CEDHA and HINS Develop “Guide of Socio-Environmental Indicators for Lithium Production”

The overarching goal of the project is to identify, design, and describe a set of socio-environmental indicators to be applied to each product unit in Argentina’s lithium industry.

The global urgency of addressing climate change has made the transition to more sustainable energy sources an unavoidable priority. In this context, lithium has emerged as a key climate element for the electrification of transport and energy storage, playing a crucial role in decarbonization. As the country with the second-largest lithium resources, Argentina is positioned as one of the world’s leading producers, with significant growth potential.

This report—developed by the Center for Human Rights and Environment (CEDHA) and HINS, a leading company in designing and implementing climate action and sustainability strategies focused on the development, construction, operation, and maintenance of renewable energy projects—highlights the importance of developing lithium production in a sustainable way, acknowledging the environmental and social challenges it entails. Based on this premise, the Guide of Socio-Environmental Indicators for Lithium Production in Argentina lays the foundation for a comprehensive framework of socio-environmental indicators to ensure that lithium, the driver of the energy transition, is produced responsibly and in harmony with the environment and local communities.

Project Objective

The main objective of this project is the identification, design, and description of a series of socio-environmental indicators to be applied to each unit of product within Argentina’s lithium industry. Additionally, it aims to support specific mining companies to ensure that lithium is produced responsibly—using the best available technology—and in alignment with environmental sustainability and the well-being of local communities.

The development of the reference indicators followed these steps:

• Risk assessment of impacts: through a methodology specifically adapted for this project.

• Identification of impacts.

• Risk evaluation of the identified impacts.

• Selection of socio-environmental indicators.

Through this process, the project enabled the identification, analysis, and detailed assessment of socio-environmental impacts associated with lithium production in Argentina.

Moreover, an innovative system of socio-environmental indicators was developed to measure, monitor, and validate the most significant risks in this sector nationwide.

These indicators were specifically designed to be applied per unit of final lithium product—generally per ton of lithium salt—creating a framework that provides highly valuable information to all stakeholders regarding each unit produced.

The product-based standardized indicator approach differentiates this work from other guides, standards, and certifications commonly found in the mining sector, which are typically organizational in nature.

What’s Next

As a next step, the guide is set to be validated and assessed for potential application by various industry stakeholders: companies, trade associations, government agencies, and more.

Additionally, the platform could be integrated into a blockchain and tokenization system. To achieve this, a work plan must be defined, considering the following stages:

• Validation of the guide.

• Collaboration with stakeholders for adjustments and improvements.

• Development of the Indicator Management Platform.

• Implementation of Continuous Validation Mechanisms.