Case study: How Galiano respects and promotes human rights
Headquartered in Vancouver, BC, Canada, Galiano Gold is a precious metals mining company focused on creating a sustainable business capable of long-term value creation for its stakeholders through organic production growth, exploration and disciplined deployment of its financial resources. Respect for human rights is a fundamental component of Galiano’s commitment to ethical business conduct Tweet This! and corporate social responsibility.
This case study is based on the 2019 Sustainability Report by Galiano 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
As a globally responsible mining company, Galiano respects human rights as articulated within, among others, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In order to respect and promote human rights Galiano took action to:
- implement a Human Rights Policy
- combat forced and child labour
- promote human rights among security personnel
- use grievance mechanisms
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Galiano has identified;
- How Galiano proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Galiano to respect and promote human rights
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- use grievance mechanisms
What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2019 Sustainability Report Galiano identified a range of material issues, such as climate change adaptation, health and safety, environmental stewardship and compliance, contributing to community. Among these, respecting and promoting human rights stands out as a key material issue for Galiano.
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 Galiano engages with:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Employees and contractors | · Meetings · Regular briefings · Monthly newsletter · Engagement surveys · Grievance mechanism |
| Suppliers | · Meetings · Contract management · Due diligence assessments · Grievance mechanism |
| Local / host communities | · Face-to-face meetings · Company/community forums, associations, committees · Open-door policy at site office · Community information centres · Monthly newsletter · Galiano website · Ceremonial gatherings · Grievance mechanism |
| Ghanaian government / public sector partnerships | · Face-to-face meetings · Multi-stakeholder roundtables · Active partnerships and collaboration · Site visits · Compliance and progress reporting · Sustainability Reports |
| Labour union | · Face-to-face meetings · Site visits · Grievance mechanism |
| Shareholders, investors and analysts | · Press releases · Quarterly videocasts · Conferences · Site visits · Annual and Sustainability Reports · Annual General Meetings · Face-to-face meetings |
| Gold fields | · Face-to-face meetings · Site visits · Compliance and progress reporting |
| Traditional authorities | · Face-to-face meetings · Company/community forums, associations, committees · Grievance mechanism |
| Industry bodies | · Chamber of Mines meetings · Annual Mines Safety Competition · Regular inspection visits to project sites |
| Non-governmental organisations | · Face-to-face meetings · Multi-stakeholder roundtables · Site visits · Compliance and progress reporting · Sustainability Reports |
| Media | · Press releases · Galiano website · Briefings with management · Sustainability Reports |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics Galiano engaged with its stakeholders through surveys distributed to key internal and external stakeholder groups including employees, contract workers, union and non-unionised employees, suppliers, community members, investors, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), government representatives, and civil agencies.
What actions were taken by Galiano to respect and promote human rights?
In its 2019 Sustainability Report Galiano reports that it took the following actions for respecting and promoting human rights:
- Implementing a Human Rights Policy
- In 2019, Galiano drafted a stand-alone Human Rights Policy which was approved and adopted in early 2020 and in which the company makes an overarching commitment to:
- Avoid causing or contributing to adverse human rights impacts through its business activities, and address such impacts if they occur
- Seek to prevent or mitigate adverse human rights impacts that are directly linked to its operations
- Ensure it has and promotes accessible mechanisms in place for stakeholders to raise concerns and seek remedy for issues related to human rights
- Combatting forced and child labour
- Galiano’s operations are not at risk for incidents of forced or compulsory labour and the company has strict proof-of-age requirements upon hiring, preventing anyone under the legal industrial working age of 18 from obtaining employment and its contractors and supply chain must also adhere to this requirement. While the Asanko Gold Mine is not at risk for child labour, this risk may exist in the region due to the presence of artisanal mining sites. There were no reported incidents of either forced or child labour practices at Galiano’s operations in 2019.
- Promoting human rights among security personnel
- Galiano undertakes the necessary precautions to protect both its people and its assets in a responsible manner that ensures the rights of host communities are respected. Galiano’s private AGM security personnel are carefully screened and, as per Ghanaian law, are not authorised to carry arms. Risk assessment and security practices are aligned with the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights and Galiano will train its on-site, private security contractors to further understand and meet their responsibility to respect human rights, including risk assessments, incident reporting, and the responsible use of force. Initial training in the Voluntary Principles was planned for delivery in early 2020 but has been delayed until travel and visits to site resume in the context of COVID-19.
- Using grievance mechanisms
- The Galiano Human Rights Policy, Whistleblower Policy, Galiano’s open-door approach and collective bargaining agreements in the workplace, and the AGM Community Complaint and Grievance Management Procedure all provide a governance foundation from which to ensure employees, contractors, and host communities all have legitimate and accessible ways to express their concerns regarding ethical practices and any social or environmental impacts.
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:
1) Disclosure 408-1 Operations and suppliers at significant risk for incidents of child labor
Disclosure 408-1 Operations and suppliers at significant risk for incidents of child labor corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Targets: 8.7
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
- Targets: 16.2
Disclosure 409-1 Operations and suppliers at significant risk for incidents of forced or compulsory labor corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Targets: 8.7
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References:
1) This case study is based on published information by Galiano, 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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