BSR Insight | (Not) Sharing the Benefits: A Business Risk?
Ernst & Young's most recent annual report of business risks facing the mining and minerals industry has a notable addition this year: "sharing the benefits."
While many of the top 10 risks address social and environmental performance, including resource nationalism, social license to operate, and fraud and corruption, the addition of "sharing the benefits" signals a shift in how companies understand their role in the countries and communities where they operate. This change has happened in part because more stakeholders and communities expect companies to outline how they will share the profits and economic opportunities that result from large-scale capital projects.
BSR's engagement with companies in the sector reinforces the role of sustainable local benefits in companies' social impact and stakeholder-engagement approaches. As highlighted in last year's BSR Insight feature article by Michael Oxman, companies can manage these "benefits sharing" risks by linking commercial and social performance to objectives that seek out long-lasting, mutually beneficial outcomes for the company and key stakeholders.
About the Author(s)
Jessica Davis Pluess, Manager, Research
With strong knowledge of sustainability issues and rich experience in cross-sector collaboration, Jessica works with companies and BSR partners to explore meta-trends and key issues shaping sustainable development in the coming decades... Read more →
Topics
Community Engagement & Development, Economic, Social & Cultural Rights, Energy, Mining, Stakeholder Relations
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