World Resources Forum

What World Resources Forum does

World Resources Forum (WRF), legally the World Resources Forum Association (WRFA), is an independent international non-profit association headquartered in Winterthur, Switzerland, founded in 2012 with a core team of approximately 13 staff. Its mission is to mobilise multi-stakeholder collaboration for sustainable and fair use of natural resources across the full life cycle — extraction, circularity, and recovery. WRF is organised around three interconnected activity pillars: a Dialogue platform (the WRF Forum and its international conferences), Action (a portfolio of 14+ research and implementation projects such as STEP, RMI+, CEI, SRI, RID, RE-SOURCING, CEWASTE, DiCE, uPOPCI, MedTechLabel and the ETC Circular Economy and Resource Use consortium), and Knowledge (publications, position papers and co-created tools distributed as global public goods under CC BY-NC 4.0 where applicable).

WRF's core technology comprises multi-stakeholder collaboration platforms and assessment methodologies spanning the resource life cycle. Standalone assets include the Responsible Mining Index+ (RMI+) — a biennial evidence-based ESG-disclosure assessment of 25 large-scale mining companies across six thematic areas, inherited from the Responsible Mining Foundation in 2022 and funded by BGR/BMZ and the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment; the Resource Impact Dashboard (RID), a web-based tool co-developed with ETH NADEL that integrates household survey, mining company, and public data at the mine-site level and was implemented at the Ewoyaa Lithium Project in Ghana in 2025; the Circularity Metrics Lab (CML), an interactive EEA platform tracking Europe's circular-economy progress; the CEWASTE voluntary certification scheme for WEEE/battery/ELV facilities piloted in eight countries; and convening authority over the ISO TC207/SC5 and TC323 working group (50 members, 20 countries) developing ISO 59014 on sustainability and traceability of secondary materials. The STEP Initiative — a global sustainable-electronics platform founded in 2004 — operates under WRFA hosting from 2025.

WRF's revenue model is grant-dominated. Public funders include the European Union (Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, IHI JU), Swiss SECO, GEF, EEA, BGR/BMZ, Swiss FOEN, and the r4d programme (SNSF/SDC). The largest single disclosed project budget is EUR 11,704,133 for MedTechLabel (36 months, starting April 2026). Individual membership is priced at EUR 100/year (EUR 50 discounted for students and residents of LMICs) via the Joinit platform, while organisational membership is custom and undisclosed. WRF serves a diverse base: 100+ partners across all continents; members including HP, the German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt), Empa, Rhomberg and the City of St. Gallen; project consortia spanning ministries, regulators, recyclers, mining majors, medical-device manufacturers (Philips, Arthrex, Janssen, Terumo, Cardinal Health, bioMérieux) and standards bodies; and Executive/Honorary Board members including former EU Commissioner Janez Potočnik, Goldman Prize winner Ma Jun, and senior figures from the World Bank, IISD, Empa and dss+.

Name

World Resources Forum

Legal name

World Resources Forum Association

Website

https://wrforum.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

World Resources Forum is a Swiss non-profit association that convenes governments, industry, science and civil society to advance sustainable resource use across extraction, circularity and recovery through its Forum conferences and a portfolio of multi-stakeholder research and implementation projects.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainable Resource Governance

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (54162), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Business Associations (813910), International Affairs (928120)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), International Affairs (9721), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainability & ESG Consulting (BPAHACAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental, Climate & Sustainability Standards & Reporting Cooperation (BPADANAI), Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus & Resilience Programming (BPADAEAK)

Keywords

• Sustainable resource governance
• Circular economy advisory
• Responsible mining assessment
• Multi-stakeholder collaboration
• E-waste management

Headquarters

HQ city

Teufen

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Membership Fees: Annual membership fee of EUR 100 (standard) or EUR 50 (discounted for students, PhDs, and residents in low- and middle-income countries per World Bank classification). One-year duration from date of purchase, sign-up available any time.
2. Organisational Membership Fees: Customisable membership fees for private and public organisations (corporates, ministries, regions, cities, NGOs, SMEs, startups). Level-based with bespoke pricing requiring direct contact.
3. EU Horizon Project Grants: Research and implementation funding from the European Union Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe programmes for projects such as CEWASTE, RE-SOURCING, DiCE, and MedTechLabel.
4. SECO Project Grants: Programme funding from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), supporting projects such as the Sustainable Recycling Industries (SRI) programme and the Circular Electronics Initiative (CEI).
5. GEF Project Grants: Global Environment Facility funding for projects such as uPOPCI (Côte d'Ivoire) on PBDEs and POPs management in WEEE/ELV waste.
6. Bilateral Government Grants (BGR/BMZ/FOEN): Funding from the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ), and the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) for the RMI+ 2025 Report.
7. Conference & Event Ticket Revenue: Standard-priced WRF conference tickets, with members receiving discounts or free online access.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

