Determination of sustainability factors for assessment of critical raw material

Abstract

Currently, the securement of critical raw materials denotes a high-priority matter for most companies and governments given the colossal effect these minerals have on the nation’s economy. However, the sector is impacted by challenges ranging from long-term depletion concerns to the supply disruption threat that translates to scarcity and subsequent hikes in prices. Firstly, the study sought to determine the indicators of supply risk and the economic dimension of sustainability for the assessment of the criticality of raw materials. Secondly, the thesis sought to determine the indicators of the environmental and social dimension of sustainability for the determination of criticality of raw materials. This study aimed to determine the most preferred indicators for the evaluation of sustainability factors related to criticality of raw materials. To meet this objective, the research reviewed literature select the indicators and employed rough set theory to derive the sets of indicators important for criticality assessment. On the results, the study found the set for supply risk indicators to include country concentration, country risk, depletion time, by-product dependency, company concentration, and demand growth. Set for vulnerability indicator included substitutability, value of affected product, future demand, strategic importance, value of material utilized and spread of utilization. The set for social dimension indicator included local community, society and worker dimension. Environmental indicator included two areas of protection (AoPs), human health, and ecosystem equality.