Global: Report reveals majority of mines are not demonstrating commitment to resolve environmental and community concerns
"RMI Report", February 2022
The vast majority of the 250 assessed mine sites across 53 countries cannot demonstrate that they are informing and engaging with host communities and workers on basic risk factors such as environmental impacts, safety issues or grievances. Some 94% of the mine sites score an average of less than 20% on the fifteen basic ESG issues assessed (see Figure 1). At the same time, a few mine sites show better practices on some of these issues, proving ‘it can be done’. It is at mine-site level that these issues matter most – for local stakeholders who risk exposure to harmful impacts, for investors who need to know about asset-level risks, for Board members and senior executives to know if risks are being well managed, and for companies seeking to show respect for their neighbours and host communities. All companies are encouraged to move beyond consolidated reporting and aggregate figures to meet stakeholders’ needs for relevant information and meaningful engagement...
Most of the stronger performing companies show limited evidence of improvement in their responsible policies and practices at corporate level since 2020. The 8% average improvement among the first-tier performers contrasts with the 22% and 41% average improvements seen among companies in the second and third tiers, respectively... The remaining gaps seen among the first-tier companies include a lack of corporate measures on a wide range of key issues. There is a risk of stalling of momentum among the leaders on ESG issues, even as the industry announces ambitious plans on technical issues, such as emissions reductions or efficiency gains. Applying the same level of effort and leadership to, for example, social performance issues or the management and disclosure of local environmental impacts, would do much to help the industry meet society expectations on these critical issues. Companies are encouraged to use the RMI framework and results as a guide to prioritise areas for improvement...