The Role of the Commodities Trading and Extractives Sector in the Energy Transition
A joint event to explore how the commodities trading and extractive sectors can drive the energy transition.
The World Resources Forum Association (WRF), in collaboration with the Zug Commodity Association (ZCA) and Glencore, invites you to an engaging event that explores how the commodity trading and extractive sectors can drive sustainable, transparent, and resilient supply chains critical to the global energy transition.
This half-day event will feature thought-provoking insights from leading experts in energy transition, sustainability, and resource governance. Participants will engage in discussions on innovative strategies, key challenges, and lessons learned within the extractive and trading sectors.
DATE: 28 January 2025, 13:00-18:00
LOCATION: Park Hotel Zug (Zug, Switzerland)
ORGANISERS: World Resources Forum, Zug Commodity Association, Glencore
Enabling a global supply of sustainable minerals and metals.
The demand for critical minerals and metals is growing rapidly as the world moves towards a clean energy future. The International Energy Agency (IEA) highlights that in 2023, the demand for lithium alone grew by 30%, with significant increases in nickel, cobalt, and rare earth elements. These resources are vital for applications such as electric vehicles and battery storage, for which demand is expected to increase 30-fold by 2040.
The trading and extractive sectors play a pivotal role in securing the supply of these critical minerals amidst challenges such as geopolitical conflicts, climate-related disasters, and evolving regulations like the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive. The Swiss commodity sector, a key global trading hub, has seen progress in addressing sustainability through industry initiatives, media scrutiny, and economic pressure from financiers.
This event provides a timely opportunity to collaboratively explore how the commodities trading and extractive sectors can effectively contribute to driving the energy transition.
Programme
Speakers
Director, SECO
State Secretary Helene Budliger Artieda has been director of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) since 1 August 2022. Prior to that, she was Switzerland’s ambassador in Bangkok, Thailand, with additional accreditations to Cambodia and Laos. Until 2019, she held the same position in Pretoria, South Africa, with cross-accreditations to Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mauritius and Namibia.
President, World Resources Forum
Bruno Oberle was a professor at the EPFL, Director General of the IUCN and State Secretary in the Swiss Ministry of the Environment. He was involved in the founding of the Global Environment Facility and the Green Climate Fund.
Head of Energy Minerals Analysis Unit, International Energy Agency (IEA)
Tae-Yoon Kim is Head of Energy Minerals Analysis Unit at the International Energy Agency (IEA). Working in the Office of the Chief Energy Economist, he leads IEA’s analysis and modelling on critical minerals, and was a lead author of the IEA’s reports on critical minerals, including the latest Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2024. He is also a main contributor to the IEA’s flagship publications such as the World Energy Outlook and World Energy Investment. Prior to joining the IEA, he worked as a senior manager at Accenture’s energy strategy practice and as an infrastructure finance specialist at the World Bank.
Founder, PHASE32 and former Head of Unit DG Grow, European Commission
Peter Handley is a former European Commission and UK Civil Service official. In his last job at the European Commission, he was responsible for raw materials and energy-intensive industries in the Directorate General for the internal market, industry, entrepreneurship and SMEs. In that role, he led the team that developed the EU Critical Raw Materials Act. He also negotiated many of the EU’s strategic partnerships on critical raw materials and represented the EU in the Minerals Security Partnership, the IEA critical minerals working party and other international fora.
Peter now runs his own consultancy, PHASE32, specialising in sustainability and resilience. He is also a strategic advisor on energy, climate and critical raw materials with the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies and is a special advisor to the Paris Peace Forum’s Global Council for Responsible Transition Minerals.
President and CEO, International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM)
He leads the council of 24 CEOs of the world’s largest mining and metals companies in voluntary leadership actions that raise the standards of responsible mining.
Head of Copper Marketing, Glencore
Jyothish George is currently Head of Marketing (copper & zinc metal) at Glencore. Immediately prior to his current role, Mr. George served as head of marketing for iron ore at Glencore. Prior to that he was the Chief Risk Officer of Glencore.
Founder and CEO, Kumi Consulting
Andrew is the founder and CEO of Kumi, a leading advisory firm specialising in responsible supply chains and human rights due diligence. With extensive experience in the mining and metals sector, Andrew and his team support companies in identifying and managing human rights risks, enhancing social performance, and ensuring compliance with industry standards. Kumi also conducts comprehensive social and environmental due diligence for mining and processing operations on behalf of customers and investors.
Under Andrew’s leadership, Kumi has gained recognition as a trusted authority on the development and implementation of compliance standards and industry best practices for responsible sourcing. Kumi works closely with organisations such as the OECD and the European Commission, with Kumi authoring the Due Diligence Implementation Guidelines for the EU Batteries Regulation and being retained as the compliance assessor for the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation.
Head of Sustainable Development, Glencore
Anna Krutikov is responsible for stakeholder engagement and communication on matters relating to sustainability across the group.
Sector lead, Minerals & Extractives, OECD
Louis Maréchal joined the Centre for Responsible Business Conduct of the OECD in September 2014. He specifically works on projects related to the implementation of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains of Minerals from Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas.
Chairman, Ferrexpo and Managing Partner, Kuoni Attorneys at Law
Wolfram Kuoni, MBA INSEAD, serves on the board and as shareholder of various producing and trading companies active in the commodity industry. Since 2007 he is Chairman of Ferrexpo AG. He holds a PhD on the Swiss Export Risk Insurance. His law firm serves industrial and financial companies in the commodity industry.
CEO, BASF Renewable Energy
Horatio Evers took office as Chief Executive Officer of BASF Renewable Energy in
2022. He oversees the entire portfolio of (renewable) power at BASF and takes
responsibility for building, expanding and trading the global renewable power asset
portfolio and long-term contracts.
Director, zukunft.li
Gerald Hosp is a former journalist at the Swiss daily Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ), covering commodities, energy markets and international trade.. He was the economics correspondent of NZZ in Moscow and London. Since September 2024 he is the director of the think tank Zukunft.li in Liechtenstein.
Registration
Tickets are limited, and we encourage early registration. Please note that registering does not guarantee participation; your participation will be guaranteed only upon receipt of our official confirmation.
We offer a limited number of fee waivers for representatives of Civil Society and Non-Profit Organisations. To apply, please email us at info@wrforum.org with a brief explanation of why you are requesting a waiver and your interest in participating in the event.
80 CHF
Standard ticket
Hosted by
Additional sponsors
