THE MINING INDUSTRY IS UNDER

growing pressure to demonstrate that it is

creating local social and developmental val-

ue in addition to shareholder value. Many

companies have responded with innovative

and successful Corporate Social Responsi-

bility (CSR) programs, helping communi-

ties and countries to address poverty allevi-

ation, HIV/AIDS and other socio-economic

priorities. Many other companies have yet

to embrace CSR and, if they are doing any-

thing, have more of a beads-and-trinkets ap-

proach that throws money at social problems,

often destroying rather than creating value.

COMMUNITY CONSULTATIONIt is important. Do it and do it well. But

don’t stop there. Community consultation

will not secure your social licence. Build on

it with the strategies below and you have a

good chance of succeeding.

FOCUS ON VALUE CREATIONCSR needs to focus on value creation. Sus-

tainable CSR creates value in two forms:

developmental value for local communi-

ties, and financial value for shareholders.

Every CSR activity should be vetted

against this value duality. If it does not

create both stakeholder and shareholder

value, it isn’t CSR. That doesn’t mean it

shouldn’t be done, but recognize that it isn’t

really CSR; it is likely just a handout.

COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATIONEffective CSR approaches use the devel-

opment and operation of a mine as a cata-

lyst to help a community transform, so it’s

left better off after mine closure. The de-

velopment and operation of a mine creates

opportunities for local businesses and work-

ers. As early as possible in the development

cycle of a project, consideration should be

given to how these opportunities can be

utilized to assist the community to move

along its chosen development path.

ACCEPT THAT THERE WILL BE NEGATIVE IMPACTSDeveloping and operating a mine will

cause families and communities some

dislocation. Often, issues such as domestic

violence, HIV/AIDS and breakdown

of traditional governance structures follow

mining development closely. Take steps to

mitigate this; find partners to help.

DEVELOP NON-TRADITIONAL PARTNERSHIPSThink about other organizations and insti-

tutions (i.e. Development Agencies, World

Bank, United Nations, Development

NGOs) that share your interest in support-

ing community economic and social devel-

opment. Meet with them and find out if

they are active where you are working.

BE SYSTEMATIC IN YOUR APPROACH Understand the development dynamics

and priorities of the country and region be-

fore you begin exploring partnerships and

collaboration. Know where your most

strategic intervention points are and devel-

op a partnership, then you can begin mak-

ing a real difference.

UNDERSTAND THE MARKET ANDLOCAL COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGEBefore investing in local economic devel-

opment initiatives, understand the market

and the natural advantages and disadvan-

tages (geographic, climatic, terrain, infra-

structure). You will be besieged by project

ideas in agriculture, tourism and small

business development. You need to have

information to be able to properly assess

them and systematically pick potential

winners. Conduct a detailed analysis of the

industry. Remember, without markets

it isn’t sustainable. Work with partners who

have technical knowledge and/or

financial capacity.

OWN THE INTERFACE WITH COMMUNITIES . . .. . . And don’t be overly dependent on

consultants. As much as possible, engage in

community consultation and research us-

ing your own staff. Advantages include:

• Better visibility for the company

• The community interface doesn’t

belong to an external company or

consultant whose interests might not

always align with yours

• It will be much more cost effective

• You will get your information

directly rather than filtered through

a consultant

• You can communicate your own

interests and priorities rather than have

them filtered through a third party

BRING THE INDUSTRY ALONG Poor CSR performance by others in the

national or regional industry will under-

mine your own activities. In many ways

the industry’s social licence to operate is

only as strong as its weakest performers.

UNDERSTAND AND SUPPORT LOCAL ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITYRegardless of how good your CSR programs

are, how much money you invest or how

committed your CSR team is, you will have

only a minimal impact at best on the com-

munity’s sustainability if there isn’t

sufficient institutional/organizational capac-

ity at the local government and civil society

level. If you bring in an external organization

to assist with capacity development, make

sure that you are able to communicate your

overall plan to them.

BEGIN CLOSURE PLANNING NOWWe suggest developing a rolling plan that

looks at what the community could realis-

tically achieve by closure and how it could

economically sustain itself.

