CDA Sustainability Director to Speak on Copper Metrics

Jessica Sanderson will explain how material and supplier choices shape performance and impact for LCA, ESG, and specifiers.

Apr. 17, 2026 at 1:55pm

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A photorealistic studio still-life image of a polished copper ingot resting on a clean, monochromatic background, conveying the abstract concepts of sustainability metrics and material transparency.A copper ingot, a symbol of the industry's efforts to standardize sustainability reporting and enable fair material comparisons.McLean Today

The Copper Development Association (CDA) has announced that its Director of Sustainability, Jessica Sanderson, will present at two upcoming conferences - ENSURE (Environmental Sustainability Through Waste and Recycling) and EMC (The Environmental Markets Conference). In her sessions, Sanderson will introduce CDA's 'Define and Refine' framework, which offers a comprehensive approach to comparing copper's sustainability with that of other materials.

Why it matters

Sanderson's presentations will emphasize the importance of aligning recycled content comparisons and scrap carbon accounting for credible sustainability metrics. By outlining how material selection and supplier practices influence environmental impact, she aims to help the sustainability community evaluate copper on a level playing field so designers, specifiers, and procurement teams can make informed material choices.

The details

Sanderson will share how CDA and its U.S. semi-fabricator members have aligned on a common methodology for calculating and disclosing recycled content and scrap accounting in copper products. She will also discuss CDA's 'Continuous Copper' resources focused on standardizing recycled content and providing scrap accounting guidance to support more consistent environmental product declarations (EPDs) and life cycle assessment (LCA) based reporting.

  • Jessica Sanderson will present at ENSURE on April 13-15, 2026.
  • Jessica Sanderson will present at EMC on April 27-30, 2026.

The players

Jessica Sanderson

The Director of Sustainability at the Copper Development Association (CDA).

Copper Development Association (CDA)

A U.S.-based not-for-profit association of the global copper industry, bringing together North American copper and copper alloy semis fabricators and the global copper mining and production industries.

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What they’re saying

“Material choice defines the sustainability performance of the system, while supplier selection refines the impact.”

— Jessica Sanderson, Director of Sustainability, Copper Development Association

“We've made real progress standardizing recycled content and scrap reporting across U.S. semi-fabricators. Now, our goal is to help sustainability practitioners and engineers understand what's behind the data so that copper can be compared fairly with other materials. Getting the methodology right is key to making informed material choices.”

— Jessica Sanderson, Director of Sustainability, Copper Development Association

“We want the sustainability community that writes the rules, especially the LCA practitioners and standards bodies, to see the work the copper industry has already accomplished. Our goal is to ensure copper is evaluated on a level playing field, so designers, specifiers, and procurement teams have environmental data that is truly comparable and useful for making decisions.”

— Jessica Sanderson, Director of Sustainability, Copper Development Association

What’s next

Sanderson's presentations at ENSURE and EMC will provide sustainability practitioners and engineers with a deeper understanding of CDA's work to standardize recycled content and scrap accounting reporting for copper products, enabling more informed and transparent material comparisons.

The takeaway

By aligning on consistent methodologies for calculating and disclosing recycled content and scrap accounting, the copper industry is working to ensure that copper is evaluated on a level playing field with other materials. This will empower designers, specifiers, and procurement teams to make more informed decisions based on credible and comparable sustainability data.