The Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands (SER) advises the Dutch Government and Parliament on key points of social and economic policy. It also undertakes activities arising from governance tasks and self-regulatory matters, and functions as a platform for discussions of social and economic issues.
The SER is facilitating a process towards an International Responsible Business Conduct (IRBC) agreement among companies active in the Dutch metallurgy industry, the government, unions, civil society organisations, and other interested stakeholders.
Levin Sources was contracted for its expertise in supply chain due diligence, and risk assessment and management, particularly related to the extractive industries. Alongside partner consultancy Shift, Levin Sources conducted research on international metallurgy value chains.
The work involved a rapid scoping of 13 metals (aluminium, brass, bronze, copper, cobalt, lead, magnesium, molybdenum, nickel, steel, silver, tin, and zinc) and a high level, methodologically sound mapping of the value chains for each. From this information, associated IRBC risks were ascertained to support the facilitation decision making on potential collective mitigation and prevention.
Research was compiled into comprehensive metallurgy sector profiles for use by the SER. At a workshop in the Hague in 2017, Levin Sources, Shift and the SER delivered findings in summary form to companies from the Dutch Metallurgy Association.
