AkzoNobel Formalises Responsible Mica Initiative Membership

AkzoNobel Formalises Responsible Mica Initiative Membership

AkzoNobel has formalised its membership of the Responsible Mica Initiative (RMI), having been one of the founding members when it was launched in 2017.

The company says it uses mica in some of its automotive and aerospace coatings as a pearlescent pigment. It closely monitors how mica is sourced and works hard to ensure the supply chain that uses the mineral is made transparent, traceable, and sustainable.

According to AkzoNobel, mica minerals are mined extensively in India, where a variety of factors contribute to poor working conditions including the use of child labour. The RMI’s mission is to establish responsible and sustainable mica supply chains that are free of child labour.

The company said that following the RMI’s pilot year, AkzoNobel continued to focus on the issue and made a commitment to conduct serious due diligence and look for creative ways to contribute to the initiative – which has now resulted in full membership.

“We’re pleased to formalise our relationship as an official member and are keen to start collaborating more closely with the RMI to fully support their efforts in eliminating child labour and poor working conditions,” said Anja Verbeke, AkzoNobel’s Global Director of Integrity and Compliance. “Formalising our membership demonstrates that we take our responsibility to respect human rights across our value chain very seriously and are determined to be part of the solution.

“We rigorously enforce the fundamental principle of respecting human rights and our position is clear – we only source our mica-based pearlescent pigments from suppliers who are a member of the RMI. Together, we’re committed to banning child labour from the supply chain in a sustainable manner.”