Comprehensive stakeholder engagement throughout the life of our mines is the cornerstone to establishing and maintaining long term community support for the Company’s operations. We believe that ongoing dialogue with our community stakeholders remains one of the most effective tools we have to address these aspects of our business. Public meetings and citizen committees provide valuable opportunities for sharing and learning, for both local residents and for Barrick.
Thorough stakeholder identification and analysis, along with transparent, inclusive and ongoing interactions and appropriate community feedback mechanisms, help to build trust among our stakeholders. Because we have operations in many countries around the world, our key stakeholder groups can vary from site to site. Typically, our stakeholders include:
Constructive engagement with our stakeholders is a critical element in our commitment to responsible mining. As global populations become increasingly connected, we are developing more effective ways of keeping people informed and receiving feedback. We maintain open, transparent communication in a number of ways. Our regional offices and mining operations use public information meetings (both regularly scheduled and ad hoc), open houses, site tours, community and employee newsletters, web-based communications, both formal and informal question and answer mechanisms, and one-on-one discussions.
In 2007, over 1800 meetings were held with members of our host communities, local and regional governments, nongovernmental organizations and other interested stakeholders. We often establish community liaison offices in the local towns to provide easier access for the community to discuss issues with company representatives. Additionally, Barrick responds to community and other stakeholder concerns through its site-level grievance procedures.
In general, communications activities vary depending on the stage of an operation. More meetings are held during development and construction activities; sometimes government or community meetings occur weekly. Once a mine has been operating for a number of years, this may involve, for example, quarterly community/regional council updates and public advisory meetings. During pre-closure and closure, the number and type of community engagement activities will often change again, as we explain the changes to the operations and the plans for closure.
At the corporate level, we supplement and expand this communication in a variety of ways. A key vehicle is Beyond Borders, a magazine that features the latest news updates and in-depth coverage of key issues and initiatives related to the company’s social, environmental, safety and economic development programs worldwide. A Spanish edition is also distributed in South American countries where Barrick operates.
The company also distributes an annual Responsibility Report (with feedback card), which provides web-based communications and reporting on key issues, distributes news releases to media and produces a quarterly Barrick employee newsletter.