Page 18 - Annual Report 2020
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1.4.6 COVID-19: Our global response continued
          Our Technology team supported our response to COVID-19, aiding   We limited access to Indigenous communities by our people and
          all Incident Management teams and Emergency Management   made sure vulnerable members had access to medical services
          teams globally and rapidly enabling 16,000 people to work   and essential supplies. Expert advice early on told us that
          remotely while ensuring the stability and security of enterprise    Indigenous peoples may have additional susceptibility to COVID-19
          and operations systems.                            infection. Therefore, we ceased face-to-face meetings with
          The Technology team also developed a BHP contact tracing app   Indigenous peoples very early in the pandemic, implemented strict
          (C-19 Tracer) to provide digital personal protective equipment for   social protocols for all BHP employees and contractors in regional
                                                             communities, and in Australia, supported Indigenous peoples’
          our global staff. It helps our Health, Safety and Environment teams
          to trace those who had close contact with a COVID-19 positive   return to country and coordinated a national, multi-industry
                                                             response to protect and support remote communities.
          member of our workforce. The app uses GPS and Bluetooth-based
          technologies and was deployed in May, with initial rollout to   The Vital Resources Fund contributed more than A$3.3 million
          Western Australia Iron Ore and Minerals Americas test groups.  to peak Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health councils and
          Across BHP, we increased the availability of support services for our   medical services across the country to support their communities
          people, including localised counselling services in addition to our   as they transition from lockdown to recovery.
          Employee Assistance Program, a range of online campaigns and   The BHP Foundation committed A$3 million to the prevention and
          communication tools, and greater communication opportunities    treatment of COVID-19 with two world-leading research institutions
          to keep our people and teams connected. We sought to identify   based in Australia. The Foundation provided A$2 million to support
          and make safe and suitable arrangements for employees whose   the University of Queensland to develop a potential vaccine and
          wellbeing was not best served by continuing to work from home.    A$1 million to the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity
          In Chile, which has had one of the highest rates of COVID-19   for its Australasian COVID-19 Trial (ASCOT).
          infection globally, a telemedicine service was established to   Suppliers
          support and monitor infected workers’ health.
          Where local COVID-19 transmission was sufficiently low,    We worked with our suppliers to help ensure they followed
                                                             stringent health and safety standards among their own workforce.
          work arrangement restrictions were lifted in some locations   We also worked with them to source critical hygiene products, such
          following targeted assessments of local risks, resources, needs    as hand sanitiser, face masks and cleaning equipment to protect
          and regulations, and the health and mental wellbeing of our   our workforce and the communities where we have a presence.
          people, their families and communities.            For example, our suppliers delivered hygiene products to a school
          Community                                          in Moranbah, Queensland when they were running low, and our
          The local communities where we have a presence and local   local procurement team filled a shortfall in masks for staff at the
          businesses play a critical role in supporting our operated assets   Andamooka branch of the Royal Flying Doctor Service in South
          and we depend on their ongoing wellbeing, success and   Australia. Minerals Americas continues to engage closely with the
          prosperity. BHP also operates in close proximity to several remote   communities associated with Escondida and Pampa Norte to
          and regional Indigenous communities globally.      identify opportunities to support the ongoing crisis and recovery
          We engaged with the communities where we operate to identify   phase, including supporting local suppliers.
          where support was needed most, contributing to organisations    Getting our people to and from sites safely around the world was
          to meet supply and service shortages, accelerating payments    also a logistical challenge that our suppliers helped us overcome.
          to our small, local and Indigenous suppliers and engaging   They provided people and equipment to conduct temperature
          additional people from local regions. We worked with governments,   screenings at airports and bus depots to ensure no one with
          businesses and individuals to identify service and supply shortfalls   a fever travelled to site. Our suppliers also expanded our bus
          and determine the best way to fill those gaps.     fleets, increased the number of charter flights and supported
          These steps helped to keep our operated assets running safely and   new procedures in camps so we could maintain social distancing.
          supported communities and businesses that rely on our business.   We also worked with our site-based suppliers to implement robust
          We established social investment funds designed to help    shared resilience plans and include social distancing measures
                                                             in their on-site procedures to keep our people safe and our
          support the most vulnerable from infection and mitigate the
          broader impacts.                                   operations running.
          In Australia, this was through the A$50 million Vital Resources   Specific examples of our response can be found throughout this
          Fund, which provided a broad range of support programs,   Report and at bhp.com/media-and-insights/covid-19/.
          including additional GP support for remote Indigenous
          communities in Western Australia, the establishment of two fever
          clinics in Queensland, IT equipment for the Kokatha Aboriginal
          Corporation in South Australia and business mentoring in New
          South Wales.
          In Chile, we contributed US$8 million to a program to increase
          the testing capacity and medical treatment facilities in vulnerable
          areas, including new sampling units in La Pintana and Puente Alto
          including an in-car unit and mobile electric bus, water distribution in
          Antofagasta and Pozo Almonte and sanitation campaigns for public
          places in Antofagasta, Coloso, Sierra Gorda and Mamiña. We also
          established an additional US$3 million fund for communities.
          The US$2 million Community Relief Fund in North America,
          Trinidad and Tobago and Mexico supported local and regional
          health and wellness programs, such as through the donation of PPE
          for medical professionals, as well as essential community services,
          and we created a partnership with Project Dignity in Singapore to
          supply meals to frontline healthcare workers.










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