Ensuring a fair and equitable transition
Decarbonising heavy industry is an urgent global priority, recognised by governments, businesses, civil society, and the wider public. But so far, less attention has been paid to the workers and communities impacted by this transition.
Ensuring a just transition will require deliberate action to protect livelihoods, support communities, and create shared benefits. Voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) such as ResponsibleSteel have a vital role to play in guiding industry practice and helping ensure that the transition towards net zero is not only fast but fair.
Driving just transitions in the mining & steel sectors
This report by ResponsibleSteel and IRMA explores how VSSs can support a just transition in the mining and steel sectors. It outlines 9 key principles and 5 additional recommendations for VSSs and their stakeholders, providing a practical foundation for integrating just transition considerations into standards and assurance systems.
Mining and steel are responsible for a significant share of global energy-related emissions—up to 10% from mining and around 10% from steel—making rapid decarbonisation essential. But without deliberate action, the workers and communities most affected by these transitions risk being left behind. Around six million people are employed in steel and a further 20 million in mining, with millions more reliant on these industries through supply chains and local economies. A just transition is essential to ensure climate action puts people at the centre and delivers shared benefits.
The project was carried out in three phases: a literature review and mapping exercise, stakeholder engagement, and the development of the framework and final report. The literature review analysed more than 200 sources, including international standards, academic and practitioner research, media articles, and online resources, and mapped 16 existing just transition frameworks, including those developed by the International Labour Organisation and the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights.
Stakeholder engagement included interviews with 35 key stakeholders from the mining and steel sectors across 16 countries, representing workers, employers, supply chain actors, governments, communities and Indigenous groups, civil society organisations, and voluntary sustainability standards. Two in-person workshops were also held in Brussels and Johannesburg.
The report is intended for VSSs; businesses working across mining, steel and related supply chains; labour organisations; civil society; policymakers; investors; donors; and researchers and practitioners working on just transition.
VSSs are encouraged to consider incorporating the just transition principles and recommendations outlined in this report into their standards, guidance, and assurance systems (including non-mandatory mechanisms), where this is aligned with a standard's ambitions and industry feasibility, in close consultation with relevant stakeholders. ResponsibleSteel and IRMA will continue engaging with stakeholders to identify the most effective ways to integrate just transition principles into our respective standards and assurance systems.
Get in touch to find out more.
If you’re a VSS, business, labour organisation, or other stakeholder interested in learning more about supporting a just transition, please reach out to our Standards team.
