Case study: How Polyus creates economic value for its stakeholders
Polyus is the largest gold producer in Russia and among the top-10 leading global gold mining companies in the world, holding the world’s largest gold reserves, with 104 million ounces of proved and probable gold reserves. Through its operations, Polyus creates direct economic value for its key stakeholders Tweet This!: shareholders, investors, employees, suppliers and contractors, government authorities, and local communities.
This case study is based on the 2020 Sustainability Report by Polyus, 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.
In 2020, the economic value generated by Polyus rose by approximately 24%, from $4,054 million in 2019 to $5,021 million in 2020. In order to create economic value for its stakeholders Polyus took action to:
- create economic value for employees
- create economic value for suppliers and contractors
- create economic value for providers of capital
- create economic value for the state
- create economic value for local communities
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Polyus has identified;
- How Polyus proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Polyus to create economic value for its stakeholders
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2020 Sustainability Report Polyus identified a range of material issues, such as ethics and human rights, environmental stewardship, human capital, energy and climate change. Among these, creating economic value for its stakeholders stands out as a key material issue for Polyus.
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 Polyus engages with:
To identify and prioritise material topics Polyus engaged with its stakeholders through the following channels:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Shareholders, lenders, bondholders
| · Annual general meetings · Regular hard-copy and e-communications · Regular meetings with institutional shareholders · Newsletters |
| Government and regulators
| · Agreements on social-economic partnerships · Charity and sponsorship initiatives · Conferences and forums |
| Employees and contractors
| · Direct communications with employees through immediate supervisors and management · Territory of Polyus corporate newspaper · Internal web portal · Site-based newsletters · Hotline · Confidential feedback boxes · Corporate sports and cultural events, professional competitions · Volunteer projects · Employee surveys · Contractual relationships |
| Local and indigenous communities
| · Newsletters and targeted communications · Public hearings and meetings · Confidential feedback boxes · Charity activities · Social programmes · Hotline |
| Suppliers
| · Tenders · Contractual relationships · Workshops |
| NGOs and industry organisations | · Regular interaction with relevant national and international organisations · Participation in committees and working groups |
| Media
| · Press releases, briefings · Presentations and interviews · E-communications |
What actions were taken by Polyus to create economic value for its stakeholders?
In its 2020 Sustainability Report Polyus reports that it took the following actions for creating economic value for its stakeholders:
- Creating economic value for employees
- In 2020, Polyus spent $617 million for wages and other payments to employees.
- Creating economic value for suppliers and contractors
- In 2020, Polyus paid $526 million to suppliers and contractors.
- Creating economic value for providers of capital
- In 2020, Polyus paid $1,104 million to providers of capital ($871 million to shareholders and $233 million to creditors).
- Creating economic value for the state
- In 2020, Polyus paid $674 million to the state, including income tax expense.
- Creating economic value for local communities
- In 2020, Polyus spent $35 million 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 Polyus, 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://sustainability.polyus.com/upload/files/Polyus_SR_2020.pdf
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