Cobalt Institute Membership Types and Fees Explained
The Core Programme of the Cobalt Institute provides:
- Representation, knowledge-sharing, and networking opportunities at:
- Cobalt Institute’s General Assembly
- Cobalt Institute’s Responsible Sourcing and Sustainability Committee
- Cobalt Institute’s Government and Public Affairs
- Cobalt Institute’s Communications Network
- Cobalt Institute events (e.g., annual conference)
- Access to global strategy, industry positioning and market intelligence
- Other membership (helpdesk/support) services
The additional option available to Members is: Chemicals Management. Members taking the Chemicals Management option can also take the EU REACH and/or UK REACH options.
All Members have access to all options, as described in Table 1 below. These membership types endeavour to encourage participation and engagement from members on key issues and activities that affect market access for cobalt.
Table 1. Overview of Cobalt Institute membership types and programs included under each type.
| Membership Type | Core Programme | Chemicals Management Programmes | ||
| Chemicals Management | EU REACH Group | UK REACH Group | ||
| Sustaining | V | V | Optional | Optional |
| Supporting | V | Optional | Optional | Optional |
| Affiliate | V | Optional | Optional | Optional |
| Associate | V | Not applicable | ||
| Institutional | V | Not applicable | ||
Membership fees will vary across membership types. Membership fees are calculated based on the total operating costs of the Cobalt Institute, split across the number of members in each membership type, and weighted against tonnage. This means each member will pay a different amount depending on their membership type or tonnage banding, the number of other members in the same band, and the options each member selects (Chemicals Management).
Table 2. Summary of budget allocation across membership types.
| Membership Type | Annual Tonnage Band | Budget allocation approach |
| Sustaining | > 1,500 tonnes | Sliding scale according to tonnage calculations |
| Supporting | 500-1,500 tonnes | Equally split between all members in this membership type/annual tonnage band. |
| Affiliate | Below 500 tonnes | Equally split between all members in this membership type/annual tonnage band. |
| Associate | Not applicable | Fixed annual membership fee of £5,000 |
| Institutional | Not applicable | Fixed annual membership fee of £500. |
Companies considering applying for Sustaining membership should contact the Secretariat of the Cobalt Institute to determine what their likely membership fee will be, as this is a function of the tonnage of cobalt units (not the compounds or products) that they produce, process or their turnover.
As done in 2020 and 2021, the fees for Supporting and Affiliate members for 2023, have been ‘fixed’ to provide reasonable membership costs, without being dependant on the total number of members. Table 3 provides an overview of what these fees were in 2023. These are examples of membership fees which can vary from year to year.
Table 3. Overview of 2023 Cobalt Institute membership fees.
| Membership Type | Annual Membership Fees | ||||
| Core Programme | Chemicals Management Programme | *EU REACH Group | *UK REACH Group | Total | |
| Supporting | £27,000 | £16,000 | TBD | £10,000 | £53,000 |
| Affiliate | £12,000 | £6,500 | TBD | £10,000 | £37,500 |
| Associate | £5,000 | Not applicable | £5,000 | ||
| Institutional | £500 | Not applicable | £500 | ||
*For the EU and UK REACH options, these are only available to those companies who have taken the Chemicals Management Programme as part of their membership. For UK REACH there currently a £10,000 sign on fee. The EU REACH Group will only have costs from 2023 onwards. If you have any questions about the REACH Group please contact REACHinfo@cobaltinstitute.org.