Membership Application
About ResponsibleSteel™
Multi-stakeholder collaboration
ResponsibleSteel™ will be the first global multi-stakeholder standard and certification initiative for steel. It is a not for profit organisation which will administer an independent third-party certification program for the steel value chain.
Iron and steelmakers cannot achieve our mission on their own. At the heart of standards setting has to be the ethos that this can change things for the better. Everyone should win from schemes like ResponsibleSteel™.
The standard will launch during 2018 / 2019 and is open for membership. The approach is a multi-stakeholder membership model, and new members are welcome from anywhere in the world, from every part of the steel supply chain, and from civil society groups, associations, and other organisations.
Compliance with local legal obligations alone is not sufficient to meet the expectations of customers, stakeholders and civil society. There is a need for responsible producers of steel, the most widely used material in the world, to respond to these developments. The ResponsibleSteel™ initiative is designed to be a key element of this response.
The steel industry today is the largest materials industry in the global economy. At 1 trillion US$ turnover, it is 7.5 times the size of the copper industry, 10 times the size of the aluminium industry and around 3 times the value of the cement industry. ResponsibleSteel™ is working with a range of stakeholders to develop a set of standards. For the candidate to achieve ResponsibleSteel™ certification, these standards must be complied with and audited by independent verifiers. The primary objectives are to define and promote responsibly sourced and produced steel, in order to: • Allow steel producers to meet the sustainability needs of their customers and other stakeholders • Improve responsible sourcing in the steel supply chain and reduce supply chain risk • Enable leading producers to promote steel as a responsible material
2 ResponsibleSteel™ Membership Application
Our mission is to provide businesses and consumers worldwide with confidence that the steel they use has been sourced and produced responsibly at all levels of the steel supply chain, from suppliers of raw materials, through to end users. This can only be achieved through discussion, cooperation and mutual commitment involving companies at all levels of the steel supply chain, their customers and representatives of civil society. ResponsibleSteel™ is the forum for this discussion, to the mutual benefit of all participants. ResponsibleSteel™ is committed to open dialogue and to working as a multi-stakeholder group, to collaborate with the best of the equivalent schemes. We can all acknowledge that there is a gap in the market for ResponsibleSteel™ - there is not an obvious way for companies to certify steel and they are looking for one. There is also benefit in terms of recognising companies that have a certain standard and also in encouraging those that don't, to raise their game.
Membership benefits:
Membership categories:
• Help organisations reach their social and environmental objectives through independent certification / accreditation, giving competitive and reputational advantage
The ResponsibleSteel™ multi-stakeholder governance structure has two principal membership categories:
• Creating higher impact on environmental and social issues • Encourage independent assurance of systems and performance • Facilitate multi-stakeholder consensus on what constitutes responsible performance and practice • Build effective global partnerships and relationships across the public, private and voluntary sectors sharing best practice and standards • Improved market access with networking through a global forum for ongoing constructive dialogue • Increase transparency and understanding to supply chains • Reduce duplication of effort and costs through standardisation • Improving business operations and securing a licence to operate, supporting compliance with relevant regulatory requirements • Reward social and environmental achievements
3 ResponsibleSteel™ Membership Application
• Business (the business category will include iron and steel makers, suppliers of raw materials, and downstream users.) • Civil Society (the civil society category will include NGOs with social or environmental missions, and trade unions.) Applicants for membership should nominate the membership category most relevant to their activities. Please note that members must be a legal entity or group of legal entities. Special rules apply where a group of legal entities wish to jointly act as a member, and in essence they provide for one nominated member of that group to legally represent and be responsible for the group in relation to the group’s membership of ResponsibleSteel™, whilst still ensuring that each member of the group has appropriate commercial entitlements arising from membership. In addition, ResponsibleSteel™ welcomes organisations that are not eligible to become full ResponsibleSteel™ members, but that would like to show their support and be kept informed as the programme develops, to become ResponsibleSteel™ Associates.
Membership commitments: By applying for ResponsibleSteel™ membership, your organisation commits, if admitted as a member to: General: • Support the objectives • Drive good responsible practice and sourcing to ultimately create a positive impact • Work to encourage and recognise responsible production, sourcing and stewardship of steel Policies and procedures: • Comply with the Constitution and the Governance Handbook • Comply with the Anti-Trust Compliance Policy • Comply with the Complaints Mechanism, including any disciplinary proceedings or applicable sanctions that may apply as a result • Comply with By-Laws as to related claims, the use of logos and other intellectual property • Pay membership fees in a timely fashion
4 ResponsibleSteel™ Membership Application
Annual membership fees A key principle of ResponsibleSteel™ is to be a multi-stakeholder not for profit organisation, encouraging membership of all types. A range of membership fees are applicable depending on the type, size and / or purpose of an organisation. Membership fees are set by the
MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES
ResponsibleSteel™ Board and reviewed on an ongoing basis. The current fees are set out in the tables below. For organisations that are commercially active in the steel supply chain, annual membership fees are determined by annual turnover / revenue:
LARGE US$5 billion+
MEDIUM Between US$100 million and US$5 billion
SMALL Under US$100 million
US$30,000
US$10,000
US$1,000
Business
(including iron and steelmakers, raw material suppliers and downstream users)
Civil Society
(including NGOs with social or environmental missions, and trade unions)
Free
For Associates, ResponsibleSteel™ annual membership fees are determined by the purpose of the organisation:
ASSOCIATES*
GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS
General *No voting rights **Under review
5 ResponsibleSteel™ Membership Application
TRADE ASSOCIATIONS
Free**
NOT FOR PROFIT OR ACADEMIC
APPLICANT DETAILS
Company:
Address:
CONTACT DETAILS
Name: Position: Email: Mobile: MEMBERSHIP TYPE
Business: Civil Society: Associate: ORGANISATION SIZE
Large US$5 billion+ Medium between US$100 million and US$5 billion Small under US$100 million Civil Society:
Associate: Governmental Organisations Not for profit or Academic Trade Associations
6 ResponsibleSteelâ„¢ Membership Application
Please list countries of operation:
Profile
please provide a description of your organisation for use on our website
Signature
Organisation
Date
Once you've completed your membership application, please return to Matt Dransfield: Managing.Director@responsiblesteel.org or ResponsibleSteel One Alfred Place 1 Alfred Place London WC1E 7EB
7 ResponsibleSteel™ Membership Application