FRONTIERS is organized into four sub-projects (work packages (WPs)).  

WP1 combines legal and qualitative social science methods into an exploration of EU and selected national risk-based due diligence and reporting requirements to understand what factors support harm-preventing effects in green energy, including in multi-tier supply chains in complex settings for environmental and social impacts. We combine legal and qualitative social science methods into an exploration of EU and selected national risk-based due diligence and reporting requirements to understand what factors support harm-preventing effects in green energy, including in multi-tier supply chains in complex settings for environmental and social impacts 

WP2 looks at deep-sea mining as a resource frontier for transition minerals. Taking a Rights-of-Nature approach, we approach the interests of the deep-sea eco-system as rights of the sea and its inhabitants, and examine if they can be voiced or protected through RoN arguments and explore if and how RoN arguments and risk-based due diligence processes may protect the deep-sea eco-system and adjacent communities against harmful impacts from mining. 

WP3 explores how institutional investors apply risk-based due diligence in decisions on transition minerals, how they seek to influence the investment chain for land-based transition minerals and potential expansion into the deep seas, and how RoN arguments may support those processes. We will work closely with Danish institutional investor AkademikerPension, a leading actor in sustainable finance and (through AkademikerPensoin) selected invested low-GHG power companies. Through document study and interviews we will explore practices current transition minerals investments and deep-sea mining potential, assess existing argumentative connections to meaningful stakeholder engagement as part of risk-based due diligence, and potential connections to RoN arguments and risk-based due diligence demands on the investment chain.  

Finally, WP4 develops conclusions and recommendations on A: the effectiveness of risk-based due diligence laws in shaping investors’ influence on invested companies in transition mining to provide affected people and the environment with a voice for a just transition considering their interests and respecting their rights; B: complementarity of RoN and risk-based due diligence to give voice to the envi-ronment and people affected by transition mining expansion; C: options for investors to apply risk-based due diligence and RoN arguments to obtain impact information to inform their decision-making on investing in transition minerals frontiers aligned with a just transition for people, the environment and ocean eco-systems, and to cascade consideration of the interests of affected areas and people through the investment chain; D: further research perspectives to maximize complementarity between risk-based due diligence, RoN and the role of investors for a just transition and its dependence on transition minerals, and expand natural resource governance and exploitation frontiers respecting rights of people and nature.