MANAGE TO QUANTIFY TARGETS“If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage

it.” Every CSR program should have quan-

tifiable targets and should be managed ac-

cordingly. This will require discipline and

innovation. Before launching any effort ask

yourself these questions:

• If this is successful, what will have

changed? How can we measure it?

• What else will have changed? How

can we measure it?

Set targets for how much change will oc-

cur over time and measure progress against

those targets. What is important is not that

you get the right indicator but that you go

through the discipline of identifying indi-

cators, using them, assessing them and

then, when necessary, doing it all again.

ENVIRONMENTBe a responsible environmental steward.

All of the above efforts will produce little

value if you don’t have a world-class envi-

ronmental program. Environmental issues

can quickly erode social licence and create

a negative legacy that will follow your com-

pany around the world for years.

Contact Wayne Dunn & Associates at: 250-743-7619; fax 250-743-7659; wayne@wayne

dunn.com; www.waynedunn.com.

by Wayne Dunn & Associates

w i n t e r 2 0 0 4 | MINING REVIEW 51

Suite 1600, Bentall IV1055 Dunsmuir StreetVancouver, British ColumbiaCanada V7X 1P1

Tel: 604.682.7082Fax: 604.682.7092www.placerdome.com

Placer Dome. Excellence in Mining.Placer Dome operates 17 mines in seven countries around the world. We are one of the world’s largest and most successful gold mining companies, and we are headquarteredhere in Vancouver.

From the early prospectors and developers who discoveredthe gold mines that formed Placer Dome’s foundation, to the13,000 people around the world who work for us today, allhave contributed to building our reputation for excellence infinding, building and operating mines.

Far Beyond

Beads& TrinketsCREATING VALUE WITH SUSTAINABILITY INVESTMENTS

Wayne Dunn (left) with a group of children from Rama Caye,a small island off the Miskito (Atlantic) coast of Nicaragua.

Women were the top graduates of the electronics trainingprogram at the award-winning Placer Dome Care Project inSouth Africa.

50 MINING REVIEW | w i n t e r 2 0 0 4 Photographs : cour tesy Wayne Dunn & Assoc ia tes

THE MINING INDUSTRY IS UNDER

growing pressure to demonstrate that it is

creating local social and developmental val-

ue in addition to shareholder value. Many

companies have responded with innovative

and successful Corporate Social Responsi-

bility (CSR) programs, helping communi-

ties and countries to address poverty allevi-

ation, HIV/AIDS and other socio-economic

priorities. Many other companies have yet

to embrace CSR and, if they are doing any-

thing, have more of a beads-and-trinkets ap-

proach that throws money at social problems,

often destroying rather than creating value.

COMMUNITY CONSULTATIONIt is important. Do it and do it well. But

don’t stop there. Community consultation

will not secure your social licence. Build on

it with the strategies below and you have a

good chance of succeeding.

FOCUS ON VALUE CREATIONCSR needs to focus on value creation. Sus-

tainable CSR creates value in two forms:

developmental value for local communi-

ties, and financial value for shareholders.

Every CSR activity should be vetted

against this value duality. If it does not

create both stakeholder and shareholder

value, it isn’t CSR. That doesn’t mean it

shouldn’t be done, but recognize that it isn’t

really CSR; it is likely just a handout.

COMMUNITY TRANSFORMATIONEffective CSR approaches use the devel-

opment and operation of a mine as a cata-

lyst to help a community transform, so it’s

left better off after mine closure. The de-

velopment and operation of a mine creates

opportunities for local businesses and work-

ers. As early as possible in the development

cycle of a project, consideration should be

given to how these opportunities can be

utilized to assist the community to move

along its chosen development path.

ACCEPT THAT THERE WILL BE NEGATIVE IMPACTSDeveloping and operating a mine will

cause families and communities some

dislocation. Often, issues such as domestic

violence, HIV/AIDS and breakdown

of traditional governance structures follow

mining development closely. Take steps to

mitigate this; find partners to help.

DEVELOP NON-TRADITIONAL PARTNERSHIPSThink about other organizations and insti-

tutions (i.e. Development Agencies, World

Bank, United Nations, Development

NGOs) that share your interest in support-

ing community economic and social devel-

opment. Meet with them and find out if

they are active where you are working.

