Communities
Good community relations are as necessary for our business success as the effective management of our operations. This belief is at the heart of our overall approach to communities and is why we build good quality relationships with the people in the areas where we operate.
Wherever we operate, we seek to understand the social, environmental and economic implications of our activities so we can optimise benefits and reduce negative impacts, both for the local community and for the overall economy. We discuss mutual benefits and obligations with local governments and community representatives, and agree on the objectives that will secure long term results.
Our Communities work is guided by The way we work, Rio Tinto's global code of business conduct. Our Communities policy and standard provide the framework for the work, while guidance notes provide specific requirements in areas such as baseline communities assessment, consultation, social impact assessment, communities plans and compensation. We also refer to external policies such as the International Finance Corporation's standard and guidance on land acquisition and involuntary resettlement.
- Knowledge
- Engage
- Programmes
- Elements
- Results
Over time we have developed a successful communities model based on building a knowledge base, building engagement partnerships and jointly developing programmes that respond to business and communities' priorities without developing dependency.
To enable us to deliver socio-economic programmes reflecting the priorities of local communities, we use a number of processes to increase our knowledge and understanding of how communities can derive benefits from our presence.
The first step is often a community baseline assessment. Through baseline studies, we gather data on matters such as demography, the labour market, families' and individuals' wellbeing and education profiles. We build up a picture of the key social, economic and environmental factors that affect a community, and understand what is driving change.
We also use social impact assessments. The information they provide enables us to identify potential risks and opportunities to affected communities. We look at the changes that may occur against the baseline due to a proposed activity, such as a project development, expansion or closure. We can then either avoid the risks or propose mitigation strategies to offset them.
The knowledge that we gather from these assessments forms the basis of our multi year communities plans. These plans are internally and externally monitored to ensure they continue to respond to changing requirements.
Use, reuse, recycle - our tyre strategy
- A recent global shortage of heavy mobile equipment tyres led Rio Tinto to form a taskforce that would look for opportunities to preserve a tyre's use at every stage of its life.
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Video
Project Daybreak
This video outlines Project Daybreak a project built on an old mine that is a social project aimed at sustainable development and building a sense of community.
