IUCN

Biodiversityandresponsiblesourcingforwindandsolardevelopments

Anoverviewandactionagenda

ClaireFletcher,LeonBennun,BenJobson,LauraSonter,LucyMurrell,RachelAsante-Owusu,QiulinLiu

INTERNATIONALUNIONFORCONSERVATIONOFNATURE

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Biodiversityandresponsiblesourcingforwindandsolardevelopments

Anoverviewandactionagenda

ClaireFletcher,LeonBennun,BenJobson,LauraSonter,LucyMurrell,RachelAsante-Owusu,QiulinLiu

Thedesignationofgeographicalentitiesinthispublication,andthepresentationofthematerial,donotimplytheexpressionofanyopinionwhatsoeveronthepartofIUCNorotherparticipatingorganisationsconcerningthelegalstatusofanycountry,territory,orarea,orofitsauthorities,orconcerningthedelimitationofits

frontiersorboundaries.

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DevelopmentAgency(AFD);MinistryofEnvironment,RepublicofKorea;MinistryoftheEnvironment,ClimateandSustainableDevelopment,GrandDuchyofLuxembourg;theNorwegianAgencyforDevelopment

Cooperation(Norad);theSwedishInternationalDevelopmentCooperationAgency(Sida);theSwissAgencyforDevelopmentandCooperation(SDC);andtheUnitedStatesDepartmentofState.

ThispublicationhasbeenmadepossibleinpartbyfundingfromEDFRenouvelables,électricitédeFrance(EDF),EnergiasdePortugal(EDP),EniS.p.A,EquinorASA,IberdrolaRenovablesInternationalSAU,ShellInternationalPetroleumMijBv–TheNetherlands,andTotalSE.

Publishedby:IUCN,Gland,SwitzerlandandTheBiodiversityConsultancy,Cambridge,UK

Producedby:IUCNGlobalClimateChangeandEnergyTransitionTeamandTheBiodiversity

Consultancy

Copyright:?2025IUCN,InternationalUnionforConservationofNatureandNatural

Resources

Reproductionofthispublicationforeducationalorothernon-commercial

purposesisauthorisedwithoutpriorwrittenpermissionfromthecopyrightholderprovidedthesourceisfullyacknowledged.

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Recommendedcitation:Fletcher,C.,Bennun,L.,Jobson,B.,Sonter,L.,Murrell,L.,Asante-Owusu,R.,Liu,Q.(2025).Biodiversityandresponsiblesourcingforwindandsolar

developments:Anoverviewandactionagenda.Gland,Switzerland:IUCN,and

Cambridge,UK:TheBiodiversityConsultancy.

Copy-editingandlayout:DiwataHunziker

Coverphoto:Biodiversityandresponsiblesourcingforwindandsolardevelopments

visualised/Photo:Ideogram,AI-generated

Tableofcontents

Listofboxes,figures,andtablesv

Acknowledgementsvi

A

cronymsvii

Glossaryix

1Introduction1

1.1Materialsandtherenewableenergytransition1

1.2Scopeandaims3

2Thecontextforresponsiblesourcing5

2.1Whatisresponsiblesourcing?5

2.2Driversforresponsiblesourcing7

3Keymineralsandmetalsforwindandsolardevelopment8

3.1Keymineralsandmetals8

3.1.1Windpower8

3.1.2Solarpower9

3.2Demandandsupplyrisks10

3.3Miningimpactsonbiodiversity12

3.4Mitigatingbiodiversityimpactsofmineralandmetalsupply15

4Initialactiononresponsiblesourcingandbiodiversityforwindandsetting

solardevelopers16

4.1Overview16

4.2Sustainabilitychallengesinrenewables’supplychains16

4.3Responsiblesourcingandtheprojectcycle19

4.4Actionsfordevelopers21

4.4.1Mapsupplychain22

4.4.2Identifycompanycommitments,targets,andmitigationopportunities24

4.4.3Engagecollaborativelyfortransformativechange24

4.4.4Implementactionplansforresponsiblesourcing28

4.4.5Summaryofactionsfordevelopers29

References30

Biodiversityandresponsiblesourcingforwindandsolardevelopments:Anoverviewandactionagendaiii

