The Royal Mint ESG Credentials

Introduction to The Royal Mint

Established over 1,100 years ago, The Royal Mint is the oldest organisation in the UK and the original maker of world-class precious metals products. The brand is synonymous with trust and quality craftsmanship and The Royal Mint is known globally for producing market-leading gold, silver and platinum bullion coins and bars.

The Royal Mint’s most popular bullion ranges include; the Sovereign- regarded by thousands of investors as ‘the chief coin of the world’- and the iconic Britannia- the 2021 version of which has been credited as the most visually secure bullion coin in the world, due to the addition of four state-of-the-art security features which are visible in the latest design.

In recent years, The Royal Mint has also built a portfolio of physically-backed, digital precious metals solutions, whereby customers can purchase fractions of investment-grade bullion bars.

The physical bars that back the digital products are stored securely at The Royal Mint’s onsite vault in one of the most secure locations in the world and outside of the nancial system. Included within this digital portfolio are;

• DigiGold– designed for individuals who either want to accumulate digital gold, silver or platinum over the long term, or make instant trades in-line with market volatility.
• Little Treasures– designed for parents and grandparents who want to set up a long-term digital gold savings plan which they can then gift to their child or grandchild.
• Gold for Pensions– this allows your SIPP or your SSAS to hold, manage and sell physical gold from within your pension.
• The Royal Mint Physical Gold ETC– launched in partnership with ETF issuer, HANetf, The Royal Mint’s gold-backed ETC was launched on the London Stock Exchange in 2020 with the ticker symbol RMAU.

The Royal Mint’s ESG Credentials

The Royal Mint is committed to upholding the highest ethical standards, and will only work with precious metals suppliers who share their values, and comply with their strict criteria.

• Procurement Team: The Royal Mint employs an in-house procurement division, including an experienced team dedicated to the ethical sourcing of precious metals. The procurement team undergo regular training with key industry bodies, such as the World Gold Council, to ensure that their processes remain current and relevant.

• Partnerships: The Royal Mint is an active member of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA). The LBMA is the independent authority on precious metals and ensures the highest levels of leadership, integrity and transparency for the global precious metals industry by advancing standards and developing market solutions. By working in collaboration with the LBMA, The Royal Mint is at the forefront of developments in relation to ethical practices in the precious metals sector. The Royal Mint also holds a strong partnership with the World Gold Council, adhering to their Retail Gold Investment Principles. These principles are aimed primarily at the providers of gold investment products and work to encourage best practice, so that customers can feel confident that they are choosing to purchase from responsible sources.

• Supplier Checks: The Royal Mint uses refiners on the LBMA’s ‘Good Delivery List’, which ensures that any gold products supplied were refined from 2012 onwards, in-line with the implementation of the LBMA’s Responsible Gold Guidance. The Royal Mint’s Physical Gold ETC-RMAU-was one of the first ETCs to be backed by 100% post-2012 LBMA-approved gold bars. In addition to applying the globally recognised LBMA standards, The Royal Mint exercises additional checks and measures to ensure that precious metals are responsibly sourced, and to provide customers with peace of mind. All precious metals suppliers are subject to thorough background checks, and must agree to The Royal Mint’s stringent policies on employment practices, anti-money laundering, and anti-child labour practices, amongst others.
• External Audits: The Royal Mint commissions external, third-party audits twice per year to verify that ethical procurement standards have been adhered to. The most recent audit, conducted by Alex Stuart International into The Royal Mint Physical Gold ETC, conrmed that 100% of the physical bars used to back the product were post-2012 LBMA good delivery bars. Furthermore, 77% of these were actually post 2019- the point at which the LBMA updated their Responsible Gold Guidance. This is the first time any gold bar audit by an ETF or ETC issuer has included Responsible Gold Guidance information.

Future Plans

The Royal Mint is now working towards ensuring that 100% of the physical bars used to back its physical products are post-2019 LBMA good delivery bars. They aim to reach this goal by summer 2021. The Royal Mint is also planning to support The World Gold Council by providing additional support to UK trade partners to help them adhere to the Responsible Retail Principles.

The Impact of Gold

According to The World Gold Council, ‘when analysed on a ‘per US$ value’ basis, gold has amongst the lowest emissions intensity of all metals and mined products’. Furthermore, annual demand for gold is met by a combination of newly-mined and recycled metal.

Recycled gold now generally makes up between 25% and 30% of annual supply and initial research suggests that the rate of decarbonisation of the gold sector may be faster than many other sectors of the economy.

Click here to download the full RMAU Royal Mint ESG credentials

 
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