Defining responsibility
Shaping clear norms and guidance, practical tools and shared red lines and green flags.
About
We're building practical frameworks for responsible sand and silicates—defining better practices, testing solutions in real supply chains, and creating the tools that turn commitment into action.
What we do
The Coalition is a cross-sector platform focused on three actions.
Demonstrating solutions
Testing due diligence approaches and innovation practices in real projects and supply chains under real-world conditions.
Building shared intelligence
Providing a knowledge hub and making data and insights actionable, so learning travels beyond individual pilots.
Why it matters
Sand and silicates are the foundation of modern life and the most extracted solid materials on Earth. Each year, tens of billions of tonnes are used worldwide to build homes, infrastructure, electronics and energy systems. They have been part of human societies from the beginning, and they will remain so.
Aggregates, clays, industrial sands, natural stone and high-purity quartz are often treated as freely abundant and low risk. These assumptions no longer hold.
- Scale — demand is now large enough to shape ecosystems, landscapes and markets across the world.
- Risk — environmental, social and human-rights risks and impacts are observed in extraction and use in many different contexts.
- Governance gaps — responsibility frameworks have failed to keep pace with reality. Sand and silicates still sit largely outside established practices for responsible minerals sourcing and use. Public governance is often fragmented.
- Supply pressure — in some markets, access already affects cost, timing and project viability.
When materials are taken for granted, questions of origin, management and accountability fade. The consequences of this invisibility are linked to human-rights, environmental and systemic risks, including growing pressure on secure supply.
Responsible public governance and business conduct are no longer optional. Yet responsibility for sand and silicates remains weakly defined. This creates a rare opening. There is room to lead — to innovate, set legitimate benchmarks and open new pathways for value creation and resilience.
Where we are on the journey
This Coalition exists because of the vision and generosity of the Global Centre for Mineral Security and the leadership of Professor Daniel Franks at The University of Queensland's Sustainable Minerals Institute. The Centre provided our intellectual home, supported the research that made this work credible, and created the conditions for collaboration across industry, civil society and research.
The Centre's work was supported by funding from The University of Queensland through its Resourcing Decarbonisation and Trailblazer initiatives, IKEA, Roca Group and MCS Group. We're grateful for their partnership and excited to see where this collaborative journey leads next.
Full project history at the Sustainable Minerals Institute
Key moments
- Asking the question — is it time to treat sand and silicates as part of responsible minerals supply? Research conducted at the Global Centre for Mineral Security for IKEA and the OECD, between 2022 and 2024, confirmed these materials belong on international agendas and exposed major gaps in existing standards.
- Co-designing what could be — a founder meeting in Barcelona in July 2025 shaped the Coalition's purpose, scope and initial programme of work. We're grateful to Roca Group for generously hosting us.
- Formalising the transition — an Interim Council meeting in London in December 2025 endorsed the governance model, membership approach and identity, and supported the move to independence. We're grateful to Roca Group for generously hosting us. We're opening membership and launching publicly in mid-2026, backed by our first wave of guidance and projects for 2026–2028.
Many people and organisations are part of our journey, and we're grateful for each of them.
Our governance
The Coalition for Responsible Sand and Silicates is a not-for-profit, public company limited by guarantee, incorporated in Australia. We are governed by a board of directors and a multi-stakeholder advisory council. The advisory council sets strategic direction and programme priorities. The Board of Directors hold the fiduciary responsibility and oversight. The work is supported by a small, distributed secretariat. This structure keeps the Coalition mission-driven, transparent and open to diverse forms of participation.
Board of Directors
Fiduciary responsibility and oversight
Advisory Council
Multi-stakeholder strategic direction and programme priorities
Secretariat
Day-to-day coordination with members and partners
Contacts
The secretariat's role is to serve the coalition's members: coordinating partnerships, managing operations, and ensuring the work gets done. As a small team, we share responsibility across strategy, delivery and relationship-building.
Louise Gallagher
Co-Lead
Louise leads knowledge co-production, partnership development and strategic engagement. With a background in environmental social science and governance, she designs collaborative processes that bring diverse stakeholders together to address complex sustainability challenges. Her research and network-building help establish foundations for the Coalition's work.
Daniel Holm
Co-Lead
Daniel leads organisational design and governance systems. With expertise in responsible minerals sourcing and social performance assessment, and experience running his own businesses, he builds the operational models and strategic frameworks that enable effective collaboration. Daniel is guiding the Coalition's transition from a research initiative to an independent, mission-driven organisation.
Elin Post
Technical Advisory
Elin is a former Materials & Innovation Manager at H&M Group and brings valuable downstream industry expertise to the Coalition. After contributing as a founding member, she has joined the secretariat to help translate the Coalition's vision into practical, real-world implementation across supply chains.
Get in touch
If you're interested in learning more about our work, we'd love to hear from you. Get in touch with Louise and she'll guide you from there.
