Rio Tinto publishes first Communities and Social Performance report
September 29 2021 - 6:32PM
Business Wire
Rio Tinto has published its first report on progress in
improving Communities and Social Performance (CSP) practices, as
the company works to rebuild trust and relationships with
Traditional Owners following the destruction of the Juukan Gorge
rock shelters in Western Australia.
As part of efforts to increase transparency in its approach to
cultural heritage protection, Rio Tinto has engaged with investors
to develop reporting that details the company’s work to improve its
CSP practices and outcomes.
The report details progress made to 30 July 2021 in areas such
as Traditional Owner partnerships and agreement modernisation in
Western Australia; the introduction of new CSP structures and
practices across the company; improved governance; and increasing
social expertise within the business.
Importantly, it includes direct feedback from Traditional Owner
groups regarding commitments made by the company as part of the
Board Review of Cultural Heritage Management in August 2020.
Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm said “We are working
hard to rebuild trust and meaningful relationships with the Puutu
Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) people and other Traditional
Owners across Australia. We understand this will take time and
consistent effort, but our absolute focus is on improving our
engagement with Indigenous Peoples and host communities so that we
can better understand their priorities and concerns, minimise our
impacts, and responsibly manage cultural heritage.
“We thank those Traditional Owners who generously shared their
feedback and perspectives. While their insights confirm we have
much more to do, feedback like this is vital to shaping
relationships that are respectful, genuine and inclusive.
“We know that we cannot change the past. But we can continue to
seek out, listen to and respect different voices and perspectives,
to ensure that in the future, cultural heritage sites of
significance are treated with the care they deserve. And the
changes we make should improve, over time, our engagement with
Indigenous and First Nations communities in every region where we
operate worldwide.”
Some of the actions outlined in the report include:
- Ongoing remediation work of the Juukan Gorge in consultation
with the PKKP people.
- The commencement of agreement modernisation discussions with
ten Pilbara Traditional Owner groups and their
representatives.
- A detailed review of heritage sites that Rio Tinto manages in
the Pilbara to ensure there are no other sites of exceptional
cultural significance within the company’s existing mine
plans.
- Building social performance capacity, capability and governance
across the company. There are now more than 300 Communities and
Social Performance professionals working on 60 sites in 35
countries, up from 250 professionals in 2020.
- Important steps to grow Indigenous leadership to help better
understand host communities in the future. This includes a $50
million investment to retain, attract and grow Indigenous
professionals and leaders in our Australian business.
- Enhancing cultural awareness training, with all frontline staff
undertaking e-learning or face-to-face training with Indigenous
Australians.
- Progressing the establishment of an Australian Advisory Group
to help better manage policies and positions that are important to
Indigenous Australians and the business; and
- A commitment to work with Traditional Owner groups to co-design
and implement leading practice cultural heritage management.
Rio Tinto will integrate further reporting into its full-year
reporting suite, complemented by additional disclosures where
appropriate. Further consultation with a broad range of investors
and other stakeholders will continue to assist in developing these
disclosures.
The full report is available here
https://www.riotinto.com/invest/reports.
This announcement is authorised for release to the market by
Steve Allen, Rio Tinto’s Group Company Secretary.
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