AMAZON MINERALS: MITIGATING THE IMPACT OF MINING
December 1st, 2022 at 3:30pm ET
Oil, iron ore, gold… The Amazon is home to many mineral resources and global markets are hungry for them. How can we slow resource extraction and reduce environmental damage? What legal systems require benefit sharing? How can existing mining operations share the wealth, reduce inequality, and use new technologies to operate pollution free?
Sarah Dupont
Amazon Aid Foundation
Sarah duPont is an award-winning humanitarian, educator and filmmaker and is a vocal advocate of ecological preservation. As the President and Founder of the Amazon Aid Foundation, Sarah works with Neotropical scientists to study Amazonian biodiversity with an eye toward educating the public and introducing cutting-edge conservation practices and on the ground solutions to the region. Sarah is a producer and co-director of the award winning film River of Gold and the short documentary Mercury Uprising, both films about illicit and unregulated gold mining in the Amazon Rainforest. Her other film projects include producing the award-winning Kids Against Malaria music video P.S.A., a transmedia program to promote treatment and prevention for malaria in Africa and the Anthem for the Amazon music video, a video with the voices of 500 children from around the world singing to protect the Amazon.
Juliana Dib Rezende
Utu Fund
Juliana studied International Relations in Brasilia, holding an MBA in Business Administration (USP); and has designed and implemented public policies on the legislative and executive branches in Brazil. At the United Nations in Geneva, she managed supply chain strengthening projects. In 2014 Juliana started at Google Inc. co-responsible for the indigenous mapping project (under a 4MM USD partnership to scale Google Earth technology to 300+ families over 60 forest-based communities). She led data and product launches covering Elections, Crisis Response, Weather, Culture Institute, Finance and Dictionary verticals aiming on product global positioning, strategy and user growth.
By facing the challenges and seizing the opportunities of the extractive industry in the Amazon, the Utu Social Impact Fund helps victim communities access environmental licensing finance to conduct local social and economic development planning processes.
Elizabeth Freele
Sympact
Elizabeth is a dynamic social performance and ESG strategist, passionate about all things conscious capitalism, tech for good and raw materials stewardship. Elizabeth built the sustainability function of junior gold miner Roxgold Inc. in West Africa, from exploration to operations, and has provided global CSR thought leadership, governance, and advisory services within mid-tier diversified Teck Resources Inc. Based in Vancouver, Canada, Elizabeth is experienced in implementing and aligning with international industry best practice, including IFC Performance Standards, Equator Principles, PDAC e3 Plus, UN Global Compact & Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, ICMM Mining Principles, MAC TSM and the WGC Responsible Gold Mining Principles. She is also experienced in GRI sustainability reporting and Human Rights Impact Assessment.
Todd Paglia
Stand.Earth
When Todd Paglia joined Stand.earth in 1999, he had a vision of transforming the environmental impact of something so ubiquitous that it’s often forgotten – paper. He saw that major corporations in the office supply and catalog industries were purchasing and selling millions of tons of paper with no accountability for, or even knowledge of, the environmental devastation that paper caused. As Executive Director of Stand.earth, Todd can be credited with transforming the paper policies of multi-billion-dollar Fortune 500 companies, including Staples, Office Depot, Williams-Sonoma, Dell, Victoria’s Secret, 3M and many more. Under Todd’s leadership, Stand.earth has saved more than 65 million acres of endangered forests. In addition, recycled pulp mills have seen major companies requesting more sustainable fiber as a result of Stand’s campaigns.
Natalia Uribe
Alliance for Responsible Mining
Natalia has a Master’s Degree in Development Studies with an Economic Development specialization from the International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus Rotterdam University, and is an Economist from the University of Antioquia.
Since 2014, she has been working with the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM), particularly in the creation, governance, multi-stakeholders consultations, assurance and maintenance of responsible mining standards: Fairmined and CRAFT. She has interacted with all gold supply chains, from artisanal and small-scale miners to downstream companies, standards setters, and thematic experts.
Susan Egan Keane
Natural Resources Defense Council
Susan Egan Kane is Senior Director, Global Advocacy for the International Program at NRDC. With more than 25 years of experience in environmental health issues—including the reporting of toxic emissions, the regulation of air pollution, the management of pesticides, and the formation of water-quality standards—Susan has worked in Europe, Central Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Africa. At NRDC, she has collaborated with U.S. retailers to reduce their environmental impacts and eliminate products containing toxic chemicals in their stores. She has also fought to reduce global mercury pollution, particularly by artisanal and small-scale gold-mining operations. Keane holds a master’s degree in environmental health management from the Harvard School of Public Health. She is based in Washington, D.C.
