Why Critical Minerals and Sustainable Mining Matter to Every Business

Before I moved into ESG and sustainability advisory, my academic and early professional life was rooted in the earth itself. I studied geoscience and economic geology, the science of understanding how the planet forms and concentrates the minerals that underpin modern society.

Back then, the work felt specialised, technical, and somewhat removed from the corporate sustainability conversations happening today. But with the rise of the clean-energy transition, the explosion in demand for critical minerals, and the growing scrutiny on supply chains, something has become unmistakably clear. My background in geology and my work in ESG are no longer two different worlds. They are now the same conversation.

In fact, I believe the intersection of geoscience and sustainability is one of the most important spaces for businesses to understand regardless of their industry.

The transition to a low-carbon economy depends heavily on materials like lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, graphite and rare earth elements. These minerals power the technologies we rely on for sustainable growth:

• electric vehicles

• wind turbines and solar panels

• grid-scale storage

• data centres and cloud infrastructure

• consumer electronics

• next-generation clean-tech

Demand for many of these minerals is projected to multiply several times over in the next decade. Yet the way we extract, process and trade them has not fully caught up with sustainability expectations. The green transition is, paradoxically, intensifying our reliance on resource extraction. And that brings both opportunity and risk.

The Sustainability Challenge and Why Mining Must Transform

Mining has always been resource-intensive, environmentally, socially and economically. The industry has made meaningful progress, but significant challenges remain:

• land and biodiversity disturbance

• water use and contamination

• hazardous waste

• community displacement or conflict

• governance and transparency gaps

• human rights concerns

• large carbon footprints, particularly in processing

If these risks aren’t addressed, the clean-energy transition risks shifting its environmental burden to the very regions that supply the world’s resources. This is where sustainability and geology intersect most critically. And this is why understanding upstream impacts is no longer optional for companies — it’s essential.

Why This Matters for ALL Businesses Not Just Mining Companies

Even if your organisation has nothing to do with mining, the materials that flow through your value chain most certainly do. Companies are increasingly expected to understand where their inputs come from and how responsibly they were produced. Here is where the ESG perspective becomes unavoidable:

1. Your supply chain begins underground

Whether you produce hardware, vehicles, consumer goods, medical devices, electronics or cloud-enabled technologies minerals are at the root of your operations.

2. ESG scrutiny is moving upstream

Customers and regulators want transparency, and they are asking harder questions about raw materials, origin, impact, working conditions, carbon footprint.

3. Critical mineral geopolitics impact business risk

The minerals market is shaping global power dynamics, supply security, trade tensions, resource nationalism, and alliances. This adds complexity to procurement and long-term planning.

4. Reputation and trust are on the line

Businesses associated with irresponsible sourcing face reputational, legal and operational risks. You cannot fully understand your supply chain, or your sustainability impact, without understanding the materials it depends on.

My Perspective: The Geoscience Academic and the ESG Advisor

Having trained as a geoscientist and worked extensively as an ESG advisor puts me in a unique position:

From geology, I understand

• how mineral deposits form

• the energy and environmental intensity required to extract and refine them

• the geological constraints that shape global supply

• the physical realities behind mineral scarcity

From sustainability, I understand

• the regulatory expectations around ESG

• the rising transparency requirements for Scope 3 emissions

• the governance and human rights considerations

• what “responsible sourcing” means in practice

• how companies can develop strategies that are both credible and implementable

This combination gives me the ability to help businesses see the full picture, not just downstream impacts, but upstream realities that shape true sustainability.

What the Market Leaders Realise

Leaders and differentiators in the space of sustainability increasingly recognise that you can’t have a clean-energy future built on dirty supply chains. This shift means responsible mineral sourcing, supplier engagement, life-cycle thinking, and climate-aligned procurement are essential components of ESG maturity. Companies that get ahead of these issues will be more resilient, more credible, and better prepared for what’s coming.

Those that ignore them risk being left behind.

The future of sustainability depends on understanding our past, the deep geological processes that formed the world we depend on, and the environmental and social realities of accessing those resources responsibly. The transition to net zero will not succeed without critical minerals. And critical minerals cannot be secured without sustainable practices.

For businesses, the opportunity lies in bridging the gap to combine scientific understanding with responsible ESG strategy to build supply chains that are truly resilient, ethical and future-ready. This is the work I care deeply about.

If you’re and organisation that wants to think more broadly, act more strategically, and lead more responsibly, reach out to Orogen8 today.