Biodiversityandresponsiblesourcingforwindandsolardevelopments:Anoverviewandactionagendaiv

Annexes

AnnexISummaryofexistinginitiatives,guidance,andcertificationandverification

schemesrelevantformineralsandmetals41

AnnexI-AIndustryassociationsandinitiatives42

AnnexI-BCertificationbodiesandstandards45

A

nnexI-CGuidance46

AnnexIIFactsheetsforkeyminerals48

AnnexII-AIron48

AnnexII-BZinc48

AnnexII-CCopper49

AnnexII-DAluminium49

AnnexII-ELead50

AnnexII-FIndium50

AnnexII-GMolybdenum51

AnnexIIICasestudies52

AnnexIII-AICMMpositiononnature52

AnnexIII-BRE-SOURCINGProject53

AnnexIVFurtherreading54

Biodiversityandresponsiblesourcingforwindandsolardevelopments:Anoverviewandactionagendav

Listofboxes,figures,andtables

Box1Globalgoalsforbiodiversity2

Box2Clarifyingtheterms‘mineral’and‘metal’4

Box3Ongoinginternationalprocessesguidingtherenewableenergytransition

andresponsiblematerialssourcing6

Box4Deep-seaminingofcriticalmetalsandminerals14

Box5Spheresofcompanyinfluenceandbiodiversitytargetsetting17

Box6Theimportanceofmovingtowardsacirculareconomy22

Box7Keytoolsforsupplychainfootprinting25

Figure1Therenewablestransition:Overviewoftheissuesrelatedtoresponsible

sourcingandthescopeofthisguidance4

Figure2Simplifiedflowchartofmineraloreprocessing,metalrecovery,

andmanufacturing4

Figure3Overviewofkeymetalrequirementsandsupplychainforwindpower8

Figure4OverviewofkeymetalrequirementsandsupplychainforsolarPV9

Figure5Projectedannualmineralandmetaldemandundera2°Cwarmingscenario

fromenergytechnologiesin2050,comparedto2018productionlevels11

Figure6Cumulativerequirementformineralsandmetalsthroughto2050forwind

andsolarunderdifferentclimateanddemandscenarios11

Figure7Globalminingareaandrelatedbiodiversityloss14

Figure8Sphereofcontrolandspheresofinfluencerelevantforcompaniesacting

onbiodiversity17

Figure9Asimplifiedoverviewofkeyactorsacrossmineralsupplychains19

Figure10Exampleofsimplesupplychaintiersforawindfarmdevelopment20

Figure11Thewastemanagementhierarchy21

Figure12Summaryofinitialactionsforwindandsolardevelopersonresponsible

sourcingandbiodiversity29

Figure13RE-SOURCINGvisionfortherenewableenergysector53

Table1Summaryofkeydriversforresponsiblesourcing7

Table2Summaryofkeyresponsiblesourcingactionstoaddressbiodiversityimpacts26

Biodiversityandresponsiblesourcingforwindandsolardevelopments:Anoverviewandactionagendavi

Acknowledgements

Thefollowingpeoplehavemadecontributionstothecontentsofthispublicationsasthe

participantsoftheIUCNPromotingNature-friendlyRenewableEnergyDevelopmentsproject:

TrisAllinson(BirdLifeInternational);AudreyBard(Equinor);GuillaumeCapdevielle(TotalSE);

MelanieDages(EDFRenewables);MichelangeloD’Abbieri(EniPlenitude);AstridDelaporte-

Sprengers(TotalSE);StevenDickinson(TotalSE);GustavoEstrada(Eni);AlessandroFrangi(EDFRenewables);MonicaFundingsland(Equinor);AnnalisaSilviaGattulli(EniPlenitude);Michael

