Webinar: Mapping Sand Supply Chains in the Gulf Region
On July 21st, Gulf Sustain hosted a webinar marking the launch of its new report: Mapping Sand Supply Chains in the Gulf, developed in partnership with Design for Freedom by Grace Farms and Newcastle University.
Panelists included:
Tamara Juburi, Gulf Sustain
Emma Gallo, Design for Freedom by Grace Farms
Dr Louise Gallagher, The Coalition for Responsible Sand and Silicates
Dr Chris Hackney and Hannah Runeckles, Newcastle University
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Sand is the second most consumed material after water and the most consumer solid material that we use in our economies and daily lives. Its annual extraction is estimated to be 50 billion tonnes globally.
Sand’s applications are widespread: including to produce concrete, glass and silicone. Despite the depth of sand supply chains and the breadth of its use, there is little visibility of this ubiquitous material across its lifecycle.
Nowhere is this more clear than in the Gulf region, where national visions and ambitious development plans require unprecedented amounts of sand. In the context of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, there is a particularly high level of exposure to social risks in supply chains, including forced labour and poor worker welfare conditions.
While sand contributes to products across key industries including AI and technology, tourism and hospitality, and energy, its demand is driven by the construction industry. Given that the construction sector underpins Gulf states’ plans for economic diversification, there is an urgent need to shed light on the lifecycle of this material and the risks that are associated throughout.
Based on this, Gulf sustain - in partnership with Design for Freedom and Newcastle University - have developed this report to address some of the invisibility of the social risks around sand production and to examine in more depth the supply chain in relation to the Gulf region: from imports to extraction to transport and continued trade of the material.
The research shows that the scale of the Gulf’s aggregate usage is dominated by Saudi Arabia, which exhibits a domestically dominated supply chain. In contrast, the UAE and Oman have more export focussed sectors, whilst Qatar is import dominated. While there is huge diversity in terms of demand drivers for sand throughout the period examined by this research, one clear common denominator arises: a heavy reliance on migrant workers throughout every stage of the sand supply chain with risks including forced labour, unsafe conditions, workplace hazards, wage theft and coercion and subcontractor risks identified throughout the stages of extraction, processing, transport and construction.
Given this landscape, alignment with the OECD’s Due Diligence for Responsible Sand and Silicate Supply Chains on issues of sustainable and just supply chains is important, as is direct engagement with governments and businesses to action the recommendations presented by the report. Through its own work at the GCC country levels, Gulf Sustain will seek to build on the report findings and continue advocating for increased visibility within the sand supply chain as it relates to the Gulf region.