Access to Resources
Access to resources is fundamental to the sustainability of our business. Our challenge is to achieve access to the resources relevant to our scope of operations while addressing heightened political and societal expectations related to obtaining and maintaining a ‘licence to operate’.
We must identify, understand and manage requirements associated with the fact that prospective developments are increasingly in developing and/or sensitive regions where there are competing environmental, social, racial, political and economic pressures.
Resource extraction often competes with agriculture and other human activities for access to areas of land and water resources. The mineral resources we seek are often located in developing countries where land is the basis of subsistence agricultural activities for already marginalised communities. They also are often in desert countries where water is critical to the survival of communities. These needs must be recognised and managed appropriately.
In addition, we must be cognisant of the environmental values of potential resource developments. We must systematically identify, assess and manage the biodiversity values that may be potentially affected by our activities.
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 members of our Forum on Corporate Responsibility.
Our approach
Internal tollgating and assessment tools, including formal risk and impact assessments, are utilised to identify environmental and social risks and issues associated with accessing resources, and to ensure they are appropriately managed.
Our HSEC Policy and HSEC Management Standards are structured around establishing systems and processes to manage these risks and issues. Our HSEC targets scorecard provides a measure of how we are progressing in this regard. An important target is that our operations must develop and implement a community relations plan that has an objective of ensuring important stakeholder issues are identified and managed.
In the past, we have largely relied on detecting and managing these aspects through formal government processes, such as those required during project approvals processes (and which were compliance driven).
We are now moving beyond a compliance-driven approach and being proactive in involving external stakeholders and working in partnership with them to identify and manage these issues. Specifically, we have publicly committed to a number of policy positions in conjunction with our key stakeholders. These have included:
- In conjunction with the International Council on Mining and Metals and the World Conservation Union, an undertaking not to explore or mine in World Heritage properties and a commitment to take all possible steps to ensure that operations are not incompatible with the outstanding universal values of World Heritage properties.
- Our policy on riverine tailings developed in conjunction with our Forum on Corporate Responsibility states we will not commit to a new mining project that disposes of waste rock or tailings into a river.
- A decision taken this year, in conjunction with our Gag Island nickel project and our Forum on Corporate Responsibility (see our case study) states that ‘BHP Billiton has decided not to pursue Deep Sea Tailings Placement (DSTP) as a potential tailing disposal option for any of its current prospects. The Company also believes that given the very specific circumstances where DSTP could be considered appropriate, it is unlikely that the technology will be pursued in any of our future developments.’
- Our Black Economic Empowerment and Employment Equity policies underpin our commitment to accelerating development and fostering entrepreneurship of historically disadvantaged groups in South Africa.
Overall, our operations are progressively and more comprehensively engaging key stakeholders (especially non-government groups and organisations) in addressing issues of mutual concern and are doing it at an earlier stage of the project-planning process.
Our drivers
There are two important reasons for our proactive approach. Firstly, governments are expecting companies to manage external issues themselves and increasingly will not issue formal approvals, or will amend or revoke them, if major issues with communities and other external stakeholders arise and are not properly managed by the Company.
Secondly, communities and non-government organisations (NGOs) are increasingly better connected nationally and internationally. They realise that they are influential with governments and companies and are prepared to use this influence to highlight and resolve issues.
Appropriately and effectively managing issues around access to resources is essential if we are to:
- obtain and maintain a licence to operate
- improve access to new business opportunities
- keep ahead of regulations and reduce regulatory intervention
- enhance and protect our reputation
- differentiate ourselves from our competitors.
These are all key to our sustainability as a business and our ability to deliver long-term share growth and shareholder value.
An external view
‘BHP Billiton could do much to safeguard its reputation by further articulating environmentally damaging practices it rejects. The Company’s current commitments spurning riverine tailings dumping and declaring it would not seek to mine World Heritage sites are positive steps. As examples, WWF believes the Company would enhance its reputation with the community by ruling out both ocean dumping of mine waste and seeking to mine IUCN Categories I to IV Protected Areas. BHP Billiton could then clearly differentiate itself from those mining companies that use such damaging practices.’
Michael Rae, Senior Policy Officer – Business and Industry, WWF – Australia
‘Gaining access to new resources will increasingly be a result of how much the sponsor company is perceived as a valuable partner in the regions in which it intends to operate.
‘As extractive industries compete with other economic uses of land and water by local communities, the company seeking a licence to operate must manage its investments in a way that guarantees and induces a new, sustainable economic model within the area of influence of its project.
‘This economic model must be structured in a way that it can become independent and sustainable beyond the project. There must be strategies to build the capacity of the target communities to manage their own development process in the future; to leverage funds to continue the social development investments after the company leaves the region; to be scalable and replicable regionally; and to engage all relevant and interested stakeholders.
‘Within the criteria for granting future sites and licences to operate, and for financing future projects, among the most important items are the capacity of the candidate company to deliver or induce a sustainable development process within the area of influence of its projects, and its industrial and operational track record.’
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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