Page 71 - Annual Report 2020

1.7.9 Community 1

livelihoods, with opportunities to support capacity development,
and education and employment outcomes.
We are committed to enabling communities to express their views,
experiences, concerns and complaints related to us and our Strategic Report
activities. Throughout FY2020, community members’ primary
concerns as reported by our operated assets through their
engagement with communities were related to jobs and youth
unemployment, local community development and the
environment. More information on community concerns across
the regions can be found at bhp.com/sustainability.
In FY2020, we received 114 community complaints globally across
our operated assets with the majority of complaints relating to
odour and noise. This is an 18 per cent decrease in complaints Governance at BHP
received compared to FY2019. We did not record any significant
community incidents in FY2020, therefore meeting our five-year
public target of no significant community events between FY2017
and FY2022 . In FY2020, there were no protest events or project
(1)
delays as a result of community concerns, community or
Engaging with communities stakeholder resistance or protest, or armed conflict in relation
At the centre of our approach to engaging and building social to BHP’s operations. Our planned review of asset-level complaints
and grievance mechanisms at our operated assets, for global
value is our commitment to respecting stakeholders. We believe
we are successful when we have established meaningful long-term consistency and to ensure they meet the standards required under
the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights was
relationships that understand local cultures and their priorities, and
when we have supported resilient and diversified local economies delayed as a result of COVID-19. Our community teams focused Remuneration Report
with benefits that continue beyond the life of our assets. on the response to the pandemic during this period and the review
is now planned to be completed in FY2021.
Our engagement approach seeks to develop and maintain open, In FY2020, we had no reported artisanal or small-scale mining
honest relationships built on trust. Only with these attributes can on or adjacent to our operations. As part of our commitment to
we understand the real and perceived impacts of our activities and
how we can partner with communities to contribute to long-term respecting human rights, BHP recognises water access, sanitation
and hygiene as human rights and acknowledges the traditional,
social value. spiritual and cultural connections to water, as outlined in our Water
Our Code of Conduct and the Our Requirements for Community Stewardship Position Statement. Engaging with communities on
standard govern our actions and aspiration to make a positive water risks is an integral component of our water stewardship work.
contribution to communities where we have a presence and We continued to strengthen our engagement with stakeholders Directors’ Report
minimise adverse impacts where these cannot be avoided. on water-related risks (both threats and opportunities) in FY2020
Community and human rights are Group Risks under our Risk at the community and catchment levels.
Framework. In FY2020, we undertook work to update and align the
Community risk profile with the Risk Framework. The Community More information is available at bhp.com/environment/water.
risk profile now captures risk events linked to business activities,
for example the impact of business transformation, community
dependency on BHP and a human rights breach within our Social investment
operated assets or value chain; and external factors, including Social investment is one of the tools in our overall approach to
changing societal expectations, community unrest and protests, contributing to the creation of social value. Social investment
and the impacts on communities of an economic downturn. is our voluntary contribution towards projects or donations with
We have a suite of systems, processes and tools to help us the primary purpose of contributing to the resilience of the Financial Statements
understand, plan, implement and evaluate our engagement communities where we have a presence and the environment,
activities and to ensure all these activities are conducted in a aligned with our broader business priorities. We have a long-standing
culturally sensitive and socially inclusive manner. These include commitment to invest not less than 1 per cent of pre-tax profits
(2)
social baseline analysis, social impact and opportunity in voluntary social and environmental initiatives. Using research and
assessments, human rights impact assessments, stakeholder through a collaborative approach, we work with our diverse range
mapping and community perception surveys. of stakeholders to understand and identify social needs and existing
In FY2020, all our operated assets had stakeholder engagement resources through which we can design our social investment to
management plans in place. These engagement plans and our create meaningful outcomes for communities. We partner with
engagement activities are based on an understanding and analysis appropriate organisations to deliver our social investment initiatives,
of the local context. As an example of our engagement activities, including our employee Matched Giving Program.
in FY2020, our BMA team in Queensland met quarterly through Aligned with the UNSDGs, our Social Investment Framework Additional information
community consultative committees and special reference groups underpins our voluntary social investment approach and provides
to discuss community preparedness related to innovation and a consistent framework for our local, regional, national and global
technology. In Chile, through multi-stakeholder dialogue tables investments. The framework and Social Investment Strategy are
we engaged with Indigenous communities on environmental and reviewed regularly, most recently in FY2020, to ensure we evolve
technical information, and the implementation of Indigenous our focus with that of communities, understand their ambitions
peoples plans. and create enduring positive outcomes.
Aligned with our internal standards, social impact and opportunity Our voluntary social investment in FY2020 totalled US$149.63 million,
assessments were conducted in the United States, Chile and consisting of US$113.83 million in direct community development
Trinidad and Tobago in FY2020. Primary findings across our Chilean and environment projects and donations, US$12.03 million equity
operated assets included the impacts on Indigenous peoples, share to non-operated joint venture social investment programs, a Shareholder information
community health and marine water quality with opportunities to US$12 million donation to the BHP Foundation and US$1.85 million
(3)
promote local sustainable development, diversify economic activity under the Matched Giving Program. Administrative costs to
and improve the quality and access to education. Across North facilitate direct social investment activities totalled US$8.58 million
America and Trinidad and Tobago impacts identified were those and US$1.33 million supported the operations of the BHP Foundation.
on fisheries and wildlife and coastal environments affecting

(1) A significant event resulting from BHP operated activities is one with an actual severity rating of four and above, based on our internal severity rating scale (tiered from
one to five by increasing severity) as defined in our mandatory minimum performance requirements for risk.
(2) Our voluntary social investment is calculated as 1 per cent of the average of the previous three years’ pre-tax profit.
(3) The BHP Foundation is a charitable organisation established and funded by BHP, which works in partnership with internationally recognised institutions, think tanks and
non-government organisations to address some of the most critical sustainable development challenges facing society that are directly relevant to the resources sector.
BHP Annual Report 2020 69