lot the modern miner must digest and scrutinise, the mining equipment, technology and services (METS) sector is stepping up to support a new era of operational stewardship.
Enter Bureau Veritas.
A global leader in testing, inspection and certification (TIC), the near-200-year-old company has a headcount of 84,000 employees operating in 140 countries.
In line with its compliance, risk management and business improvement roots, Bureau Veritas is also a specialist ESG and sustainability services provider offering independent auditing and assurance services.
“Mining companies are facing pressure to accurately disclose their ESG performance to an increased number of stakeholders,” Bureau Veritas general manager – certification and sustainability Jeremy Leu told Australian Mining.
“Through our assurance engagements, we verify ESG claims and issue independent statements that stakeholders, including investors, can trust and rely upon to make well-informed decisions.”
Leu said most assurance engagements were conducted against generic ESG frameworks, including the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), or against customised criteria often requested by banks as an ongoing condition of their sustainability-linked loan (SLL).
“To further support our mining clients’ sustainability goals, we’ve expanded our assurance services into more specialised, commodity-specific frameworks such as the Responsible Gold Mining Principles (RGMP) and The Copper Mark, which advocate for responsible practices in these respective commodities,” Leu said.
Complementing its independent assurance services is Bureau Veritas proprietary ESG audit framework for mine sites and refineries, developed in the context of the European Union (EU) Battery Regulation.
“The EU Battery Regulation imposes due-diligence obligations on economic operators,” Leu said.
“If you’re an electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer, you’ve got an obligation to ensure your supply chain and upstream suppliers, including suppliers of raw materials, are conducting business in a responsible manner.”
Leu said Bureau Veritas’ ESG audits were particularly comprehensive and cost-effective.
“In response to market demand and in the absence of an affordable compliance solution, we’ve developed our own ESG audit framework, trained specialist auditors globally and successfully tested our methodology in several lithium, cobalt, nickel and other battery chemicals mines and suppliers globally,” Leu said.
Bureau Veritas covers off a large range of topics to ensure its ESG audits are thorough, with questions centred on ethical business, impact management, responsible sourcing, health and safety, labour and human rights, community engagement, and environmental stewardship, to name a few topics.
In addition to its ESG auditing and assurance services, Bureau Veritas is also known for its modern slavery risk-management offerings. The company works with mining companies to help them combat modern slavery within their supply chains.
“Our service enables companies to identify their modern slavery risks based on a number of criteria, from inherent country and industry risks to continuous AI-powered screening of supplier’s ESG controversies and risks from the web, and review of evidence from targeted questionnaires,” Leu said.
“When the risk is high, our global footprint of experienced social auditors enables us to conduct cost-effective on-site audits against customised modern slavery-related criteria, such as labour conditions and health and safety, or against social schemes such as SMETA (Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit).”
Leveraging its experience in this domain, Bureau Veritas also provides independent assurance over the information disclosed in clients’ modern slavery statements to ensure the reliability of the reported information.
“As the industry continues to grapple with heightened expectations around sustainability, Bureau Veritas’ suite of specialised services can enable mining companies to build credibility, manage risks, and align their business strategies with the growing demand for sustainable development,” Leu said.
“We are well-positioned to serve as a trusted intermediary, leveraging our global expertise, extensive experience, and commitment to impartial verification to help mining firms navigate this evolving landscape of ESG reporting and stakeholder demands.
“Maintaining their social license to operate is crucial, and our services can be instrumental in enabling mining companies to demonstrate their environmental and social responsibility to a wide range of stakeholders.”
This feature appeared in the June 2025 issue of Australian Mining.