World Resources Forum (WRF) is an international non-profit association that mobilises multi-stakeholder collaboration for sustainable and fair resource use across the full resource life cycle. It operates a portfolio of Dialogue (Forum conferences), Action (research and implementation projects), and Knowledge (publications, assessment tools, and standards) activities, including the Responsible Mining Index, the Resource Impact Dashboard, the STEP sustainable electronics platform, and the WRF Academy capacity-building programme.

Product overview

World Resources Forum (WRF) operates as a non-profit association organised as a portfolio of interconnected dialogue, action and knowledge activities rather than a single unified product. At the core is the WRF Forum (dialogue platform / conferences) which sits alongside WRF Projects (a portfolio of multi-stakeholder research and implementation projects such as STEP Initiative, Responsible Mining Index, CEI, SRI, RID, RE-SOURCING, CEWASTE, DiCE, MedTechLabel, uPOPCI and the ETC Circular Economy and Resource Use), the WRF Academy (capacity-building and training), the WRF Resources hub (publications and co-created knowledge tools), and the WRF Membership programme. Standalone digital tools include the Resource Impact Dashboard (RID) for mine-site impact monitoring and the STEP Initiative platform hosted by WRFA. Together these offerings operationalise WRF's mission of multi-stakeholder collaboration for sustainable and fair resource use across the resource life cycle.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• STEP Initiative: Global multi-stakeholder platform on sustainable electronics, founded in 2004 as Solving the E-waste Problem; hosted by WRFA from 2025 and rebranded as Sustainable Electronics Platform, covering the full electronics value chain.

Products and services

• WRF Forum Internationally-renowned forum for global resource governance that convenes multi-stakeholder dialogue on sustainable resource use through WRF conferences (in-person and online). Standard ticketed pricing with member discounts/free online access.
• WRF Projects Portfolio of multi-stakeholder research and implementation projects that translate knowledge into practical solutions across resource extraction, circularity and recovery, with a strong focus on African and Latin American countries.
• WRF Academy Training, on-the-job fellowships and capacity-building activities to strengthen skills and knowledge for sustainable resource use, aligned with WRF's 'Increase capacity' organisational goal.
• WRF Membership Annual individual and organisational membership programme providing access to webinars/trainings, discounted event tickets, opportunities to publish op-eds, on-the-job trainings, and a dedicated online member platform. Fees: EUR 100/year standard, EUR 50/year discounted.
• Resource Impact Dashboard (RID) Web-based dashboard enabling stakeholders to monitor effects of resource extraction on local development at the mine-site level by integrating perspectives from communities and companies. Implemented at the Ewoyaa Lithium Project in Ghana in 2025.
• STEP Initiative (Sustainable Electronics Platform) Global multi-stakeholder platform hosted by WRFA bringing together producers, recyclers, researchers, governments and international organisations to advance sustainable solutions across the entire electronics value chain.
• Responsible Mining Index (RMI / RMI+) Biennial evidence-based assessment evaluating the extent to which large-scale mining companies publicly disclose policies and practices related to ESG issues across six thematic areas, with a focus on Critical Raw Materials. RMI+ 2025 assesses 25 large-scale mining companies.
• Circular Electronics Initiative (CEI) International cooperation initiative improving e-waste management in Egypt, Ghana and South Africa (2025-2029) by developing regulatory, institutional and market-based mechanisms, including EPR systems, for sustainable electronics. Funded by SECO.
• DiCE - Digital Health in the Circular Economy Horizon Europe-funded project extending the lifetime of digital healthcare devices through circular design, refurbishment, remanufacturing and recycling, piloted by a consortium of 20 organisations from nine countries.
• Sustainable Recycling Industries (SRI) SECO-funded programme (2019-2025) coordinated by Empa and WRFA that builds capacity for sustainable e-waste recycling in Colombia, Peru, Egypt, Ghana and South Africa, and convenes the ISO 59014 working group.
• RE-SOURCING EU-funded multi-stakeholder platform (2019-2023) advancing responsible sourcing of raw materials along global mineral value chains in the Renewable Energy, Mobility and Electronics sectors, with 12 partners from 9 countries.
• CEWASTE EU Horizon 2020 project (2018-2021) that developed and piloted a voluntary certification scheme for collection, transport and treatment facilities handling WEEE, batteries and end-of-life vehicles to improve recovery of critical raw materials.
• uPOPCI GEF-funded project (2020-2026) establishing sound management of unintentional POPs and PBDEs in Côte d'Ivoire's WEEE and end-of-life vehicle plastic waste streams, with training, sampling, analysis and business development activities.
• ETC Circular Economy and Resource Use European Topic Centre under a framework partnership agreement with the European Environment Agency (2022-2026) developing the evidence base for transitioning to a circular economy across key-product supply chains, resource use, consumption, the built environment, industry and monitoring. WRF co-developed the Circularity Metrics Lab (CML) for the EEA.
• MedTechLabel Innovative Health Initiative (IHI) funded public-private partnership specifying and testing a unified digital labelling framework for Medical Devices (MD) and In Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) products across all categories and classes. EUR 11,704,133 budget; 20 consortium partners from 11 countries; 36 months.

