SGV Climate Change and Sustainability Services (CCaSS) Partners and Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) accredited Verification Service Providers (VSPs) Benjamin “Benjie” Villacorte and Katrina Francisco participated in a walkthrough audit and documentary verification of two mining operations.
Benjie (first row, second from left) with other VSPs and representatives of Padcal Mine
The audit of Padcal Mine and Rio Tuba Mine covered the assessment of various indicators under the Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) program, aiming to review performance ratings of the reporting members to the COMP. This is a mandatory undertaking for existing and upcoming members of the organization, which subjects them to annually submit a self-assessment report.
Katrina (first row, third from right) with Rio Tuba Representatives
The TSM also aims to enable mining companies to meet society’s needs for minerals, metals, and energy products in the most socially, economically, and environmentally responsible way. With core pillar values grouping the protocols under: (1) Communities and People; (2) Environmental Stewardship; (3) Energy Efficiency, each protocol is made up of a set of indicators that help mining facilities build, measure, and publicly report on the quality of their management systems and their performance.
The COMP adopted the TSM in 2017. In 2022, the first batch of VSPs, including Katrina and Benjie, underwent training and were accredited.
