Case study: How Highland Gold promotes employee health and wellbeing
Highland Gold is a leading gold producer with a world class Russian asset base of production, development and exploration projects. In addition to keeping its workforce safe, Highland Gold supports the general health and wellbeing of all its employees Tweet This!, with the aim of preventing illnesses that could affect a worker’s ability to perform their tasks.
This case study is based on the 2019 Sustainability Report by Highland Gold published on the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Disclosure Database that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
Abstract
The health services Highland Gold provides to all employees include vaccinations, medical checks (including temperature and blood pressure), drugs and alcohol intake monitoring, and heart health programmes. In order to promote employee health and wellbeing Highland Gold took action to:
- implement an electronic health check system
- support healthy lifestyles
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Highland Gold has identified;
- How Highland Gold proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Highland Gold to promote employee health and wellbeing
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2019 Sustainability Report Highland Gold identified a range of material issues, such as legal compliance, greenhouse gas emissions, employee engagement and labour relations, materials and waste management. Among these, promoting employee health and wellbeing stands out as a key material issue for Highland Gold.
Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.
Key stakeholder groups Highland Gold engages with:
To identify and prioritise material topics Highland Gold engaged with its stakeholders through the following channels:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Investors | · Half-yearly annual results conference calls · Industry and investment conferences · Regular meetings with institutional and private investors · Quarterly performance updates and regular news announcements · Website |
| Employees | · Employee benefits packages · Ongoing training and development · Workforce posters and communications · Staff engagement surveys · Workers’ councils · Executive site visits and sessions · Business Ethics and Anti-Corruption policy · Group HSE policy · Group Cardinal Safety Rules · Established whistleblowing procedures · Publication of Modern Slavery Statement |
| Local communities | · Community liaison working groups · Dialogue between site managers and local administration · Dialogue between the Regional Managing Directors and the regional administration · Sponsorship and support of “Day of the Metallurgist” and other events in local villages |
| Government and regulatory bodies | · Social investment via social contracts with municipal administrations · Regulatory audits · Direct contact with regulators · Industry conferences |
| Suppliers and contractors
| · Contractual relationships · Training · Meetings · Compliance audits · Daily dialogue with contractors on site and through management team |
| Media and analysts | · Press releases · Interviews and briefings around key announcements and events · Presentations · Site visits |
What actions were taken by Highland Gold to promote employee health and wellbeing?
In its 2019 Sustainability Report Highland Gold reports that it took the following actions for promoting employee health and wellbeing:
- Implementing an electronic health check system
- To make sure its staff are fit to work at the start of shifts, and to limit the spread of seasonal conditions, Highland Gold began rolling out the health check system (“ESMO”) at MNV, Belaya Gora and Novo. The system, which measures blood pressure, body temperature and the presence of alcohol and/or drugs, was also introduced to Valunisty in 2020. Each of Highland Gold’s operating mines carries out regular health checks, as well as pre-shift and pre-trip screenings. If an employee does not pass the check, the system will automatically deactivate their pass, prohibiting access to the mine until they are cleared for work again. These checks are now digitised, which has increased efficiency. Storing the data enables Highland Gold to monitor workers who have ongoing medical conditions, such as high blood pressure, so the on-site doctor can provide increased support if necessary. This development is also proving beneficial in enabling Highland Gold to identify health risks earlier. Highland Gold has additionally developed an action plan to reduce and control rates of sickness at each of its assets. As part of this, Highland Gold’s IT department is developing a piece of software that enables the company to identify and monitor employees that frequently take sick leave so Highland Gold can identify causes of ill health and provide health support plans to its staff.
- Supporting healthy lifestyles
- To encourage employees to follow a healthy and active lifestyle, Highland Gold has installed well-equipped and modern gyms at every asset. Highland Gold also piloted a “Well-being” project at its Moscow headquarters, a major and complex project incorporating various components, including breaks for all employees, and making fresh fruit available.
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 403-6 Promotion of worker health
Disclosure 403-6 Promotion of worker health corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
- Targets: 3.7, 3.8
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References:
1) This case study is based on published information by Highland Gold, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original, please revert to the original on the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database at the link:
http://database.globalreporting.org/
2) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/
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