Quantifiable outcome

• Egypt e-waste processed increased from 1,900 tons (2019) to 6,800 tons (2023)
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature5 records

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship / core and minor.

• University of OslocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026Scientific coordinator of the MedTechLabel project (a public-private partnership funded by Innovative Health Initiative, grant agreement No 101251320). The project aims to unify, standardise, and harmonise Medical Devices and In Vitro Diagnostic digital labelling. 36-month duration starting April 2026, budget EUR 11,704,133, with 20 consortium partners from 11 countries.
• Arthrex GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026Industry lead of the MedTechLabel project, leading industry representation in this public-private partnership to develop a unified digital labelling framework for medical technology products.
• ETH NADELcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Collaboration to advance and scale up the Resource Impact Dashboard (RID), a tool monitoring resource extraction impacts at the mine site level. RID was implemented at the Ewoyaa Lithium Project in Ghana in 2025 with the Africa Centre for Energy Policy. Project duration 2024–2026, funded by the r4d programme (Swiss National Science Foundation and SDC).
• Empa (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology)flagship / coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Co-coordinator of the Sustainable Recycling Industries (SRI) programme (2019–2025) covering Colombia, Peru, Egypt, Ghana, and South Africa. Joint convenor of the ISO 59014 working group with 50 members from 20 countries. Patrick Wäger (Head of Technology & Society Laboratory, Empa) also serves on the WRF Board.
• European Environment Agency (EEA)flagship / coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWRF participates in the European Topic Centre on Circular Economy and Resource Use (ETC CE) consortium of 13 European organisations led by VITO, under EEA framework partnership agreement 2022–2026. WRF co-developed the Circularity Metrics Lab (CML) for the EEA and contributes to publications on material supply chain disruptions and buildings' environmental footprint.
• Responsible Mining Foundation (Legacy)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWRF committed to carrying on the Responsible Mining Foundation's (RMF) work after RMF ceased operations in 2022, making use of their comprehensive methodologies, sophisticated collaboration platform and broad stakeholder network to produce the RMI+ 2025 Report.
• CEDARE (Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerNational-level implementation partner for the SRI programme in Egypt (concluded April 15, 2025). Organised the final meeting with MCIT, the Ministry of Environment, and the Electronic Research Institute. Ghada Moghny (CEDARE) served as SRI Egypt Project Coordinator.
• dss+coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerInternational-level partner supporting the SRI programme. Esther Thiebaud (Senior Consultant at dss+) presented national-level outcomes at the Egypt SRI final meeting. Also connected via Allison George (Senior Strategic Advisor at dss+) who serves on the WRF Board.
• WU Vienna University of Economics and BusinesscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoordinator of the EU-funded RE-SOURCING multi-stakeholder platform (2019–2023) with 12 partners from 9 countries. RE-SOURCING developed responsible sourcing visions and roadmaps for Renewable Energy, Mobility, and Electric & Electronic Equipment sectors.
• STEP Initiative (Sustainable Electronics Platform)flagship / coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSince 2025, STEP operates as the Sustainable Electronics Platform under the hosting of the World Resources Forum Association (WRFA). STEP is a global multi-stakeholder platform (founded 2004 as Solving the E-waste Problem) bringing together producers, recyclers, researchers, governments, and international organisations to advance sustainable electronics. Adrien Specker serves as STEP Executive Director and WRF Project Manager.
• PhilipsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFeatured partner in the DiCE (Digital Health in the Circular Economy) project consortium, contributing to the initiative's goal of extending the lifetime of digital healthcare devices through circular design, refurbishment, remanufacturing, and recycling.
• United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerImplementing partner with WRF on the Sustainable Management of Plastics from Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) and End-of-Life Vehicles (ELVs) in Côte d'Ivoire, funded by GEF. Aravind Edamanakunnel Soman works on this project.
• IISD (International Institute for Sustainable Development)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBoard Member Isabelle Ramdoo serves as Director of the IISD-hosted Secretariat of the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, and Sustainable Development (IGF), connecting WRF with the global mining governance community.
• dss+ (Advisory)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerBoard Member Allison George serves as Senior Strategic Advisor at dss+ driving strategic partnerships and business development in mining and metals. dss+ supported SRI programme implementation.
• African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCollaborator with ETH NADEL on the implementation of the Resource Impact Dashboard at the Ewoyaa Lithium Project in Ghana in 2025, integrating household survey data with official public data.
• HPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCurrent or previous organisational member of WRF, reflecting WRF's engagement with the global electronics industry on sustainable resource use.
• German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCurrent or previous organisational member of WRF, reflecting WRF's engagement with national environmental authorities on sustainable resource governance.
• City of St. GallenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCurrent or previous organisational member of WRF. Honorary Board Member Fredy Brunner is Vice-President and Director of Technical Operations of the city.
• RhombergminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCurrent or previous organisational member of WRF. Hubert Rhomberg also serves on the WRF Executive Board.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Circle Economy: Dutch foundation producing the flagship Circularity Gap Report and operating the Circle Economy Platform with circular metrics and data tools. Closely analogous to WRF's Circularity Metrics Lab co-developed for the EEA and to WRF's overall focus on measuring and reporting circular-economy progress.
• Ellen MacArthur Foundation: International non-profit foundation advancing the circular economy through multi-stakeholder convening, research publications, and partnerships with governments and corporates. Highly comparable to WRF in mission (sustainable resource use), model (multi-stakeholder platform + research + convening), and audience (policy, industry, civil society), with EMF leaning more toward circular-economy thought leadership and WRF covering the broader resource life cycle including extraction.
• Responsible Mining Foundation: Predecessor non-profit that produced the Responsible Mining Index until ceasing operations in 2022; WRF absorbed its methodology and stakeholder network to deliver RMI+ 2025. Effectively the same franchise, now operated under WRFA, making it the single most directly comparable entity even though it is no longer an active operating peer.

