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Our stakeholders
BHP Billiton is committed to maintaining and promoting dialogue with stakeholders in the resources industry and remaining responsive to the global community's concerns and aspirations. The Company recognises the importance of accountability to stakeholders, and we seek to be transparent in relation to our communications and documentation. We are aiming for a higher level of engagement and interaction with stakeholders, particularly with the communities in which we operate.
Our Charter, HSEC Policy, Management Standards and Guide to Business Conduct all promote a commitment to acting with honesty, integrity and fairness in our interactions with all our stakeholders. We have progressed our efforts in this area over the past year through our individual actions and in collaboration with others.
Key stakeholders are generally identified as people who are adversely or positively impacted by our operations, those who have an interest in what we do or those who have an influence on what we do. Figure 5 illustrates the key BHP Billiton stakeholders, while Figure 6 outlines the nature of our relationships with those stakeholders. Maintaining constructive stakeholder relationships is a critical part of our journey towards sustainable development.
The relationships we build can be compared to the crafting of a rope. The core consists of those stakeholders with whom we engage regularly, while the sheath comprises those who are important influencers but with whom we do not have such regular contact. Building our relationships through engagement and interaction in effect strengthens each strand, thus enhancing the integrity of the rope, helping us to jointly travel the journey to sustainability.
Figure 5. BHP Billiton Stakeholders
Figure 5. BHP Billiton Stakeholders and Figure 6. BHP Billiton Stakeholder Relationships are presented in Flash 6 or PDF format. Please follow the link below to download the Flash 6 plug-in.
Each of our sites prepares a community relations plan that helps them to effectively identify their key stakeholders, particularly those from vulnerable or marginalised groups. These plans also detail the contact, frequencies and engagement mechanisms that are unique to each site and situation. The information we receive from stakeholders helps refine the management of our activities and their potential impacts, in line with the goals set out in our Charter.
Financial community
During the year, we continued to participate in key external benchmarking initiatives that attempt to measure the Company's sustainable development performance against others in our sector. Such initiatives have proliferated recently, largely due to increased interest from financial institutions in assessing social, ethical and environmental issues. These initiatives help fund managers to screen investment targets on the basis of their environmental and social policies and performance or to identify those companies that manage their HSEC risks in the most effective way.
Over the period, we maintained our inclusion in the UK FTSE4Good Index, after passing the strengthened criteria on human rights in the extractive sector. We also maintained our position in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, which selects the top 10 per cent of companies in the global metals and mining sector, based on over 90 different performance indicators.
One of the leading proponents of socially responsible investing, Storebrand in Norway, researched the mining industry and ranked BHP Billiton 'best in class' for its environmental and social performance out of 21 metals and mining companies covered.
The Carbon Disclosure Project, a survey of climate change risk mitigation strategies of the UK Financial Times top 500 Global Index companies (FT500), highlighted that, within the metals and mining sector, BHP Billiton was the only company to report that it applies carbon price sensitivity analysis to new projects and investments. The Project's matrix of corporate positioning suggests that, like many of our peer FT500 companies, we are active in climate change strategies.
Finally, in the UK, we took part in the first ever Corporate Responsibility Index, which is organised by Business in the Community for FTSE-listed companies. One hundred and twenty-two companies participated, and we were placed at the top of the second quintile with a score of 78 per cent. This Index builds on the former Business in the Environment (BiE) Index, which the Company has taken part in since 1998. Although the BiE Index still exists, it was felt that a new index was required that also looked at a company's impact on the workplace, the community and the marketplace.
Further information can be obtained from the Socially Responsible Investment websites included in the Directory of this Report.
Indigenous relations
We aim to work cooperatively with indigenous peoples to ensure that our presence provides lasting benefits and causes as little disruption as possible to their communities. We will ensure we respect the rights of indigenous peoples to maintain their culture, identity, traditions and customs. We strive to ensure that host communities benefit from our operations being sited there.
Indigenous relations principles are embedded in our Charter, HSEC Policy and HSEC Management Standards. The HSEC Policy specifically states, ‘Wherever we operate we will . . . respect the traditional rights of indigenous peoples . . . and value cultural heritage’.
