(Justmeans.com / CSR News) - ICMM's Assurance Procedure has been approved by Council, marking an important stage in the evolution of the ICMM Sustainable Development Framework.

Brad Mills, ICMM Chairman, said "External assurance of sustainable development reports supports the integrity of what is printed on the page and, without it, there can be no certainty that the contents will stand up to external scrutiny."

The procedure outlines ICMM's members' commitment to independent external assurance of the other two elements of ICMM's Sustainable Development Framework:

• implementing and measuring performance against the 10 ICMM Principles; and
• public reporting of performance in line with the Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI's) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines (G3, 2006 Guidelines) and the Mining and Metals Sector Supplement (MMSS).

This approach gives stakeholders and other interested parties assurance over public statements describing how the ICMM Sustainable Development Framework is being implemented by member companies. It also reinforces members’ commitment to independent assurance, by building upon ICMM’s 2005 Pilot Assurance Procedure. 

The ICMM Assurance Procedure must be implemented by all ICMM members in relation to their sustainability reports for the financial year ending December 2009 or March 2010.