Stakeholder engagement

Part of our commitment to operating responsibly is to develop and maintain constructive, long-term relationships with our stakeholders. Our business is geographically diverse, with operations on every continent, and we adopt an inclusive community approach informed by the local context. We work hard to get to know our local communities and identify the individuals, groups or organisations with an interest in our business or are affected by it.

We engage in an open and transparent manner in accordance with our Code of Conduct, aiming to build trusting, long-term relationships.

We communicate clearly and avoid using unnecessarily complex language or jargon. We are committed to maintaining active and transparent engagement with our stakeholders and facilitating a two-way equitable dialogue.

Throughout our engagement activities, we are committed to respecting all cultures and traditions in an appropriate manner.

Our approach

The stakeholders we regularly engage with include our employees and contractors, host communities, NGOs and civil society, labour unions, governments, business partners, customers, investors and the media. We foster dialogues at local, national, regional and international levels through a range of engagement activities, as well as participating in multi-stakeholder discussions.

We engage in a transparent and open manner with our broad range of stakeholders throughout the lifecycle of our assets.

Throughout our engagement activities, we are committed to respecting all cultures and traditions in an appropriate manner.

We are committed to listening and taking on board concerns from our stakeholders. This engagement helps support our decision-making processes.

Stakeholder engagement at our operations

We require our assets to undertake detailed stakeholder identification and analysis, taking particular care to determine vulnerable groups.

Stakeholder assessments cover all stakeholder circumstances, needs and concerns, as well as potential impacts, risks and opportunities for that asset. From this assessment, the asset designs an engagement strategy, which includes procedures for information sharing, consultation and collaboration.

These engagement strategies align with the asset’s business objectives and changes to its lifecycle, as well as local concerns and the broader socio-economic situation in the region.

We provide our stakeholders with information on a wide range of platforms, tailored to the local context. These include radio broadcasts, site publications, regular town hall meetings, and individual meetings with the community.

Raising matters of concern

We encourage and welcome feedback. We implement processes for stakeholders to raise concerns and complaints. We record and investigate all concerns and complaints and seek to resolve them in a timely manner.

All our operations are required to have in place local complaints and grievance processes that are legitimate, accessible, predictable, equitable, transparent and rights-compatible, in line with the United Nations Guiding Principles’ effectiveness criteria.

These processes encourage people to raise concerns with us without fear of recrimination. Our commitment is to investigate the concerns and take necessary actions to ensure rights are respected. For more information, see Grievance mechanisms.

External commitments

We consult and consider the views of interested and affected parties in decisions that may affect them. We also active engage in issues of importance to society through multi-stakeholder activities at the local, national and international level. Our participation supports our commitment to ongoing improvement in our approach and performance.

We uphold the International Labour Organization Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

We work in accordance with a number of specific international frameworks, including the:

In 2014, we signed up to the UNGC, aligning our strategies and operations with the UNGPs, which cover human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. The UNGC also encourages participants to support the UN Sustainable Development Goals, with an emphasis on collaboration and innovation.

In the same year, we joined the ICMM and endorsed its sustainable development framework principles.

In March 2015, we became a corporate participant in the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights Initiative.

We are a member of the World Economic Forum’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative. Members collaborate on collective action and share leading practice in organisational compliance. The initiative has a commitment of zero tolerance on bribery and the requirement to implement practical and effective anti-corruption programmes. We are also an associate member of the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network.