BE SYSTEMATIC IN YOUR APPROACH Understand the development dynamics

and priorities of the country and region be-

fore you begin exploring partnerships and

collaboration. Know where your most

strategic intervention points are and devel-

op a partnership, then you can begin mak-

ing a real difference.

UNDERSTAND THE MARKET ANDLOCAL COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGEBefore investing in local economic devel-

opment initiatives, understand the market

and the natural advantages and disadvan-

tages (geographic, climatic, terrain, infra-

structure). You will be besieged by project

ideas in agriculture, tourism and small

business development. You need to have

information to be able to properly assess

them and systematically pick potential

winners. Conduct a detailed analysis of the

industry. Remember, without markets

it isn’t sustainable. Work with partners who

have technical knowledge and/or

financial capacity.

OWN THE INTERFACE WITH COMMUNITIES . . .. . . And don’t be overly dependent on

consultants. As much as possible, engage in

community consultation and research us-

ing your own staff. Advantages include:

• Better visibility for the company

• The community interface doesn’t

belong to an external company or

consultant whose interests might not

always align with yours

• It will be much more cost effective

• You will get your information

directly rather than filtered through

a consultant

• You can communicate your own

interests and priorities rather than have

them filtered through a third party

BRING THE INDUSTRY ALONG Poor CSR performance by others in the

national or regional industry will under-

mine your own activities. In many ways

the industry’s social licence to operate is

only as strong as its weakest performers.

UNDERSTAND AND SUPPORT LOCAL ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITYRegardless of how good your CSR programs

are, how much money you invest or how

committed your CSR team is, you will have

only a minimal impact at best on the com-

munity’s sustainability if there isn’t

sufficient institutional/organizational capac-

ity at the local government and civil society

level. If you bring in an external organization

to assist with capacity development, make

sure that you are able to communicate your

overall plan to them.

BEGIN CLOSURE PLANNING NOWWe suggest developing a rolling plan that

looks at what the community could realis-

tically achieve by closure and how it could

economically sustain itself.

MANAGE TO QUANTIFY TARGETS“If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage

it.” Every CSR program should have quan-

tifiable targets and should be managed ac-

cordingly. This will require discipline and

innovation. Before launching any effort ask

yourself these questions:

• If this is successful, what will have

changed? How can we measure it?

• What else will have changed? How

can we measure it?

Set targets for how much change will oc-

cur over time and measure progress against

those targets. What is important is not that

you get the right indicator but that you go

through the discipline of identifying indi-

cators, using them, assessing them and

then, when necessary, doing it all again.

ENVIRONMENTBe a responsible environmental steward.

All of the above efforts will produce little

value if you don’t have a world-class envi-

ronmental program. Environmental issues

can quickly erode social licence and create

a negative legacy that will follow your com-

pany around the world for years.

Contact Wayne Dunn & Associates at: 250-743-7619; fax 250-743-7659; wayne@wayne

dunn.com; www.waynedunn.com.

by Wayne Dunn & Associates

w i n t e r 2 0 0 4 | MINING REVIEW 51

Suite 1600, Bentall IV1055 Dunsmuir StreetVancouver, British ColumbiaCanada V7X 1P1

Tel: 604.682.7082Fax: 604.682.7092www.placerdome.com

Placer Dome. Excellence in Mining.Placer Dome operates 17 mines in seven countries around the world. We are one of the world’s largest and most successful gold mining companies, and we are headquarteredhere in Vancouver.

From the early prospectors and developers who discoveredthe gold mines that formed Placer Dome’s foundation, to the13,000 people around the world who work for us today, allhave contributed to building our reputation for excellence infinding, building and operating mines.

Far Beyond

Beads& TrinketsCREATING VALUE WITH SUSTAINABILITY INVESTMENTS

Wayne Dunn (left) with a group of children from Rama Caye,a small island off the Miskito (Atlantic) coast of Nicaragua.

Women were the top graduates of the electronics trainingprogram at the award-winning Placer Dome Care Project inSouth Africa.

50 MINING REVIEW | w i n t e r 2 0 0 4 Photographs : cour tesy Wayne Dunn & Assoc ia tes