Operational performance

Rio Tinto businesses implement our Communities policy through rolling five year community plans, which are monitored using Site Managed Assessments.

The plans, updated annually, apply throughout the life cycle of the Group's activities from exploration to mine closure. They ensure that at each stage in the mining cycle, programmes are in place to make sure the local communities know and understand the operations. The plans also involve baseline assessments of the local community, two-way consultation with the community and local stakeholders and the development of socio-economic programmes. All of these help to improve the strength and quality of the plans, and hence the benefits provided.

The plans are one element of the Communities standard, which is implemented across the Group to ensure consistent performance in the design and implementation of the Communities policy. The standard also sets out the requirements in the areas of cultural heritage, baseline communities assessments and community assistance. 

A new internal mechanism for assessing the health of our relationships with local communities is currently being launched across the Rio Tinto Group. These Site Managed Assessments (SMAs) have been designed primarily to ensure businesses are implementing the Communities policy and Communities standard. To ensure we maintain the support of the public and local commuity, it is important to verify our actual performance against claimed achievement. Making this process transparent, credible and verifiable will give people confidence in the strength of our policies.