Responsible Sourcing
In today’s modern world, demonstrating responsible sourcing across the supply chain has become a necessity. IMOA recognizes the importance of responsible sourcing and strives to ensure its members have effective options to help them respond to increasing market and regulatory demands in this area.
At the end of 2021, IMOA began collaborating with Copper Mark with the aim of developing a molybdenum-specific option for responsible sourcing accreditation to support members to meet customers’ increasing expectations on responsible sourcing and due diligence.
The Molybdenum Mark
2023 marked the launch of the Molybdenum Mark, developed by The Copper Mark in collaboration with the International Molybdenum Association (IMOA). The Molybdenum Mark aims to promote sustainable and responsible production and sourcing practices throughout the supply chain. It offers our molybdenum-producing members the opportunity to access a credible assurance framework with an already globally established set of criteria that can be readily adapted to the molybdenum supply chain, providing a mechanism to meet market expectations and regulatory requirements, and increasing the percentage of responsibly produced molybdenum available to society.
The successful uptake of the Molybdenum Mark by producing sites in the pilot program, saw it converted mid-way through the pilot into Copper Mark’s regular program. As of January 2025, 28 producing sites have been awarded the globally accredited Molybdenum Mark. Eight of those are independent sites*, while 20 were awarded the Molybdenum Mark extension. In addition, three producing sites have signed their Letter of Commitment and are working towards achieving the Molybdenum Mark, including one independent site.
This strong uptake shows our industry’s steadfast commitment to responsible sourcing practices. Congratulations to all the sites which have been awarded the Molybdenum Mark /Molybdenum Mark extension. For full details of these sites please visit Participating Sites - The Copper Mark.
More information about the Molybdenum Mark can be found here.
*An independent site is a primary molybdenum mining site or a processing site not directly connected with a mining site.
Copper Mark Risk Readiness Assessment (RRA)
Copper Mark’s RRA is a set of mineral-agnostic criteria for responsible production, sourcing, processing and recycling of minerals and metals. The RRA Criteria Guide is used by The Copper Mark to define the requirements its participants have to meet to receive the Copper Mark, Nickel Mark, Zinc Mark or Molybdenum Mark. For more information please visit Copper Mark Standards.
Copper Mark Joint Due Diligence Standard (JDDS)
Copper Mark’s JDDS was updated in 2023 to include molybdenum. The Joint Due Diligence Standard for Copper, Lead, Molybdenum, Nickel and Zinc is designed to enable effective due diligence for producers and/or traders of these metals. It intends to build on existing standards and provide flexibility for multi-metal producers to include materials intended for the production of metal products other than of principal covered metals at their site(s) as needed.
Molybdenum profile for supply chain due diligence and responsible sourcing
Updated Molybdenum Profile for Responsible Sourcing and Supply Chain Due Diligence
The updated Molybdenum Profile gives a detailed overview of the molybdenum supply chain with a focus on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations. It examines the ESG implications for industry stakeholders and outlines the current responsible sourcing standards, certifications, and initiatives relevant to molybdenum.
Developed by TDi Sustainability in collaboration with IMOA, this resource is designed to support materials specifiers, steelmakers, and downstream standards-setters - including initiatives such as ResponsibleSteel and Copper Mark - in making informed decisions about responsible sourcing.
This updated version was published in December 2025.
This profile was produced by TDi Sustainability in collaboration with IMOA to support materials’ specifiers, steelmakers, and downstream standards-setters, such as ResponsibleSteel and Copper Mark, to make informed decisions about responsible sourcing. It reports on the ESG implications for industry participants and the current responsible sourcing standards, certifications and initiatives that are applicable to molybdenum.
