Communities
We build enduring relationships with local communities around our operations. Good management of community relationships is just as critical to our business success as the management of our operations. All employees have a responsibility to develop community relationships characterised by mutual respect, active partnership and long term commitment.
In many cases, employees are also members of the local communities near where we operate. This means that employees and communities often have a shared interest in ensuring that work and community priorities align.
Our approach
Our Communities policy outlines how we must effectively manage our relationships with local communities.
The policy, and its implementation, is supported by the Communities standard which sets out the framework for our businesses to comply with the Communities policy. This standard requires Rio Tinto owned and managed operations to develop and implement a locally designed communities programme.
We detail local arrangements in rolling multi-year communities plans which are integrated with a site's operational planning and updated annually. Communities requirements include baseline community assessments, active engagement, consultation procedures, community assistance and cultural heritage protection.
Community engagement helps us to plan and develop programmes that respond to both community and business priorities. Community assistance programmes include enterprise development, training, employment, community based health and social and cultural heritage initiatives. In developing countries, we are often asked to support health, education and agricultural programmes and, in collaboration with others, we help where practical. We support community based projects that can make a difference in a sustainable way without creating dependency.
Working with indigenous communities
Our operations are often located in remote areas throughout the world.
In these cases, we seek to reach agreements with indigenous communities that may be hosting our operations. We seek to establish agreements to gain access for exploration (land access agreements) and to develop mining operations (mine and regional development agreements).
Recognition and respect of mutual interests underpin our agreements. We ensure that the groups with whom we enter into agreements have access to independent advice and expertise in negotiating the agreements, which are in themselves evidence of broad based, free, prior, informed support for an operation.
These agreements cover such matters as how we will work together with the traditional owners in a formal, structured ongoing relationship; traditional owner involvement in land and environmental management; cultural heritage management and protection; and how the operation will create local and regional economic benefits. Regional economic benefits include employment, training, and business opportunities, as well as revenue sharing arrangements. In all cases, we want to enhance opportunities for indigenous people in these agreements. Examples of these agreements:
