Founded in 1993, Trafigura is an international commodity trading group that sources, stores, transports, and delivers a range of raw materials globally, such as oil, refined products, and metals and minerals. The organization, which operates in 48 countries with over 8500 employees, will collaborate with Circulor, a leading provider of supply chain provenance and emissions tracking, to deliver traceability and carbon emissions tracking for their industrial process.
“Our mission is to bring greater transparency to the most complex industrial supply chains, in order to prevent the exploitation of people and planet,” said Douglas Johnson-Poensgen, Founder and CEO of Circulor. “By working with the world’s pre-eminent metals trader at this scale, we can together establish a new benchmark for responsible and sustainably sourced battery materials.”
Having signed a Master Services Agreement, Trafigura and Circulor will now develop a programme that intuitively tracks carbon emissions in Trafigura’s nickel and cobalt supply chain, particularly focusing on the manufacturing of electric vehicles.
“This agreement paves the way for a future in which we help Trafigura excel in meeting its ambitions,” said Mr. Johnson-Poensgen. “There are very real benefits to this work, including assurance of responsible supply, understanding and clarity of CO2 emissions at different points in supply chains, and the provision of ESG data.”
Trafigura and Circulor are currently working on a responsible sourcing and traceability programme that will support the physical tracking and tracing of materials and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) data pertaining to, for instance, the ‘OECD Due Diligence Guidance’ and the ‘UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights’. As Jeremy Weir, Executive Chairman and CEO of Trafigura, explains: “As a key supplier of the vital commodities our customers need, Trafigura has invested significantly in developing tools to identify and mitigate social and human rights risks and environmental impacts, including carbon emissions, in global commodity supply chains.”
“Circulor’s offering is tried-and-tested and their expertise and market reach are internationally respected,” said Mr. Weir. “Today’s agreement is an important next step in improving transparency in commodity markets, and will enable us to offer our customers responsibly-sourced commodities, with a clearly-defined carbon specification.”
