Paul Mitchell

I have been working on environmental and social issues and impacts for more than 25 years, principally in the natural resources sector. A significant proportion of my recent experience relates to environmental and social impact assessments, due diligence and audits, but I have also worked on environmental aspects of supply chain management (particularly related to conflict minerals and metals) and the development of environmental, social and governance standards. I have worked with an extensive list of major industry, regulatory and NGO clients, with a particular focus on mining and oil and gas. The majority of this work has been completed to, and reported against, IFC, Equator Principles and other international and financial institution standards. Much of my work has been in Africa, but I also have extensive experience in Europe, the Americas and Asia, covering base and precious metals, minor metals, industrial minerals, coal and other energy minerals, aggregates and strategic metals.

I am comfortable working with and managing teams of technical and social specialists and coordinating consultation and engagement activities with regulators, local communities and other stakeholders. I have excellent personnel management skills at the interface between technical disciplines and between technical and non-technical experts and substantial experience of distilling complex technical issues and guidance for use by non-specialist audiences.

My experience has taught me that delivering professional and high quality work doesn’t have to cost the earth. I am pro responsible extractives and have worked towards that goal since the late 1980s and I choose to work with like-minded people with a focus on making a positive difference. However, I recognise that we still have a long way to go; although there are many fresh challenges just around the corner, there are also opportunities for extractives to continue improving performance and I hope to be part of that process and leave a positive legacy behind.