Responsible Lithium Partnership is Concluding With Success

Press Release: Responsible Lithium Partnership is concluding with success: Multi-Stakeholder Roundtable continues its work as a foundation.

• The Multi-Stakeholder Roundtable (Mesa Multiactor) is officially launching its work as an independent foundation in Chile as of February 2025.
• The new body maintains its focus on managing and protecting water resources in Chile’s Salar de Atacama Basin.
• It includes roughly 20 stakeholders from indigenous communities, civil society, academia and the public and private sectors.
• With the new foundation on the way, the cross-industrial initiative “Responsible Lithium Partnership” is successfully concluding its activities with a closing event in Berlin.

The Multi-Stakeholder Roundtable (Mesa Multiactor) has achieved its key objective and created a model of collaboration in the Salar de Atacama. As of February 2025, the Roundtable will continue its work as an independent foundation with a focus on water resource management in the Salar, as water scarcity remains a central issue in Salar’s sensitive ecosystem. The newly established format of the Mesa Multiactor provides a vehicle for securing independent funding in the future.

Establishing the Roundtable and ensuring its long-term continuity were crucial goals of the project funded by the Responsible Lithium Partnership (April 2021–February 2025), supported by BASF, BMW Group, Daimler Truck AG (until April 2024), Fairphone, Mercedes-Benz Group AG and Volkswagen Group.

For the first time in the Salar de Atacama, the Roundtable has brought together a diverse range of stakeholders from indigenous communities, mining, tourism, agriculture, and government authorities. They stand for a large share of the water currently used in the watershed. The project exemplifies how to address water management issues collaboratively with a range of stakeholders in a complex territory such as the Salar de Atacama.

The stakeholders agreed on a Joint Action Plan with 30 measures to improve sustainable water resource management in the region. Activities have already been implemented, with a lasting impact in the area: for example, a new cadastre records the rights of the water holders in the Salar along with their rights to water access in the region, thus increasing transparency. By introducing methods of recycling grey water, the Roundtable opened up sustainable additional water sources for irrigation. Further activities included geological and hydrological mapping, public awareness campaigns on water scarcity, and improving the provision of drinking water to local communities.

Sustained Impact Beyond the Partnership

The Roundtable presented their lessons learnt to representatives from the financing companies, local civil society, the mining industry, public sector stakeholders, and diplomatic officials at a closing event in Berlin, delivering valuable insights into corporate due diligence and the future of responsible resource management:

• Erika Muñoz, Tourism Cooperation of San Pedro de Atacama: "The participatory manner in which issues have been discussed from the project's inception has enabled the generation of social capital, identification of solutions, and the development of a concrete action plan that benefits all involved."
• Benigno Reyes, President of the Association of Irrigators and Farmers of the San Pedro de Atacama River: "Key achievements of the project include connecting existing organizations, improving water management in agriculture, and ensuring stakeholders are better informed and more knowledgeable."
• Siegfried Leffler, Head of Operations at GIZ International Services: "The Roundtable has showcased the power of participatory approaches in addressing shared environmental challenges. Never before has such a range of different parties joined forces to tackle the urging issue of water scarcity in the region. With the new foundation, the Roundtable commits to future water management and lays the groundwork for a just and sustainable economic use of natural resources in the Salar de Atacama."
• Monique Lempers, Chief Impact Officer, Fairphone: "Transparency and shared responsibility are essential to building a more sustainable supply chain. The Responsible Lithium Partnership has set a precedent for how companies can engage with local communities and contribute to long-term environmental solutions. We are grateful to have supported this initiative and believe its legacy will continue to inspire change."

For more information on the Mesa Multiactor and its initiatives, visit www.mesamultiactor.cl.

Responsible Lithium Partnership (April 2021–February 2025) has been a project in the Salar de Atacama (Chile) commissioned by BASF, BMW Group, Daimler Truck AG (until April 2024), Fairphone, Mercedes-Benz Group AG and Volkswagen Group. 

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH has implemented the project.

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