Member admission process

This is to ensure that member companies meet high standards of performance and demonstrate their commitment to continuous improvement.

Key principles

ICMM’s new member admission process seeks to:

• fully protect the interests of ICMM members, any prospective member company, and ICMM as an organisation, against reputational or any other risk, or liability for ad hoc decisions taken
• be based on criteria that are consistent with the obligations of existing members
• place the onus for demonstration of ability and willingness to meet ICMM’s membership requirements (principles, position statements, reporting and assurance) on the prospective member company
• be based on a consistent, rigorous and independently verified assessment of the prospective member company’s self-assessed performance related to ICMM membership requirements
• be independent, fair and unbiased, and ensure that any prospective member can fully respond to any questions that might arise during the conduct of due diligence.

Key stages

The new member admission process has five stages:

1) Application information report

Applicants prepare an information report in support of their application, which is effectively a gap analysis against the ICMM membership requirements.

2) Independent assurance

The application information report is assured by an independent third party, which provides an independent opinion on whether the report presents the information required in a complete, accurate and credible manner.

3) Independent expert review panel

An independent expert review panel is convened to assess the applicant’s suitability for membership and issues a recommendation. The panel’s recommendation is based on consideration of:

• the extent to which the applicant meets the requirements of membership and the extent and significance of any gaps
• the capacity and commitment of the applicant to fully meet the membership requirements within a reasonable timeframe
• any reputational risks for ICMM or its members.

4) Decision

Subject to a favourable recommendation, the applicant submits a formal application for membership for formal acceptance by council.

5) Ongoing monitoring

ICMM conducts ongoing monitoring of member performance in line with its assurance process.

For more information, see the new member admission process.

Association members

The requirements of corporate members of ICMM do not apply to association members, so the process for admitting association members is simpler.

When an association expresses interest in membership, ICMM obtains background information on the applicant to assess their suitability for membership. Organisations with a commercial interest in being members are not considered eligible, whereas national mining associations or international commodity associations with an interest in sharing best practices on sustainable development are.