Our HSEC Management Standards detail the performance expectations for all operations in this area. They also require that the effectiveness of our communication, consultation and participation processes be regularly reviewed, in collaboration with stakeholders, to ensure continual improvement. There are a number of case studies in this report that demonstrate our commitment to indigenous peoples, including the provision of educational resources in Chile (see Case Study No. 36) and the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) program in South Africa (see Case Study No. 37). Our BEE Procurement Policy can be found on our website at www.bhpbilliton.com/bb/sustainableDevelopment/reportsAndPolicies.jsp
Forum on Corporate Responsibility
The BHP Billiton Forum on Corporate Responsibility (FCR) brings together representatives of our senior management team, the leaders of several key non-government organisations and community opinion leaders to discuss and debate social and environmental matters relevant to the Company (see FCR Profiles in Appendix B). Members of the FCR have an opportunity to provide advice and to challenge the views of our senior management on broader sustainable development issues. The Company is not bound by the advice of the FCR, and the FCR does not necessarily endorse the Company's decisions. The FCR provides a means for direct and open dialogue about issues of interest to the wider community.
Building global links
BHP Billiton is committed to proactive involvement in a number of initiatives that contribute to improving the sustainability of the industry. Our individual businesses are also actively engaged through their sectoral organisations at national and international levels.
Some of the principal industry associations we have involvement in at the commodity level include:
- International Aluminium Institute and the Australian Aluminium Council
- International Nickel Development Institute, International Nickel Study Group, Nickel Producers Environmental Research Association, Cobalt Development Institute, International Chrome Development Association and the European Metals Association
- International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association Exploration and Production Forum, Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association, Australian Gas Association and UK Offshore Operators Association
- World Coal Institute, Coal Institute Advisory Board and Australian Coal Association
- International Lead Zinc Study Group, International Lead and Zinc Research Organisation, International Lead Management Centre, Global Forum for the Lead Producing Industry
- Asian Copper Council, European Copper Institute, Copper Development Association, International Copper Association, International Copper Study Group.
The major externally developed voluntary initiatives1 that we are involved in or are progressively implementing include:
- Australian Minerals Industry Code for Environmental Management (1996)
- Global Reporting Initiative (2002)
- International Council on Mining and Metals Sustainable Development Framework (2003)
- ISO 14001 Environmental Management Systems (2002)
- Mining Certification Evaluation Project - Australian regional initiative (2002)
- United Nations Global Compact (2002)
- United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (2001)
- US-UK Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (2003)
- World Bank Guidelines on Involuntary Resettlement (2003).
1. The date in brackets indicates the year in which we commenced our involvement or commitment.
Last year we produced our first report in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) 2002 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. We were pleased with the response we received from our stakeholders, and this year we have again aligned the Report with the Guidelines. This will be an evolving process as our reporting systems continue to enhance the information reported. It should be recognised that, due to the size and complexity of our business, judgements have had to be made regarding the extent of the information that can be presented in relation to each GRI indicator. The Company is also involved with the Global Reporting Initiative Stakeholder Council, which is helping advance the Global Reporting Initiative.
During the year, we have been active in the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) work program. The ICMM was established in 2001 as a global leadership body on sustainable development. An important part of the establishment process of the ICMM has been the development of the Sustainable Development Framework, a guiding set of principles, which have now been endorsed by all member companies. A gap analysis of our HSEC Management Standards and the Framework identified strong alignment in the majority of areas, with the exception of community relocation and human rights training and guidance. Following on from this work, we have since committed to implement the World Bank Guidelines on Involuntary Resettlement and the US-UK Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights. Through the ICMM, we also participate in joint programs in the area of mining and biodiversity, including the development of principles and related reporting criteria.
One of the ICMM's current projects is the GRI Minerals Sector Supplement, which is a collaborative project to develop additional guidelines on GRI Sustainability Reporting for the mining and minerals industry.
In conjunction with industry, government, academic and financial sector stakeholders, we are actively involved in the Mining Certification Evaluation Project to evaluate whether an independent certification process of environmental and social performance can be applied to the mining sector. World Wide Fund for Nature is leading the project, which seeks to build consensus on measurable and auditable standards for site-based performance (see Case Study No. 41).
In June 2003, we reaffirmed our commitment to the United Nations Global Compact (a copy of our letter to the United Nations is available on our website at www.bhpbilliton.com/bb/sustainableDevelopment/reportsAndPolicies.jsp). While fully recognising the right of our employees to freely associate and join trade unions, we have a number of locations where we have a mix of collective and individual arrangements. Prospective employees are made aware of employment arrangements prior to joining the Company. At all times, our businesses comply with local employment law requirements and treat employees in accordance with the values expressed in our Charter.
Appendix G provides our assessment of progress in relation to the principles of the Global Compact. We also collaborate with governments, non-government organisations and academic institutions worldwide to undertake and support research on improving HSEC performance. For example, see the HIV/AIDS programs in Mozambique and South Africa (see Case Study No. 2), and the Beenup minesite rehabilitation program in Australia (see Case Study No. 14).