Stakeholder engagement

We support transparent and constructive stakeholder engagement and consultation. Stakeholder scrutiny supports the maintenance of high standards of business conduct that is vital to our corporate culture and the long-term success of the Group.

We recognise that robust and respectful engagement with our stakeholders is essential for our industrial assets to maintain their social licence to operate. Through building constructive and transparent relationships with our stakeholders, we can strengthen our approach locally and globally and improve our operating processes and performance.

Our approach

Our stakeholders include our workforce, shareholders, debt providers, suppliers, joint venture partners, customers, governments and regulators, Indigenous Peoples, land-connected peoples, local communities, NGOs, union organisations, civil society, media and industry peers. We foster dialogues at local, national, regional, and international levels through a range of engagement activities, as well as participating in multi-stakeholder discussions.

We engage in a transparent and open manner in accordance with our Code of Conduct, aiming to build trusting, long-term relationships throughout the lifecycle of our industrial assets.

We communicate clearly and avoid using unnecessarily complex language or jargon. We are committed to maintaining active and transparent engagement with our stakeholders and facilitating a two-way equitable dialogue.

Throughout our engagement activities, we are committed to respecting all cultures and traditions in an appropriate manner.

We are committed to listening and taking on board concerns from our stakeholders.

Stakeholder engagement at our industrial assets

We require our industrial assets to undertake detailed stakeholder identification and analysis, taking particular care to determine vulnerable groups.

Stakeholder assessments cover all stakeholder circumstances, needs and concerns, as well as potential impacts, risks and opportunities for that asset. From this assessment, the industrial asset designs an engagement strategy, which includes procedures for information sharing, consultation and collaboration.

These engagement strategies are designed to align with the industrial asset’s business objectives and changes to its lifecycle, as well as local concerns and the broader socio-economic situation in the region.

We provide our stakeholders with information on a wide range of platforms, tailored to the local context. These include radio broadcasts, site publications, regular town hall meetings, and individual meetings with the community members.

Raising matters of concern

We encourage and welcome feedback. We implement processes for stakeholders to raise concerns and complaints. We record and investigate serious concerns and complaints and seek to resolve them in a timely manner.

We are committed to creating a culture where everyone feels free to speak about concerns securely and confidentially. That includes employees, contractors, directors and officers working in our offices and industrial assets, as well as third parties such as customers, suppliers or other stakeholders. For further information see Speaking openly.

All our industrial assets are required to have in place local complaints and grievance processes that are legitimate, accessible, predictable, equitable, transparent and rights-compatible, in line with the United Nations Guiding Principles’ effectiveness criteria.

These processes encourage people to raise concerns with us without fear of recrimination. We commit to investigating all concerns in a manner that respects the rights of the complainant. For more information, see Grievance mechanisms.