Date

REMINDER: Call for Registration
Arctic Research Seminar Series
Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS)

Date/Time: Tuesday, 30 October 2018 from 12:00-1:00 p.m. ET

Speaker: Karin Buhmann, Copenhagen Business School
Presentation Title: Responsible Investments in Arctic Mining: Implications of Chinese Policies

To register for the event, go to:
https://www.arcus.org/research-seminar-series

For questions, contact:
Stacey Stoudt
Email: stacey [at] arcus.org


The Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS) announces the next Arctic Research Seminar featuring Karin Buhmann, Professor of Business and Human Rights at Copenhagen Business School (CBS). The event will be held in the ARCUS D.C. office at 1201 New York Avenue, NW Washington D.C. on Tuesday, 30 October 2018 from 12:00-1:00 p.m. ET.

This seminar will also be available as a webinar live-stream for those unable to attend in person.

Registration is required for this event.

The ARCUS Arctic Research Seminar Series brings leading Arctic researchers to Washington, D.C. to share the latest findings and what they mean for decision-making. These seminars will be of interest to federal agency officials, congressional staff, non-governmental organizations, associations, and the public.

This seminar, titled Responsible Investments in Arctic Mining: Implications of Chinese Policies, will be presented by Karin Buhmann, Copenhagen Business School. Karin’s Arctic-related research interests focus on potential beneficial and adverse social impacts of natural resource exploration and extraction, and on citizen involvement in impact assessment processes. Karin is the deputy representative at the University of the Arctic (UArctic) for CBS, a founding member and lead of the UArctic Thematic Network on Arctic Sustainable Resources and Social Responsibility, and is currently a Visiting Scholar at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Seminar Abstract:
A growing global market for generic minerals that are used in technical products for the ‘green’ energy transition and the electronic industry holds interesting potential for the Arctic. Developing prospects for the Arctic in general, this presentation takes Greenland as an example of an Arctic country which may offer alternative sources for minerals otherwise known as ‘conflict-minerals’. China’s electronic, solar power, and wind energy industries need certain generic minerals for production for the global market. Certain conflict-ridden countries are main sources of some of these minerals, which are known as ‘conflict minerals’ when their trade helps fuel armed conflicts. Commitment to fight conflict minerals have led the U.S. and the European Union to introduce requirements on importers and manufacturers to document efforts to avoid conflict-related supply chains. China has responded by developing guidelines for minerals supply chains and mining investment. The Chinese guidelines’ reference to the concept of risk-based due diligence is of particular relevance in this context. This concept was introduced by guidelines from the United Nations and elaborated in guidelines from the Organisation for Economic Collaboration and Development (OECD) as a company approach for identifying and managing its adverse impacts. The presentation will explain how these may complement Arctic host country policies and regulation on the prevention of adverse human rights impacts, and on stakeholder engagement in impact assessment for that purpose.

This event is a brown-bag lunch that will be held in the ARCUS D.C. office (1201 New York Avenue, NW Washington D.C. Fourth Floor). Cookies and beverages will be provided.

A live webinar is also available to those unable to attend in person. Instructions for accessing the event online will be sent to webinar registrants prior to the event.

For those of you on Twitter, we also invite you to join us in live-tweeting the event using the hashtag #arcuswebinar.

For more information and to register for the event, go to:
https://www.arcus.org/research-seminar-series

For questions, contact:
Stacey Stoudt
Email: stacey [at] arcus.org