Case study: How Vale creates economic value for its stakeholders
Originally established on June 1, 1942 as the state-owned Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, Vale became a private company ranking among the largest miners in the world, with operations in approximately 30 countries. Minimising its environmental impacts and bringing optimum value to all its stakeholders is a top priority for Vale. Tweet This!
This case study is based on the 2021 Sustainability Report by Vale, 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.
Vale is committed to listen, learn and work closely with its stakeholders, generating sustainable value for all. In order to create economic value for its stakeholders Vale took action to:
- create economic value for employees
- create economic value for the government
- create economic value for communities
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Vale has identified;
- How Vale proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Vale 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 Vale identified a range of material issues, such as business ethics, occupational health and safety, water and effluents, diversity and equal opportunity. Among these, creating economic value for its stakeholders stands out as a key material issue for Vale.
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 Vale engages with:
| Stakeholder Group |
| Employees, Company Leaders, Contractors |
| Community, Formal Leader, Informal Leader |
| Government and Private Companies, Local Government, Central Government, TNI/Polri, Investors, Customer, Suppliers and Partners, Public Sector |
| Observers, Media, Academicians, NGOs, Other Entities |
| Local Communities |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics Vale engaged with its stakeholders through surveys.
What actions were taken by Vale to create economic value for its stakeholders?
In its 2021 Sustainability Report Vale reports that it took the following actions for creating economic value for its stakeholders:
- Creating economic value for employees
- In 2021, Vale paid US$ 84,881 thousand for employee salaries and allowances.
- Creating economic value for the government
- In 2021, Vale paid US$ 142,966 thousand to the government.
- Creating economic value for communities
- In 2021, Vale spent US$ 4,892 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 Vale, 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:
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