Case study: How Ero Copper creates economic value for its stakeholders
Ero Copper is a high-margin growth-oriented base metals mining company with corporate headquarters in Vancouver, Canada, and operations in Brazil. Ero Copper defines responsible corporate citizenship as providing value to all of its stakeholders through sustainable mining operations that enhance the communities in which it operates.
This case study is based on the 2021 Sustainability Report by Ero Copper, prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards, 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.
Ero Copper is committed to responsible mining that creates lasting social and economic value for all its stakeholders Tweet This!, especially the members of the communities in which it operates. In order to create economic value for its stakeholders Ero Copper took action to:
- create economic value for employees
- create economic value for suppliers
- create economic value for governments and third parties
- create economic value for providers of capital
- create economic value for communities
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Ero Copper has identified;
- How Ero Copper proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Ero Copper to create economic value for its stakeholders
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2021 Sustainability Report Ero Copper identified a range of material issues, such as business ethics, health and safety, climate, energy and GHG emissions, human rights, water stewardship. Among these, creating economic value for its stakeholders stands out as a key material issue for Ero Copper.
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 Ero Copper engages with:
To identify and prioritise material topics Ero Copper engaged with its stakeholders through the following channels:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Local Communities | · Active engagement with communities in and around current, planned and historic mining operations through both formal and informal mechanisms |
| Employees and Contractors
| · Formal and informal engagement with employees and contractors, including: regular management meetings, health and safety meetings, annual union engagement and employee engagement and satisfaction surveys |
| Federal, State and Local Government Agencies
| · Regular engagement with all levels of governmental agencies to foster economic development, community health and environmental stewardship within Ero Copper’s regions |
| Investors | · Frequent engagement with existing shareholders and potential new shareholders through marketing, conferences and targeted outreach |
| ESG Research and Rating Agencies | · Frequent engagement with relevant ESG-focused agencies to align company reporting, improve overall disclosure and ensure accuracy of information |
What actions were taken by Ero Copper to create economic value for its stakeholders?
In its 2021 Sustainability Report Ero Copper reports that it took the following actions for creating economic value for its stakeholders:
- Creating economic value for employees
- In 2021, Ero Copper paid $64,271 thousand for employee wages and benefits.
- Creating economic value for suppliers
- In 2021, Ero Copper paid $310,654 thousand to suppliers.
- Creating economic value for governments and third parties
- In 2021, Ero Copper paid $22,210 thousand in income and resource taxes, $8,990 in other taxes and fees and $9,730 in government and third-party royalties.
- Creating economic value for providers of capital
- In 2021, Ero Copper paid $6,223 thousand to providers of capital.
- Creating economic value for communities
- In 2021, Ero Copper spent $243 thousand in community investments.
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed
Disclosure 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Targets: 8.1, 8.2
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- Targets: 9.1, 9.4, 9.5
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References:
This case study is based on published information by Ero Copper, 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 following link:
https://erocopper.com/site/assets/files/6327/ero_copper_2021_sustainability_report.pdf
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