Corporations — mining and energy companies — drill the wells and dig the mines.
They determine how communities are impacted, or not. Their practices determine if:
- water and air are polluted,
- fish and wildlife habitat are destroyed, and/or
- public health is threatened.
That’s why we use consumer pressure to complement the work that Earthworks does to reform government policies and service communities.
More than 100 major jewelry retailers and over 100,000 individual consumers have joined our No Dirty Gold campaign demanding that mining companies provide alternatives to “dirty” or irresponsibly mined gold.
Sometimes, the most effective way to improve corporate conduct is to engage with companies directly.
That’s why we are talking to the mining industry directly through the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance, a multi-sector effort which includes civil society and industry members, and to oil and natural gas companies through the STRONGER process.
Ultimately, all the work that Earthworks does to engage corporations and consumers is aimed at improving the way that extraction happens on the ground.
Earthworks participates in these and other initiatives to change corporations
Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance
We are talking with the mining industry (and communities, jewelers, and labor) to establish a voluntary, independently-verified set of environmental, human rights and social standards for mining.
Anglo American promised not to mine in the headwaters of Alaska’s Bristol Bay over community opposition. We’re helping convince Anglo to honor its promise.
The No Dirty Gold campaign aims to change the way gold is mined, bought and sold by targeting the jewelry industry — consumer of more than 80% of mined gold.