Responsible Gold Guidance V9

Step 5. Report Annually on Supply Chain Due Diligence

The objective of Step 5 is for Refiners to publicly report on their gold supply chain due diligence policies, practices and performance for the reporting year, with appropriate regard for security, proprietary information, data protection regulations and the legal rights of the other supply chain actors.

This public disclosure is to raise awareness of and generate confidence in the Refiner’s measures to combat threat finance risks and to address adverse ESG factors in the Refiner’s primary gold supply chain.

5.1 Reporting Requirements

Reporting objective

Step 5 reporting is expected to provide sufficient detail of the Refiner’s supply chain due diligence policies, management systems and risk assessment processes for users of the reporting to obtain a complete, accurate, timely and balanced view of the Refiner’s activities over the reporting period. Critically, the annual reporting must also detail actual performance during the year, including, in particular, the results of the risk assessment and risk mitigation steps in order for users to understand the effectiveness with which the Refiner is meeting the objectives of the RGG. It is expected that annual reporting will be specific to the business circumstances in each particular year and reflect the dynamic due diligence process.

Reporting period

Reporting on the Refiner’s conformance to the RGG is required on an annual basis, covering the supply chain due diligence activities over a 12-month reporting period.

Reporting deliverables

Refiners must provide the following four reporting requirements to meet the needs of different stakeholders for each reporting period:

1. Supply Chain Policy (Public)

Refiner’s Supply Chain Policy should be documented and/or updated in line with Step 1 at the beginning of each reporting period. The Policy document must be made publicly available on the Refiner’s website.

2. Refiner’s Compliance Report (Public)

The Compliance Report should, as a minimum, meet the requirements outlined in the Disclosure Guidance Document in the Refiners Toolkit. Minimum information includes (but is not limited to):

  • Name of the Refiner and refinery
  • Reporting period
  • Summary of activities undertaken to conform to the RGG and meet the objectives of the Programme
  • Refiner’s level of conformance with each of Steps 1 to 5 of the RGG
  • Management’s overall conclusion on conformance with the RGG and the objectives of the Programme
  • The steps taken to map the circumstances of the high-risk operations and supply chains (EDD), methodology, practices and information yielded by on-site visits, and actual or potential risks identified.
  • The steps taken to strengthen chain of custody or traceability systems for high-risk supply chains, risk mitigation strategies, monitoring and tracking of performance, and results of follow ups after six months.
  • The number of instances where the Refiner has disengaged with suppliers and/or supply chains without disclosing the identity, except where the Refiner deems this acceptable in accordance with applicable laws.

The Compliance Report must be submitted to LBMA and made publicly available on the Refiner’s website.

3. Refiner’s Country of Origin Annex (Confidential)

The Country of Origin Annex should, as a minimum, meet the requirements outlined in the Disclosure Guidance document in the Refiners Toolkit. Minimum information includes:

  • List of gold sources by country and by type of material sourced
  • Total gold sourced by type of material (LSM, ASM, Recycled Gold, Grandfathered Stocks) in the reporting period
  • The identity of the Refiner and the local exporter located in high-risk locations should always be disclosed except in cases of disengagement.14

The Country of Origin Annex should be submitted to LBMA but is not required to be made publicly available.

4. Corrective Action Plan (Confidential)

Refiners should submit a Corrective Action Plan if a high-risk non-conformance has been identified during the assurance and/or if the Refiner fails to satisfy one or more of the requirements as set out in Steps 1 to 5 of this Guidance. For each high-risk non conformance identified, the Corrective Action Plan should include:

  • A description of the issue
  • Reference to the relevant section in this Guidance
  • The corrective action(s) to be taken
  • The timeframe for completion of corrective action(s)
  • The person responsible for the implementation of each corrective action.

The Corrective Action Plan must be submitted to LBMA but is not required to be made publicly available.

In addition, Refiners must report any of the following to LBMA, with due consideration of local and international legal requirements:

  • Zero-tolerance non-conformances identified during the Refiner’s due diligence processes in suppliers or supply chains already onboarded
  • Zero-tolerance non-conformances identified during the Refiner’s assurance process
  • Assurance Providers with whom the Refiner has decided to cease engagement as a result of performance issues.

The incidents should be reported to the Responsible Sourcing Manager.

Submission of reporting deliverables to LBMA

Copies of all four deliverables should be submitted by the Refiner, or the Assurance Provider as designated by the Refiner, to the LBMA Chief Executive via email on an annual basis and within three months of the reporting year-end. The Compliance Report should be publicly disclosed alongside the independent Assurance Report within three months of the reporting year-end. Refiners may apply for an extension should this not be feasible due to unforeseen circumstances.

14 This requirement is stipulated on page 111, footnote 59 of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance