Page 13 - Annual Report 2020
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Workforce
The Board uses a range of formal and informal communication channels and reporting methods to understand the views of the workforce.
This includes engaging with and hearing the perspectives of employees and contractors from all levels of the business. This includes discussions Strategic Report
during site visits, informal events during Board meetings, pulse surveys, feedback through our 24-hour speak up helpline, EthicsPoint and regular
updates from the CEO and management. The perspectives of our workforce are factored into the Board’s decision-making on a range of topics,
from health and safety to risk management and workforce planning. For more examples, refer to section 2.6.2.
COVID-19 response Health and safety
The Board and the Sustainability Committee received regular reporting on The Sustainability Committee considers health and safety performance
the controls in place to manage the health and wellbeing of our site and across our operations at every meeting and reports to the Board on its
office-based workforce in the context of COVID-19, and the feedback from discussions. During the year, the Committee discussed a range of topics
the workforce and from unions. This included steps taken to ensure social relevant to the health and safety of our people, including the mental
distancing, the approach to testing for COVID-19 and the decision to extend health program, and the controls in place for workers in the vicinity
BHP’s Employee Assistance Program to family members. The Board also of tailings dams. In addition, the Sustainability Committee endorsed Governance at BHP
received reports on the results of a COVID-19 wellbeing survey and steps Health, Safety, Environment and Community (HSEC) KPIs for FY2020
taken to monitor and address the wellbeing of our workforce, including and recommended the HSEC outcomes for the Group and the Executive
those working from home. For more information, refer to section 1.4.6. Leadership Team to the Remuneration Committee.
Operations Services Aligning executive pension contribution rate to workforce
Operations Services provides maintenance and production services across At their August 2019 meetings, taking into account data on employee
Minerals Australia, supporting our people to build their skills through pension contribution levels across the BHP workforce reviewed by the
coaching and by performing in-field verification. The Board discussed Remuneration Committee earlier in 2019, the Remuneration Committee
Operations Services and its positive impact on safety, productivity and and Board discussed and endorsed a change to the pension contribution
diversity outcomes as well as the training and benefits provided to the rate for senior executives to bring it lower than the employee average
Operations Services team. The discussion included direct feedback from across the Group’s global locations.
Operations Services team members at different sites on their experiences.
Ethics and compliance, and assurance Inclusion and diversity update Remuneration Report
The Risk and Audit Committee (RAC) received, at its request, increased In August 2019, the Board discussed progress against agreed FY2019
regularity of reporting from the Chief Compliance Officer on trends in inclusion and diversity objectives and the proposed scorecard objectives
reporting to EthicsPoint and details on consistency in disciplinary for FY2020, noting that business data shows a more inclusive and
outcomes for breaches of Our Code of Conduct (Our Code) which sets diverse workforce has lower injury rates and absenteeism, along with
out standards of behaviour for our people. The RAC also discussed the higher scheduled work. The ongoing success of flexible working was
introduction of assurance over risk culture by the Internal Audit and also discussed. The Board also considered how capital projects such
Advisory team. as South Flank and the Spence Growth Option have integrated inclusion
and diversity into project planning, with positive results.
CEO and ELT succession CEO-elect – workforce engagement
A major piece of work for the Board during the year was CEO succession. In the 45 days between being announced CEO-Elect and becoming Directors’ Report
For BHP, succession of the CEO is an ongoing process, which continues CEO, Mike Henry spent time engaging with employees from every asset
to work well in developing internal candidates for this critical role. This and almost all major offices. Employees said they were proud of the
year, Andrew Mackenzie retired as CEO and Mike Henry was appointed positive contribution BHP makes to the world through social value,
CEO from 1 January 2020. The Board took account of Mike’s 30 years’ safety and our inclusive and diverse culture. They also saw opportunity
experience in the global mining and petroleum industry, spanning to further simplify processes and better align teams to work even faster
operational, commercial, safety, technology and marketing roles. A and maximise value across the business.
critical component of succession at ELT level and below is the existence
of a robust senior leadership program that operates across multiple
organisational levels to build, develop, renew, recruit and promote our
leaders. The Board is actively engaged and oversees the development
of the senior team. See section 2.5 for additional information.
Community and government Financial Statements
We recognise that mutually beneficial relationships with communities and governments are crucial to our strategy. The Board takes a range of steps
to understand the perspective of communities and governments in order to factor these into decisions as relevant. The Board receives insight into
the views of community members and government stakeholders through site visits (e.g. the Group Chair met with the President of Chile and the
Australian Ambassador to Chile as part of a visit to Escondida in September 2019 and Directors met with the Premier of Saskatchewan and
Indigenous community members as part of a site visit to Jansen in September 2019); engagement with BHP’s Forum on Corporate Responsibility
(FCR); management reports to the Board; and feedback received through letters to Directors, EthicsPoint reports and the media.
COVID-19 response Social value
During FY2020, BHP supported the communities where we have a The Board discussed an update on the implementation of BHP’s approach
presence in response to challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. to social value to support our business priorities, engage effectively with
This included a broad range of targeted initiatives focused on prevention stakeholders and manage external risk. The discussion focused on two Additional information
and support for health services in the regional communities where we priority areas – continuing to integrate our approach to social value into
have a presence. For example, a A$50 million Vital Resources Fund was the Group’s standard ways of working and measures to effectively
established in Australia, with funds used to support hospitals, clinics and communicate our contribution. The Sustainability Committee discussed
public health organisations serving the communities surrounding our an update on societal expectations of the resource industry, how the
Australian operations. For information of our approach to COVID-19 trends impact our ability to contribute to social value creation and the
in Chile and elsewhere in the Group, refer to section 1.4.6. approach we are taking to respond effectively to these challenges.
Forum on Corporate Responsibility (FCR)
The Sustainability Committee met with members of the FCR, which comprises civil society leaders in various fields of sustainability, to discuss
a range of social and environmental issues. The FCR provided the Sustainability Committee with their insights from their September 2019 trip to
Chile, which focused on water stewardship and Minerals Americas’ approach to social value. The FCR noted BHP’s leadership in deciding to cease
extraction from the Monturaqui aquifer in favour of sourcing water required for Escondida operations from its desalination plant, as well as its
approach to renewable power contracts. Shareholder information
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