Social Responsibility / CSR

I recently attended the PDAC 2012 conference in Toronto, and I was impressed at the level of coverage of CSR and Aboriginal Engagement in their programming. They presented a "CSR Event Series," which was a set of short sessions on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, organized by a variety of different organizations, companies and associations, on everything from bribery; to hands-on CSR experiences in the field; to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC). These were exceptionally popular - every session I attended (and I attended most of them) was standing room only well before the session began. As someone with very little experience with mining conferences, I found myself surprised and impressed that this series was so well-received.

Similarly, there was an Aboriginal Program at PDAC, which was a set of technical sessions, forums, and short courses about the evolution of Aboriginal relations in Canada and the world - again, incredibly well-attended. In these, the atmosphere was very practical and grounded - the focus seemed to be on hearing directly from the members of affected communities, there were very few theoretical discussions. This generated a real feeling of immediacy, and removed any sense of separation between the IR folks and mining professionals sitting in the audience, and the band chiefs and community leaders behind the podium. It was well done.

Never having attended PDAC in the past, I made the assumption before I arrived that this would be a conference about explorers looking for investment - and in some sense, it certainly was. However, I was impressed by the obvious emphasis placed on CSR and Aboriginal relations, and the seriousness and urgency with which conference participants treated these issues.

Was I wrong to be surprised? Is this kind of coverage of and interest in CSR to be expected at every mining conference these days? I'd be interested in hearing other people's experiences.

New Research from CSRWire found that the voluntary disclosure proceedures by companies produced positive returns for shareholders.The study was focused on companies that voluntarily disclosed information about the GHG emissions and targets, and looked for a relationship between shareholder price and disclosure. The full paper can be accessed here.  A different study, conducted byWithold Henisz at the Wharton School, entitled: "Integrating corporate strategy and social responsibility —market returns from stakeholder engagement" looked at thousands of pieces of data to determine if the investment in social responsibility "pays".  A presentation of the results is available. 

The Carbon Disclosure Project is another voluntary reporting initiative (like the GRI) that is targeting carbon emissions. There is a list of participating mining companies - not all chose to participate and unfortunately the investor responses are only accessible to registrants (free).

Comments on CSR disclosure and the response from investors appreciated.

I agree with you Alistair - it is a shame that the voice of the community was missing and there does tend to be too much "C" in CSR. That said, the industry has come a long way and it's good to celebrate the progress that has been made in bringing companies and communities closer.

There was an interesting happening at the opening ceremony when some protesters arrived - although it was an event on social responsibility, they clearly identified the event as a "pro corporate" mining event (perhaps due to the sponsorships?). They were given the mic at the opening ceremony to speak to the group and I think the whole incident was handled as best as possible, considering the surprise of it all. I think many mining events are now subject to these protests and should probably start to prepare for the outcry.

In terms of the Shared Value  - no, I did not hear any direct references to this approach, but I do think some practitioners are implementing the principles of creating economic value for communities, not just acting "responsibly" or doing philanthropy. In fact, many of the case studies were about economic progress (through different mechanisms) for communities.  This also likely needs to be tied quite closely with local (and corporate) training programs - which was another area lightly touched upon at the conference.

I just returned from the SRMining conference organized by Gecamin, in Santiago Chile. The conference was attended by well over 500 people, with attendance from 26 countries - it was an impressive group of people with vast experience in an array of topics related to csr, sustainability, stakeholder engagement, and related topics.  While there are many CSR related events going on around the world, this seemed to be the first major galvanization of people - so the time is right for sharing and progress in this area.

A reflection from the conference: Although many case studies were presented from different groups, the actual voice of communities was missing. It is one thing to hear a company discuss their approach to stakeholder engagement and community relations - stories of challenge and success - but I was left wondering if the story would sound the same from a community member. Would they identify the same steps, breakthroughs, frustrations? If not - what would their story sound like? ... and would companies be prepared to change approaches based on the lessons learned from these communities? 

There are a lot of take-aways from the conference ...but I think most people were left with more questions than answers.

http://irwebreport.com/2...ngagement-witold-henisz/

Henisz recommends the following best practices for businesses that are serious about engaging stakeholders:

1. Change the mindset of the company so that employees across the board believe that stakeholders are important.
2. Get the necessary data to explain who the stakeholders are, what they want and who is connected to whom.
3. Find a way to link data to operating performance, integrating the information into risk management systems rather than treating it as a separate category.
4. Interact with stakeholders in the community in a genuine and fair manner; respond to their concerns and form connections rather than just writing a check.
5. Find a way to disseminate information about the ongoing project that is credible and transparent.

What do you think of these suggestions?

The Ethics Practitioners Association of Canada (EPAC) is currently conducting an online survey to assist in designing resources to address the needs of ethics and CSR practitioners in Canada.

or the English version: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9B9WQNZ

For the French version https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RHQTL9L

We encourage you to take the time to contribute to this assessment. A report on the outcomes of the survey will be released later in the fall, through the blog at www.cbernblog.ca.

What is the most important qualification for a person working on social responsibility in the mining industry? Is success related to specialists or generalists and does everyone have a shared responsibility, such as with safety?  Again comes back to process and planning, I think. 

Hello,

I am interested to hear from practitioners about what are the priority issues in terms of ensuring companies are acting in socially responsible ways.  Are there frameworks or models that guide actions? Are there indicators that can be measured to evaluate good performance?  Considering this topic requires the involvement of many disciplines (social, technical, economic, environmental, etc..) how to practitioners collaborate?

Although not directly related to the mining industry, the Global Reporting Index (GRI) is holding a public commentary period to review the Oil and Gas Sector Supplement, running until 20 July 2011.  The Mining Sector Supplement was reviewed last year - what lessons could be shared from this process? What are some of the main issues these sectors need to consider when reporting publically on their operations?

Here's a link for more information: http://bit.ly/lORv0k 

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Welcome to the Mining CSR discussion forum of Continuous Conference. As Chair it is my initial job to reach out to as many people as I know that are likely to be interested and able to contribute perspective and experience, and in turn to ask them to reach further into their network. My personal goal, as a continuous learner and adapter, is to meet more practitioners, and gain wisdom for my next mining project. It is also to help other generalists and specialists to interact and build better project teams. I humbly welcome superior intellects and deeper fonts of experience to weigh in and lead the charge!

Questions to discuss so as to kick off a meaningful ongoing discussion amongst the community of practice:

• What are the sub-topics and what are the priorities for discussion?
  • Integrated project planning and team coordination - selecting the right tools and processes
  • Deciding when to start, setting goals, building the team,
  • Managing expectations, measuring progress, monitoring
  • Domestic issues
  • International issues
  • PLEASE ADD YOUR IDEAS
• Who should be in the community of interest? Let’s spread the word to invite participation. While we do require a bio from participants, that’s intended to give everyone credibility and help understand their perspective. DO PLEASE EXTEND THE INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE.
• What are some up to date papers and presentations that should be shared widely, especially as they relate to the high priority topics? We also can add links to good resources on the web site.

PLEASE BEGIN CONTRIBUTING MATERIALS AND COMMENTING ON THEM IN THE DISCUSSION SECTION

From time to time, I would appreciate help in summing up the key pieces of advice and wisdom that emerge from individual contributions, or the general discussion.

I look forward to working with you!


Alistair Kent,
Manager, Technical Services,
Selwyn Chihong Mining,
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada