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RPMGlobal establishes dedicated ESG mining division with acquisition of Nitro Solutions

RPMGlobal is set to boost its environmental, social and governance (ESG) offering with the addition of Australia-headquartered Nitro Solutions Pty Ltd.

The two companies have entered into an acquisition agreement whereby RPMGlobal will buy the privately-owned ESG services company.

“Nitro is a company that provides the mining industry with a quality-focused ESG service in the areas of environmental approvals, impact assessment, regulatory advice, environmental audits, compliance reporting (due diligence) and environmental economics, policy & legislation advice,” RPMGlobal said.

This acquisition will be the catalyst to bring together RPMGlobal’s ESG professionals, who are based across the globe, into one division to be headed by Ngaire Tranter, the current CEO and founder of Nitro.

RPMGlobal Chief Executive Officer, Richard Mathews, said the acquisition and the inclusion of the Nitro team combined with RPMGlobal’s existing ESG capabilities would see the company form a dedicated ESG division.

“While our mining advisory ESG professionals have been engaged to perform and manage numerous ESG mandates around the world, until now, we have not had a dedicated division focused solely on ESG,” he said.

“Ngaire and her team have an excellent reputation within the mining ESG market which gives us great confidence that we can build a world-class, mining-focused ESG business leveraging an ESG team that knows and understands mining from the ground up.”

Commenting on the acquisition, Tranter said she was proud of the business her team had built over the last six years and was looking forward to continuing to help mining companies take action to improve their ESG performance.

“Alongside the speed of ESG adoption, the opportunity to be part of a larger organisation with a global footprint allows us to assist the mining industry with the increasing requirements in this space right around the world,” she said. “It’s clear that RPMGlobal is passionate about building a premier mining ESG business supported by state-of-the-art software products, and I, together with the rest of the team, really look forward to joining RPMGlobal on this exciting journey.”

With most major and mid-tier miners around the globe having accelerated their efforts to meet decarbonisation targets in parallel with a broader societal commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, RPMGlobal says it has been drawing on its leading technology and the Advisory teams’ strong expertise to deliver a range of ESG-focused services.

“With organisations globally rising to the challenge of meeting increasing sustainability demands placed upon their organisations and operations, I see the merger of Nitro with RPMGlobal as an important step forward to supporting mining companies in their quest to meet decarbonisation, governance and social licence to operate requirements,” Tranter said.

Mathews said this was just the start of RPMGlobal’s ESG journey as the company plans to grow its ESG division with mining services capabilities through a range of organic and non-organic strategies.

“We also intend to harness the deep ESG domain knowledge of the Nitro team to assist RPMGlobal’s technology division identify software products we can either acquire, or alternatively build to service this accelerating market segment,” he said.

The acquisition is expected to close on June 30, 2021, subject to satisfaction of a number of conditions precedent and customary completion events.

RPMGlobal adds to ESG capabilities

RPMGlobal says it has bolstered its in-house environmental, social and governance (ESG) capabilities with the appointment of Luke Stephens as Principal Social Specialist for the company’s Consulting & Advisory division.

Stephens, a mining social performance professional with more than 20 years’ of international experience, has a strong track record in social licence, community relations, social performance, multi-stakeholder partnerships, grievance management, government and donor relations, according to RPMGlobal.

Prior to joining RPMGlobal, Stephens was the Principal Closure and Sustainability Specialist for Afrique Gold and worked with Newcrest Mining as Superintendent for Social Performance. He also spent numerous years with aid and humanitarian agency, Concern Worldwide.

Since 1998, he has implemented best-practice community programs in mining and alongside local communities across Africa, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia, according to RPMGlobal.

Philippe Baudry, RPMGlobal’s Executive General Manager – Advisory Services, said the appointment reflected the company’s increased investment in ESG capabilities.

“Environmental, social and governance matters are now at the top of the corporate agenda which is being reflected in increased demand for our environmental and social due diligence expertise,” he said.

“We are certainly witnessing more mining companies investing in building sustainable ESG opportunities that create positive outcomes and mitigate project risk with the demand from investors for transparency in these critical areas of project development only increasing.

“This new appointment is a valuable addition to our expanding ESG team and Luke’s combined skillset will prove invaluable to RPMGlobal as we continue to expand our offerings and drive positive impact for global mining communities and their investors.”

RPMGlobal’s ESG division specialises in environmental and social due diligence evaluations and audits of mining projects located throughout the world with projects completed in Australia, the Americas, Africa, Turkey, Russia and the CIS countries.

“RPMGlobal’s growing ESG team has significant experience in advising its clients in how to bring projects up to IFC-PS and Equator Principle 4 requirements, as well as in the laws and regulations applicable in most mining jurisdictions with expertise spanning environmental and social action plans, social licence, community engagement, local consultation, land acquisition, compliance with regional and national regulations, grievance redress and management,” RPMGlobal said.

Denver-based Stephens said: “To join a growing and talented team of professionals at a company which is a leader in the ESG field is a fantastic opportunity and it’s exciting to come on board at such a pivotal time of growth for this division at RPMGlobal.”

Baudry added: “RPMGlobal prides itself in providing high quality ESG services that lead to improved financial, environmental and social outcomes for our mining customers and its pleasing to be expanding the team with highly credentialed appointments alongside our commitment.”