Sustainable Community Development and Closure
We believe our business plays a valuable transformational role in society today and will continue to do so into the future.
We have the potential to transform the natural capital contained within the earth's orebodies into physical capital through the products manufactured from the raw materials we extract and into human capital through our education, training and development opportunities; and we also have the capacity to build social capital, through the people networks established as a result of our business.
We rely heavily on having a supportive community around us, and we work hard to develop strong relationships with employees, contractors, suppliers, all levels of government, social institutions and the people who live in our host communities.
Closure is an important phase in the lifecycle of our operations. Eventually all sites reach a point where it is no longer economic to continue to extract the natural resources. Additionally, by the very nature of our business, there is often some environmental disturbance as a result of our operations which requires rehabilitation either prior to or after the announcement of closure.
Timely and comprehensive planning for closure and beyond is therefore a key component of our ability to contribute to sustainable development. Good closure planning assesses a wide range of risks and involves addressing environmental, social and financial aspects of closure for the long-term.
Our challenge is to maximise the benefits to communities during the operational phase of the asset so that we leave a lasting positive legacy after closure.
See the following for:
- details on Our Approach to this challenge
- an understanding of Our Drivers.
Our Approach
Communities
Our businesses all operate programs to create benefits, both in the short and long-term, for the communities in which they operate. Since 2002, the Company has met its target to spend one per cent of pre-tax profits (on a rolling three-year average) on voluntary community programs. In this way, our communities have been able to share in our financial success over recent years.
Our approach to community development is to move from an historical position of limited community consultation and a paternalistic style, to more participative engagement. The people best placed to respond to local needs and concerns, and hence manage community development, are the people who live in our host communities, therefore management teams at our operations have accountability for their community initiatives.
To assist sites develop and implement community programs we have Company-wide guidelines, which provide a set of principles to facilitate a consistent approach to community development and support for community activities. Principles include valuing the knowledge and opinion that resides within communities and working with them to develop meaningful programs, investing in programs where our contribution can be leveraged through support from other bodies, and building local capacities so that community members are empowered to take control of their own development processes.
We also have a community relations network across the Company, and this will be augmented in the coming year to improve knowledge sharing and to identify and transfer best practice. We are also increasing our efforts in relation to professional development for community relations professionals (refer to our case study, Looking to look through the eyes of others) and measuring the effectiveness of community programs.
Employees
As many of our operations are located in rural and remote areas, our employees are often junior sports coaches, emergency services volunteers, members of local councils or members of not-for-profit committees.
To support our employees who actively contribute to their communities, we have developed the BHP Billiton Matched Giving Program. This program has been extensively trialed over the past few years with a range of sites across our businesses and has been well received by employees. The program is unique in that it provides a cash contribution to match an employee's donation or their volunteering activity or fundraising efforts. In this way, employees can direct some of the Company's community funding towards organisations that they personally support. This program will be rolled out across the Company in the next year.
There continues to be discussion within the resources sector as to whether it is better to establish a community around a mine site or to create fly-in, fly-out operations. There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches. Establishing a community offers employees and their families stability for the life of the mine, but the disruption to the community on mine closure is significant. Fly-in, fly-out operations mean that the impact on families is reduced at mine closure but that during operations employees are absent from their families for extended periods of time.
Across our operations there are examples of both situations. Our approach is to continue to look for solutions best for both employees and the business, and to train and develop our people to ensure they are well equipped on closure of an operation to apply for other jobs, either within or outside the Company.
Closure
The closure of an operation affects the community on many levels. BHP Billiton operates in many different countries throughout the world, and sustainable closure issues are complex. Environmental legal frameworks worldwide are varied, and each operation has its own unique set of environmental, social and land-use issues that affect closure planning.
In line with our commitment to Zero Harm, BHP Billiton officially adopted a Closure Standard in July 2005. This new standard applies to all investment opportunities and controlled operations and strives to leave a responsible legacy that outlasts the operation itself and ensures a positive future for our host communities.
The Closure Standard mandates compliance with relevant legislative and regulatory requirements and goes the additional step to tie closure planning to a set of objectives which support our Charter.
Closure planning is required throughout the lifecycle of the operation, starting with exploration and development of a property and continuing as long as necessary. There is value in integrating closure planning from the very beginning with current operations and mine planning. Additionally, there is value in the timely and efficient execution of closure according to well-considered plans and schedules. These benefits will become more apparent as closure risks are better understood with the process outlined in our Closure Standard.
Further information is detailed in Closure, in our environmental performance section.
Our Drivers
As stated in the BHP Billiton Charter, one of the indicators of success is that 'the communities in which we operate value our citizenship'. Sustainable community development ensures communities benefit throughout all phases of the life of an operation – through development, operation and closure.
A stable, healthy and supportive society enables businesses to operate effectively. By contributing to the social fabric of the communities where we operate, we are also creating an environment in which the Company can grow.
With many new projects located in developing countries, it is increasingly important for us to be able to demonstrate to key stakeholders, including governments, that we have a good track record in making a sustainable contribution to the environment and community, as well as providing economic benefits.
An increasingly important aspect for consideration by prospective employees is the social responsibility credentials of a company. In order to attract and retain the best employees, we need to be able to engage employees in our community efforts and provide opportunities for them to be proud of their Company.
