Occupational and Community Health
People are essential to the success of our business. Understanding and mitigating the impact of occupational exposures on our workforce is integral to our journey towards Zero Harm.
This means we must promote an environment that contributes to our employees being fit for work and fit for life. We also have a responsibility to work with the communities in which we operate in setting up programs focused on significant community health issues that may also impact on our workforce and their dependants.
At a broader level, we must consider our role in addressing community health issues of global significance and how we may assist in supporting management programs that extend beyond the communities in which we operate.
Refer to the following sections on:
- details on Our approach to this challenge
- an understanding of Our drivers
- An external view on the challenge from a member of our Forum on Corporate Responsibility.
Our approach
Employee exposure
Throughout the Company we have introduced standardised procedures for managing occupational exposure levels and for measuring and reporting exposures.
Targets to reduce exposure and occupational illness are being established.
Specific initiatives are under way to develop and apply best practice exposure reduction measures, such as a project aimed at reducing diesel particulate exposure in underground mines (see our case study).
Fit for work/Fit for life
A core global group has been established to focus on this area. Company-wide guidelines have been developed for the management of issues such as drug and alcohol abuse, fatigue management, occupational rehabilitation, health promotion, job and task analysis and stress management.
Community health
Our HSEC Management Standards (PDF 284KB) outline the need to adequately manage community health issues that affect the workforce and to address worksite exposures that may also impact on the community.
Health is a key focus of our community programs. Many of our operations are in regions where the three most significant global infectious diseases (HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis) have significant impact.
Global involvement
The support we provide through our involvement in locally focused health programs often has benefits that extend beyond the communities in which we operate. We are also increasingly supporting health initiatives that are developed with global goals, such as the Medicines for Malaria Venture and a TB screening program initiated at our EKATI operation in Canada (see our case studies).
Our drivers
We operate in regions where significant health issues impact on our workforce and surrounding communities and also have a considerable impact on the local economy and development.
We have a global network and therefore the capability to connect high-level health programs and research to regions that would otherwise not be considered for involvement in such initiatives.
A measure of the success for our operations located in developing nations should be an improvement in the health of their host communities.
An external view
‘An important characteristic of the resources industry is the differences within the regions and cultures in which it operates. A resources company’s approach to its workforce and its host communities must be tailored to each project and must be flexible and able to dynamically change according to the capacity of the local community.
‘The timeframe of a resources project usually covers decades, which implies that the nature of the affected community will change over time. The approach to the project’s social investment in its workforce and the local communities must include systematic reviews of the region’s level of development. The results of each review must be reflected in changes to the original strategy of sustainable development investments in all sectors, including health.’
Dr Marcelo de Andrade, Chairman, Pró-Natura
Refer to the section on Our approach to understand how we address some of these concerns.
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