Case study: How IGO promotes and protects human rights
Headquartered in Perth, Western Australia, IGO is a leading ASX-listed exploration and mining company with a strategic focus on metals that are critical to energy storage and renewable energy. IGO is committed to upholding the fundamental human rights of everyone it engages with in its business Tweet This!, aspiring to be a business which recognises and respects the rights and dignity of all people.
This case study is based on the 2019 Sustainability Report by IGO 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
IGO supports the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), committed to providing a workplace free of harassment, hostility and offensive behaviour, where employees treat each other and IGO’s stakeholders with respect and dignity. In order to promote and protect human rights IGO took action to:
- combat modern slavery
- launch a Human Rights Policy
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) IGO has identified;
- How IGO proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by IGO to promote and protect human rights
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2019 Sustainability Report IGO identified a range of material issues, such as economic performance, community and regional development, land management, local employment, capital allocation and growth. Among these, promoting and protecting human rights stands out as a key material issue for IGO.
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 IGO engages with:
To identify and prioritise material topics IGO engaged with its stakeholders through the following channels:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Employees and contractors
| · IGO Code of Conduct, Purpose, Values, policies and standards · Conversations between leaders, managers and employees · Performance review process, employee engagement surveys · IGO employee communication channels, meetings and morning teas · IGO training and development programmes · Participation in IGO awards and celebration events, Corporate Giving activities |
| Traditional Owners
| · IGO Code of Conduct, Purpose, Values, policies and standards · Representative bodies, community meetings, personal communications · Negotiated agreements |
| Neighbouring communities
| · IGO Code of Conduct, Purpose, Values, policies and standards · Location specific community relations’ personnel · Community and town hall meetings · Newsletters and media articles · Participation in social and environmental assessments, socio-economic reviews, community surveys, site visits and Corporate Giving activities · Whistleblower, complaints and grievance mechanisms |
| Pastoralists
| · IGO Code of Conduct, Purpose, Values, policies and standards · Land access agreements · Participation in social and environmental assessments, socio-economic reviews and community surveys · Meetings and personal communications |
| Suppliers and contractors
| · IGO Code of Conduct, Purpose, Values, policies and standards · Supplier research and performance · Contract negotiations and management reviews · Contractor safety initiatives · Meetings and personal communications |
| Customers
| · Site visits, meetings and personal communications · Customer research · Contract negotiations |
| Shareholders, investors, financiers and analysts
| · Quarterly, half yearly and Annual reports, ASX announcements, share registry information, Sustainability Report · Site visits, meetings, road shows, presentations and speeches, webcasts and personal communications · Participation in sustainability benchmarking assessments and disclosure questionnaires |
| Joint venture partners
| · Quarterly, half yearly and annual reports, ASX announcements, share registry information · Site visits, meetings, road shows, presentations and speeches, webcasts and personal communications · Negotiated agreements and proposals |
| Governments and regulators
| · Regular meetings and communication · Site inspections · Business conformance audits · Regulatory filings and responses to requests for information · Participation in legislation and policy developments · Participation in IGO Corporate Giving activities |
| Nongovernment organisations, special interest groups and civil society
| · Quarterly, half yearly and Annual reports, Sustainability Report · Participation in stakeholder and community events · Regular meetings · Response to enquiries |
| Learning and research partners | · Meetings, communication, presentations and speeches · In-house placements |
| Peers and industry associations | · Participate in industry committees, working groups, forums, conferences, regular meetings and communications |
| Media
| · Press releases regarding ASX announcements, financial and operational performance, socio-environment, mergers, acquisitions and divestments · Meetings, interviews and regional teleconferences · Daily media monitoring |
What actions were taken by IGO to promote and protect human rights?
In its 2019 Sustainability Report IGO reports that it took the following actions for promoting and protecting human rights:
- Combating modern slavery
- IGO supports the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and the general proposition that large businesses have a key role in combating modern slavery. IGO agrees that no business should tolerate modern slavery or other serious abuses of human rights in their operations or across their supply chains and is also actively aware of its obligations under the Australian Modern Slavery Act. The Act establishes the requirement for modern slavery reporting on actions to address modern slavery risks and to publicly disclose this in an annual Modern Slavery Statement. IGO took steps to develop its first Modern Slavery Statement, to be made available on its website in early 2020.
- Launching a Human Rights Policy
- During FY19, IGO launched its Human Rights Policy, which clearly articulates IGO’s goals to undertake the following:
- champion and promote a workplace culture which encourages diversity and inclusion without regard to factors such as sex, marital status, race, impairment, religion, political beliefs or social preference;
- recognise and respect Aboriginal cultural heritage and work with Aboriginal communities affected by IGO’s operations in an open, transparent and collaborative manner to make sure IGO continues to deliver positive outcomes for all members of these communities;
- not tolerate any form of forced labour or servitude including child labour and human trafficking;
- comply with its obligations under the Australian Modern Slavery Act 2018 by undertaking risk assessments to identify those parts of IGO’s business and supply chains where there is a risk of modern slavery practices taking place and work with its suppliers to improve their standards;
- prohibit all forms of corruption and bribery as well as all forms of retaliation, discrimination, harassment, intimidation against any person reporting a breach of this policy; and
- focus on continued learning and development for all employees to make sure IGO’s business practices are consistent with its values to promote and uphold the rights and dignity of all people.
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:
1) Disclosure 412-1 Operations that have been subject to human rights reviews or impact assessments
2) Disclosure 412-2 Employee training on human rights policies or procedures
Disclosure 412-1 Operations that have been subject to human rights reviews or impact assessments does not correspond to any SDG.
Disclosure 412-2 Employee training on human rights policies or procedures does not correspond to any SDG.
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References:
1) This case study is based on published information by IGO, 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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