Financial Accounting Advisory Services (FAAS) and Climate Change and Sustainability Services (CCaSS) Partner Benjamin N. Villacorte (BNV) and CCaSS Senior Director Katrina Francisco were accredited as verification service providers (VSPs) by the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP).
External verifiers in-training
BNV and Katrina were among the first batch of experienced independent experts in social, environmental, mining, and other related sciences who were trained by the Mining Association of Canada (MAC) to be COMP VSPs. The training sessions were conducted in February and March 2022.
As VSPs, they will be using measurement tools prescribed by the Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) program to review the performance ratings of COMP members and ensure that mining operators’ management practices and performance are accurately reflected.
TSM is a set of indicators to drive the environmental and social performance of operating mines and ensure key mining risks are managed responsibly and best practices are used at COMP members’ facilities. The program was established by the MAC in 2004 and adopted by the COMP in 2017. It is already being implemented in 10 countries and is rapidly becoming a global standard for responsible mining.
