Director. Environmental & Social Consulting
ENSOR Management Consultants
Victor Davydov is a co-founder and Environmental and Social Consulting Director of ENSOR Management Consultants (ENSOR), known for his almost 20 years of expertise in advising major national and multinational companies across diverse industries on sustainability matters. Before ENSOR, Victor spent 16 years at the world's largest sustainability consulting company where he has gained invaluable experience of work with world’s leading organizations and sustainability experts. His exceptional skill set as a leading expert and project manager allowed him to successfully spearhead and carry out over 300 EHS/ESG consulting projects in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Russia, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Belarus, South Africa, Germany, Austria, France, India, China and Brazil.
Victor's professional experience and areas of expertise encompass a wide range of valuable services. Notably, he excels in assessing environmental and social risks and impacts; conducting environmental, health, safety and social due diligence assessments and audits; providing EHS/ESG support for M&A transactions, IPO and project finance; reviewing and establishing robust environmental and social management systems; driving sustainability and ESG strategies; and offering expert sustainability/ESG advice. Victor has in-depth knowledge and many years of practical experience of application of international environmental, social and governance standards in mining & metals industry including IFC Performance Standards, EBRD Performance Requirements, IRMA, ICMM, Copper Mark, Responsible Gold, Responsible Steel, etc.
Victor worked on and successfully delivered EHS/ESG advisory projects for hundreds of large national and multinational companies in mining & metals sector such as Rio Tinto, Alcoa, Nornickel, ERG, Kaz Minerals, Yildirim, Metalloinvest, Rusal and many more.
Meeting stakeholders’ growing needs for responsible mining by means of implementation requirements of international standards (using IRMA standard as an example)
Mining plays a crucial role in worldwide economies as well as in the energy transition to renewable sources. As the world shifts towards renewable energy sources to mitigate climate change and reduce dependence on fossil fuels, the demand for materials used in alternative energy technologies is expected to increase. Mining is necessary to extract raw materials like lithium, cobalt and rare earth minerals that are essential for the production of alternative energy technologies such as batteries for electric vehicles and solar panels. Mining sector in Kazakhstan with a 14.1% share in the country’s GDP and 17.5% in export as well as its growth strategy plays a vital role in supporting the national economic growth as wells as contribution to global energy transition.
Despite of these positives, mining activities are associated with substantial adverse environmental and social impacts. A wide range of stakeholders like investors, lenders, clients, communities and NGOs demand from mining companies to act responsibly and ensure that their projects and operations meet requirements of the leading international ESG standards. One of such standards was developed by the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA). It covers all mined materials around the world and provides for a comprehensive set of requirements for responsible practices in mining across four principles: social responsibility, environmental responsibility, business integrity and planning for positive legacies. IRMA standard is recognized as highly credible and comprehensive by both leading companies as well as civil society not-for-profit organizations. More than 60 civil society organizations and communities have recognized IRMA and cited the Standard as one they wish to see companies adopt. Many major mine materials purchasers like BMW, Intel, Tesla, Cisco, etc. are members of IRMA and demand from their metals supply chains to comply with the IRMA standard.
In the presentation, an overview of the IRMA standard will be provided including its benefits and potential challenges for implementation by companies in Kazakhstan.