Howard(Fauna&FloraInternational);AgatheJouneau(EDFRenewables);MarineJulliand

(TotalSE);PeterMarcusKolderupGreve(Equinor);AdeleMayol(TotalSE);BruceMcKenney

(TheNatureConservancy);ThomasMerzi(TotalSE);MartaMorichini(Eni);DanielMeyer(Fauna&FloraInternational);PaolaMariaPedroni(Eni);MagaliPollard(TotalSE);HowardRosenbaum

(WildlifeConservationSociety);MarcusvanZutphen(Shell);JoseRubio(Fauna&Flora

International);LibbySandbrook(Fauna&FloraInternational);ArianeThenaday(TotalSE);ClaireVarret(EDF);HafrenWilliams(Fauna&FloraInternational);MargheritaZapelloni(EniPlenitude).

Disclaimer

BirdLifeInternationalchosenottoreceivefundingforitscontributiontothisproject,aspertheirWorkingwithBusinessFramework.

Biodiversityandresponsiblesourcingforwindandsolardevelopments:Anoverviewandactionagendavii

Acronyms

ARMAllianceforResponsibleMining

ASIAluminiumStewardshipInitiative

ASMArtisanalandsmall-scalemining

BCGBostonConsultingGroup

BECSBiodiversityextent,condition,significance

CBDConventiononBiologicalDiversity

CEM(IUCN)CommissiononEcosystemManagement

CETMCriticalEnergyTransitionMinerals

CMCopperMark

CMMICriticalMineralsMappingInitiative

COPConferenceoftheParties

CRAFTCodeofRisk-mitigationforASMEngaginginFormalTrade

CSDDD(EU)CorporateSustainabilityDueDiligenceDirective

CSMClimateSmartMining

CSRD(EU)CorporateSustainabilityReportingDirective

EBRDEuropeanBankforReconstructionandDevelopment

ESGEnvironmental,SocialandGovernance

ETCEnergyTransitionsCommission

ETTIExtractiveIndustriesTransparencyInitiative

GHGGreenhousegas

GIIPGoodInternationalIndustryPractice

GRIGlobalReportingInitiative

GWGigawatt

IAIInternationalAluminiumInstitute

ICAInternationalCopperAssociation

ICMMInternationalCouncilonMiningandMetals

IEAInternationalEnergyAgency

IFCInternationalFinanceCorporation

IIMAInternationalIronMetallicsAssociation

IMEC(IUCN)ImpactMitigationandEcologicalCompensationThematicGroup

IRENAInternationalRenewableEnergyAgency

IRMAInitiativeforResponsibleMiningAssurance

IUCNInternationalUnionforConservationofNature

IZAInternationalZincAssociation

KMGBFKunming-MontrealGlobalBiodiversityFramework

Biodiversityandresponsiblesourcingforwindandsolardevelopments:Anoverviewandactionagendaviii

LCA

Lifecycleassessment

MW

Megawatt

NNL

NoNetLoss

NPI

NetPositiveImpact

OECD

OrganisationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment

PDF

Potentiallydisappearedfractionofspeciesmetric

PV

Photovoltaic

RBI

ResponsibleBusinessAlliance

REE

Rareearthelements

RMAP

ResponsibleMineralAssuranceProcess

RMI

ResponsibleMineralsInitiative

SBTN

Science-BasedTargetsforNature

SDG

SustainableDevelopmentGoal

SEIA

SolarEnergyIndustryAssociation

SSI

SolarStewardshipInitiative

STAR

(IUCN)SpeciesThreatAbatementandRestoration(metric)

TBC

TheBiodiversityConsultancy

TNC

TheNatureConservancy

TNFD

TaskforceonNature-relatedFinancialDisclosure

TSM

TowardsSustainableMining

USGS

U.S.GeologicalSurvey

WWF

WorldWildlifeFund

Biodiversityandresponsiblesourcingforwindandsolardevelopments:Anoverviewandactionagendaix

Glossary

Alloy

Madebymixingtwoormoremetallicelementstoformanew,

uniquesubstancethathasdifferingchemicalandphysical

propertiestoitscomponentparts.Over90%ofthemetalsinusetodayarealloys.Themostcommonalloysarebroadlyclassifiedassteels(ICMM,n.d.).

Beneficiation

Thetreatmentofrawmaterial(suchasironore)toimprovephysicalorchemicalpropertiesespeciallyinpreparationforsmelting.

Decarbonisation

Bothamethodofclimatechangemitigationandtheprocessof

significantlyreducingoreliminatingcarbondioxide(CO2)andotherGHGemissionsfromtheatmosphere.

Ecotoxicity

Ecotoxicityreferstothecapabilityofacompoundoranyphysicalagenttohaveaharmfuleffectontheenvironment,organisms,orboth.

GoodInternational

IndustryPractice(GIIP)

Definedastheexerciseofprofessionalskill,diligence,prudence,

andforesightthatwouldreasonablybeexpectedfromskilledand

experiencedprofessionalsengagedinthesametypeofundertakingunderthesameorsimilarcircumstancesgloballyorregionally(IFC,2012a)

LifeCycleAssessment(LCA)

Astandardisedmethodtoolforassessingtheenvironmental

footprintofaproduct,process,service,orcorporationfrom‘cradletograve’.

Mineral

Solid,naturallyoccurringinorganicsubstancesfoundintheEarth’scrust.Theyhaveauniquechemicalcompositionandcrystal

structure(ICMM,n.d.).

Mitigationhierarchy

Thesequenceofactionstoanticipateandavoidimpactson

biodiversityandecosystemservices;andwhereavoidanceisnot

possible,minimise;and,whenimpactsoccur,rehabilitateorrestore;andwheresignificantresidualimpactsremain,offset(CSBI&TBC,2015).

Metal

Elementarysubstances,suchasgold,silverandcopper.Theyare

crystallinewhensolidandnaturallyoccurinminerals.Theyareoftengoodconductorsofelectricityandheat,shinyandmalleable.The

metalsweuseday-to-dayareconvertedfrommetallicorestotheirfinalform.*Thisusuallyrequirestheuseofchemicalsandspecialtechnology(ICMM,n.d.).

*SeeICMMfordefinitionsofpreciousmetals,basemetals,ferrous,andnon-ferrousmetals.

Biodiversityandresponsiblesourcingforwindandsolardevelopments:Anoverviewandactionagendax

Metalloid

Anelementwhosepropertiesareintermediatebetweenthoseofmetalsandthoseofsolidnon-metalsorsemiconductors.

NoNetLoss

Thepointatwhichproject-relatedimpactsonbiodiversityarebalancedbymeasurestakenthroughtheapplicationofthe

mitigationhierarchy.

NetPositiveImpact(orNetGain)

Thepointatwhichproject-relatedimpactsonbiodiversityare

outweighedbymeasurableoutcomesfromactionstakenthroughtheapplicationofthemitigationhierarchytoachievesustainablebiodiversitygains.

Potentiallydisappearedfraction(PDF)

Theproportionofspeciesgoingextinctlocally(overaunitofareaorvolume)inresponsetoexternalpressures(e.g.landuse),usuallyoveroneyear(unit:PDF.m2.yearorPDF.m3.year).

Rareearthmetals,orrareearthelements

Thesearenotactuallyallthatrare,buttheirextractioniscomplexanddifficult.Theyincludescandium,yttrium,lanthanumandthe14elements(lanthanides)followinglanthanumintheperiodic

table.Theyhavewidespreaduses,thoughinsmallvolume,inthemanufacturingofglass,ceramics,glazes,magnets,lasers,andtelevisiontubes,aswellasinrefiningpetroleum(ICMM,n.d.).

Species.year

AvariantofPDFinwhichthePDFresultismultipliedbyspeciesdensitytoenablecomparisonbetweenimpactsindifferentrealms(albeitwithsomecoarseassumptionsaboutspeciesdistributionandsensitivitytoimpacts).

Biodiversityandresponsiblesourcingforwindandsolardevelopments:Anoverviewandactionagenda1

1Introduction

1.1Materialsandtherenewableenergy

transition

Theneedtotransitiontoalowercarbon,nature-

saferenewableenergy-basedeconomyismore

urgentthanever(WWF&BCG,2023;WWF&

TBC,2023).The

ParisAgreement

setsastringent

targetoflimitingglobalwarmingto2°Cabove

pre-industriallevelsby2050,1emphasisingthe

necessityofurgent,rapid,andextensiverenewableenergyadoptiontoachievethisgoal.Delaysin

implementinglowcarbonenergysolutionsaspartofthetransitionfromfossilfuelstorenewableenergywillseverelyhinderprogresstowardsthisgoal.

Inparallel,themorerecentlyadopted

Kunming-

MontrealGlobalBiodiversityFramework

(KMGBF)hastheoverallvisionofachievingfullrecovery

ofnatureby2050,andby2030aimstohaltand

reversebiodiversitylosstosustainahealthyplanet,whilstdeliveringbenefitsessentialforhuman

well-beingandeconomicprosperityforallpeople

(Box1

).

Theseglobalclimateandnaturegoalshighlightthatthetransitiontolow-carbonenergycannotoccur

inisolation,norinavacuum–achievingthembothrequirescombiningeffortstoreducegreenhouse

gas(GHG)emissionswithbiodiversityconservationandensuringtheyaremutuallybeneficial(action

onclimateisnotnecessarilyinherentlygoodfor

biodiversity(Dunne,2022).Further,lackofaccess

toenergyremainsacriticalchallengeinmany

countries,subjectingmanypeopletoalifeof

poverty.Addressingthischallengethroughtherapiddeploymentofrenewableenergyisparamount–in2023atthehalfwaypointforachievingthe2030

SustainableDevelopmentGoals(SDGs)theworldwascurrentlynotontracktoachieveSDG7–

ensuringaccesstoaffordable,reliable,sustainable

andmodernenergyforall(IEA,2023;IEAetal.,

2023;Roser,2020).Alloftheseimpliestheneedtotransformthewaysocietiesareoperatingtoaddressthecurrentbiodiversityandecosystemcollapse

andworktowardsajustandnature-positivefuture(

Box1

).However,whilstlarge-scaledecarbonisationofglobalpowerinfrastructureisessentialtomeetingclimategoals,itmustnothappenattheexpense

ofnature(Gasparatosetal.,2017;TNC,2021)–

especiallyasthiswouldlikelyreducetheefficacyofdecarbonisationefforts.

Aswindandsolarenergyprojectsproliferate

worldwide,policymakers,investors,and

conservationistsarerecognisingtheneedfor

enhancedresponsiblesourcingpracticesfor

biodiversity,includingimprovedcircularity,to

ensureconsistencyofsupplychainsandtomeet

theincreasingdemandforscarcemineralsand

metals.Thecurrentproductionandprocessing

ofmineralsandothermaterialswillneedtoscale

upsubstantiallytomeetthisdemand.There

areconcernsthatthiswillexacerbatethreatsto

biodiversityaboveandbeyondthosefromtraditionalminingduetothegreateroverlapbetweenmineraldepositsfortransitionmaterialsandareasof

biodiversityimportance(Sonteretal.,2020a).

Itisthereforecrucialtoensuregoodpracticeandrobustimplementationofthemitigationhierarchy

whenidentifyingandoperatingnewmining

concessions,withtheimpetusandrequirements

flowingdownfromthosecorporatessourcingthesematerialsthroughtheirsupplychains.Theissues

aremanyandcomplex,oftenextendingbeyon