Regular work conducted by the Group related to economics and the environment includes the following:

Directory of First Use – Capacities

The directory provides a systematic global overview of companies and plants involved in the “first use” of copper – the use of unwrought copper materials (refined copper, alloy ingots, direct melt scrap, etc.) as feed to the production of semi-fabricated products (copper wire rod; copper and copper alloy, sheet, strip, bar, rod, tube, etc.). It covers wire-rod plants, brass mills, and electrodeposited copper foil mills located in more than 75 countries.  It also covers ingot makers and master alloy plants as suppliers to foundries and brass mills. Please click here for the press release of the latest edition of the Directory. 

Annual Recyclables Survey

The ICSG conducts an annual survey of global copper scrap use focused on secondary refined production and copper content of directly melted copper and copper alloy scrap for the production of semis, casting ingots, and castings. The results are published annually in April. 

Regulatory Survey

The ICSG conducts a comprehensive annual survey of global regulations and developments affecting copper. The results are published annually, normally in August.

 Monitoring & Reporting on International Issues

The ICSG monitors and reports on international issues which may affect copper, including the work conducted by other international organizations, and briefs member countries when issues come forward. The main current issues of interest include the international economy, sustainable development, energy, the environment, and trade. Analyses have been conducted on topics including refined copper usage and the world economy, production and trade of semi-fabricate copper and copper alloy products, secondary copper production, and copper price
volatility.

Copper Flow Model

The ICSG Secretariat developed the Copper Flow Model (CFM) as a key tool for understanding copper flows in a particular country and determining the efficiency of recycling of copper from end-of-life products. It was applied by the Secretariat for Western Europe, the USA and, most recently, Brazil.

Country/Sector Profiles

The ICSG collects data in a comprehensive and systematic manner providing regular views of the economic, market and trade performance of countries and companies involved in copper markets. Profiles have been completed for Indonesia, India, Zambia, Philippines and Brazil.

CFC Projects

The ICSG, as an officially recognized International Commodity Body under the U.N. Common Fund for Commodities, serves as a supervisory body in a series of copper-relevant CFC projects (approved, submitted, or in preparation). The ICSG has supervised a range of earlier projects, including one to promote greater copper use in energy efficient products in India and China.

Copper Scrap Project

Approved by member countries in principle in May 2007, ICSG launched the Copper Scrap Project in order to provide greater transparency on an increasingly vital component of the world copper market at a time when globalization is reshaping the copper scrap and copper alloy recycling business. Specific benefits include improved data on copper scrap production, usage and trade, better estimates of scrap recycling rates, and enhanced understanding of the effects of different economic and environmental policies on the copper scrap market. The final report of the Global Copper Scrap Research Project was published in August 2010.

In addition, ICSG has sponsored analysis of scrap markets in China, India and Russia, as well as reports on the Japanese scrap market, China scrap usage survey and domestic scrap generation in China. For more information regarding this project, please contact the secretariat: mail@icsg.org.