CSR, EHS, Sustainability, Community Relations, Governance, Social License… what do these words all mean when commodity prices are falling, such as iron ore? The bulk of world commodities is extracted in countries where transparency and governance is weak and corruption is rampant, where poverty is endemic and the majority do not benefit from their countries’ natural resource wealth. Companies can produce 1000 page ESIAs mainly for due diligence purposes, outline formidable EHSC management plans which include both mitigation and non-mitigation measures, demonstrate how all of this is tied to core business, etc. etc. but at the end of the day, when the financials are weak, theft is rampant and impacts productivity, the first departments whose budgets get slashed are: environment and community relations. Even health & safety get undermined and suddenly lose their value. The safety values of zero harm become secondary to budgetary constraints. CEOs are great at trumping sustainability issues and often include it in their speeches or comments. On the other hand, the operations manager is the one who has the pressure to decrease costs at the detriment of sustainability –regardless of what the CEO states in public.
I know that one day, the sustainaility field will take center stage. It may be more advanced in some sectors as compared to others, but the mounting global changes (access to water, poverty,pollution etc.) coupled with the advent of the Internet and communication, are pushing these issues at the forefront inch by inch. The challenge is heavy.
Grace's Blog 