Emerging players

• SYSTEMIQ: Systems-change consultancy and platform focused on circular economy, climate, and land-use, publishing influential reports (e.g., The Paris Effect, Breaking the Plastic Wave). Comparable to WRF in the systems-thinking methodology pillar and the policy-corporate-NGO blend, though SYSTEMIQ operates more as a consultancy with investor ties.
• World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA): Independent non-profit producing benchmarks of corporate performance against the SDGs, including the Fossil Fuel and Just Transition benchmarks and the food and agriculture benchmarks. Most directly comparable to WRF's RMI+ assessment of mining companies, with WBA casting a wider SDG net while WRF goes deeper on extractives.

Broad incumbents

• World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD): CEO-led association of over 200 large multinational companies working on business-led sustainability. Comparable to WRF's organisational membership model and convening function, but with a corporate-primary orientation rather than WRF's policy/scientific multi-stakeholder mix, and substantially larger resources.
• International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD): Long-established international think tank on sustainable development with multiple centres covering trade, investment, and natural resources (including hosting the IGF Mining Secretariat, connected via WRF Board Member Isabelle Ramdoo). IISD competes with WRF for the same donor pool and policy audiences but operates at substantially larger scale across more policy domains.
• World Economic Forum (WEF): International multi-stakeholder organisation convening the annual Davos meeting and a network of Global Future Councils covering resource governance topics. WEF operates on a much larger scale than WRF, but the convening + research + publication model and global partner network are directly analogous.

Others

• International Resource Panel (UNEP IRP): UN Environment-hosted scientific panel producing authoritative global assessments on resource use and decoupling. Adjacent to WRF rather than directly competing — UNEP IRP generates the scientific evidence base that WRF's projects operationalise — but they co-occupy the global resource-governance thought-leadership space and share audiences.
• Global Reporting Initiative (GRI): International standards organisation for sustainability reporting used by tens of thousands of organisations worldwide. Adjacent enabler rather than direct competitor: WRF's RMI+ and CEWASTE certification schemes leverage GRI-style disclosure frameworks, and both organisations sit in the sustainability-standards ecosystem without directly competing for the same audience.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WRFSwitzerland
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC3Ops6-47L-vGzF9EeL-hiA
• Facebookfacebook.com/WorldResourcesForum
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/world-resources-forum
• Instagraminstagram.com/world_resources_forum

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about World Resources Forum