The Global Reporting Initiative has announced its team to develop mining sector sustainability standards.

Delegates from mining companies Newmont Corp., South32, Coeur Mining, Hyperion Metals, and Anglo American will help draft the standards.

Organisations including Southern Africa Research Watch, the World Wildlife Fund, Mining Shared Value, and the Natural Resource Governance Institute will also be involved in the drafting of the standards.

The project working group will identify significant impacts and stakeholder expectations. The draft will be developed by vetting these issues and descriptions through a multi-stakeholder process in a series of virtual and one-on-one meetings.

The drafted sector standards will then be exposed to public comment, which will be incorporated in the finalisation of the standard.

The initiative is part of a plan to create sustainability standards for 40 industries. GRI released its first sector standards for the oil and gas industry last year, in addition to its updated universal standards.

GRI will start with industries that have the highest impact, the organisation said. Other sectors which are high-priority include agriculture, aquaculture, and fishing.

The organisation has chosen the mining sector as one of its highest-impact sectors, due to the industry's intensive water use; its disruption of ecyosystems, which include air and soil pollution; as well as its critical role in the low-carbon transition.

The team recruited to draft the mining code includes representatives from mining companies, analyst firms, governments, and community groups across the world.

"Built around the concepts of impact, material topics, due diligence and stakeholder engagement, these updates make it clear how companies can provide transparency and accountability in what they report," Judy Kuszewsky, who heads GRi's board for the Global Sustainability Standards.