The Local, National and Global Visions

This chapter takes stock of the learnings from the three Global Advocacy Fora organized in Latin America, Africa and China by the RE-SOURCING project and aims to explore the concept of Responsible Sourcing from a regional and local perspective. It tracks the regional challenges and priorities for achieving responsible sourcing and highlights some good practice examples implemented by governments, businesses and civil society associations. The chapter acknowledges that the common goal for these resource-rich regions is to achieve economic development associated with environmental and social responsibility. Despite this common goal, these regions exhibit distinct challenges and priorities and follow specific pathways towards Responsible Sourcing based on their economic context, political framework and social structures. Given China’s dominance in the critical minerals supply chain and its increasing investments domestically and abroad, the country’s main challenge is to improve its environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance and to align its due diligence and responsible sourcing standards with the international initiatives and legislation. In contrast, Latin America and Africa prioritize enhancing mineral beneficiation and adding value beyond the mining stage in compliance with ESG standards and aim to utilize these benefits for their sustainable growth and socio-economic development.