Case study: How Centerra promotes responsible business conduct
Centerra is a Canadian based gold mining company, operating, developing, acquiring and exploring gold properties in North America, Asia and in other emerging markets around the globe. Committed to promoting responsible mining, Centerra strives to conduct its business in an ethical and socially responsible manner.
This case study is based on the 2016 Sustainability Report by Centerra 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/ 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
Abstract
Centerra’s vision is to build a team-based culture of excellence, responsibly delivering sustainable value and growth. As a consequence, conducting its business legally and ethically is a top priority for Centerra. In order to promote responsible business conduct Centerra took action to:
- promote integrity through the Code of Ethics
- assess operations for corruption risks
- enable employees to raise ethical concerns
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Centerra has identified;
- How Centerra proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Centerra to promote responsible business conduct
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2016 Sustainability Report Centerra identified a range of material issues, such as occupational health & safety, water management, local communities, emergency preparedness, waste & hazardous materials management. Among these, promoting responsible business conduct stands out as a key material issue for Centerra.
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 s 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 Centerra engages with:
Stakeholder Group |
Centerra employees |
Educational Institutions |
Governments |
Lenders |
Local Communities |
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) |
Shareholders |
Suppliers |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritize material issues, Centerra conducted interviews and an on-line survey among both internal and external stakeholders. Internal stakeholders included Board Members, Senior Leadership and Management at sites.
In its 2016 Sustainability Report Centerra reports that it took the following actions for promoting responsible business conduct:
- Promoting integrity through the Code of Ethics
- Centerra’s Code of Ethics (COE) discusses topics such as the prevention of conflicts of interest, the protection of confidentiality and compliance with applicable laws. The COE also outlines the company’s expectations regarding employees’ behaviour: Centerra employees should act with honesty, integrity and impartiality. In addition, Centerra’s International Business Conduct Policy (IBC Policy) deals with how employees interact with Public Officials (including government employees and officials), imposing restrictions against bribery of Public Officials.
- Assessing operations for corruption risks
- Centerra’s operations are all assessed – by means of assessments conducted internally – for risks related to corruption and, also, unethical behaviours. Corruption and unethical behaviour risks mostly relate to third party agents and conflicts of interest.
- Enabling employees to raise ethical concerns
- [tweetthis]Centerra employees and third parties are able to raise ethical concerns through various channels[/tweetthis], including speaking to a manager or general manager, human resources personnel, or alternatively, using an anonymous compliance line operated by an independent third party. Centerra’s 24-hour compliance hotline is available by phone, internet or Skype (audio only).
Which GRI Standards have been addressed?
The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:
1) Disclosure 102-16 Values, principles, standards, and norms of behavior
2) Disclosure 205-1 Operations assessed for risks related to corruption
78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards
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References:
1) This case study is based on published information by Centerra, 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) http://www.fbrh.co.uk/en/global-reporting-initiative-gri-g4-guidelines-download-page
3) https://g4.globalreporting.org/Pages/default.aspx
4) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/
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