Two people, one man and one woman, dressed in hi-vis looking out onto land of red dirt and green vegetation.

Social value

Our purpose is to bring people and resources together to build a better world.

The commodities we produce are essential to everyday life. The benefits they create, and how we do this, underpin our purpose and social value. 

Our social value framework was launched in June 2022 and is focused on the six pillars of decarbonisation, environment, Indigenous partnerships, workforce, communities and responsible supply chains. Each pillar is anchored in our social value scorecard to an aspirational 2030 goal and underpinned by a set of metrics to measure performance and short-term milestones to track and transparently report progress. This enables us to provide clarity to our partners and stakeholders and our own teams about our social value ambitions.  The 2030 goals include BHP’s 2030 climate change target and goals, and reference timelines set out in global frameworks and agreements such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement, the Convention of Biological Diversity and the Global Goal for Nature. 

The goals provide opportunities for BHP to engage and work in partnership with others, build capability and co-design approaches to deliver positive outcomes and shared prosperity for people and our planet. They are reinforced by our continued commitment to pursue zero significant health, safety, environment, community or supply chain events.  

To deliver on our 2030 goals and social value framework, we have created processes and systems to help improve decision-making and planning throughout the business. We are embedding social value in all that we do.  Our mandatory minimum performance requirements for investments and corporate alignment planning have been updated to include consideration of social value and we have created tools and guidance to help with these decision-making processes.   

Our social value scorecard 

Our social value scorecard’s six 2030 goals and associated set of metrics and short-term milestones allow us to measure and transparently report progress.  

Our metrics and milestones are expected to evolve over time as our plans mature and we further understand the outcomes of our efforts. To demonstrate continual progress towards 2030, we intend to develop new short-term milestones each year and report annually on our performance. New and existing milestones planned for FY2024 to demonstrate annual progress towards the 2030 goals are presented in the scorecard but are not intended to represent the full roadmap to 2030. We aim to continue to learn and improve our pathways to 2030 and anticipate developing new, additional metrics in the coming years.  

At its core, our scorecard represents an emphasis on partnerships, listening and co-design, recognising that it is not for us alone to decide what is of value to communities or the environment and addressing challenges like climate change and nature loss requires collaboration.  

Our performance in FY2023 against the scorecard is provided on page 35 of the BHP Annual Report 2023, Operating and Financial Review, along with revised and updated milestones, to demonstrate our progress towards our 2030 goals. Additional information on how the metrics and milestones support progress towards our 2030 goals and the methods we use to measure progress are detailed in the BHP ESG Standards and Databook 2023

social value scorecard

1 With widespread adoption expected post-2030.  

2 For the definition of the terms used to express these positions, including ‘target’, ‘goal’, ‘net zero’ and ‘carbon neutral’ refer to the BHP Annual Report 2023 Additional Information 10.4. The baseline year of our operational GHG emissions target will be adjusted for any material acquisitions and divestments, and to reflect progressive refinement of emissions reporting methodologies. The target's boundary may in some cases differ from required reporting boundaries. The use of carbon credits will be governed by BHP’s approach to carbon offsetting described at bhp.com/climate. The Scopes 1 and 2 operational emissions target is for FY2030. The Scope 3 goals are for CY2030. 

3 Excluding in-kind contributions.

4 Nature positive is defined by the WBCSD/TNFD as ‘A high-level goal and concept describing a future state of nature (e.g. biodiversity, ecosystem services and natural capital) which is greater than the current state.’ It includes land and water management practices that halt and reverse nature loss – that is, supporting healthy, functioning ecosystems.  

5 Excluding greenfield exploration licences (or equivalent tenements), which are located outside the area of influence of our existing mine operations. 30 per cent will be calculated based on the areas of land and water that we steward at the end of FY2030. For more information refer to the BHP ESG Standards and Databook 2023.  

6 Area under stewardship that has a formal management plan, including conservation, restoration or regenerative practices. 1.3 per cent is calculated based on the areas of land and water that we stewarded at 30 June 2023. For more information refer to the BHP ESG Standards and Databook 2023

7 Natural capital accounts are a way to measure the amount, condition and value of environmental assets in a given area. It helps describe changes in ecosystems and how these impact wellbeing and economies.  

8 All land and water areas at our operated assets (excluding OZ Minerals and legacy assets) in Minerals Australia and Minerals Americas. Legacy assets refer to those BHP-operated assets, or part thereof, located in the Americas that are in the closure phase. 

9 Progress to plan will be partner-measured using a traffic light score on Indigenous partnership satisfaction in relation to the milestones agreed in partnership.  

10 Relationship health will be partner-measured using a traffic light score.  

11 Cultural diversity in our workforce will be measured based on our substantive progress towards reflecting the cultural diversity of the community. 

12 Reduction in life-altering injury or illness: includes life-altering or long-term permanent disabling injuries and illnesses as defined by the BHP Risk Management Framework.  

13 The core components of the sexual harassment program included completion of Active Bystander training and Safety Stops; Positive Duty consultation with external experts and employees, development of the Priority Group Experience Framework, ongoing evaluation of the Minerals Australia Alcohol standard, sexual harassment Risk and Control Framework enhancements, contractor engagement, transparency and disclosure, response and support improvements, internal communications and embedment of learnings from external reviews into under-reporting. 

14 Co-design requires meaningful engagement and contribution to the plan from a variety of interested stakeholders.  

15 Net Promoter Scores show respective feedback from our customers and suppliers, and measures the willingness of our customers/suppliers to recommend BHP to others. It is used as a proxy for gauging overall satisfaction.  

16 Information available in FY2024.  

17 Point in time data at 30 June 2023.  

18  8.6 per cent refers to Indigenous employee representation at Minerals Australia operations. Total Indigenous employee representation in Australia, including non-operational roles (2.7 per cent), was 7.7 per cent at 30 June 2023. While for FY2023 this does not include OZ Minerals employees who joined BHP via acquisition on 2 May 2023, former OZ Minerals operations in Australia had 3.8 per cent Indigenous employee representation at 30 June 2023.  

19  7.7 per cent refers to Indigenous employee representation at the Jansen Potash Project and operations. Total Indigenous workforce representation at the Jansen Potash Project and operations, including contractors (21.4 per cent), was 20.8 per cent at 30 June 2023.  

20  9.7 per cent refers to Indigenous employee representation at Minerals Americas operations in Chile. 

21 Against CY2008, which was selected as the baseline year for this goal to align with the base year for the International Maritime Organisation’s 2030 emissions intensity goal and its corresponding reasoning and strategy. 

22 This includes contribution to suppliers, wages and benefits for employees, dividends, taxes, royalties and voluntary social investment. For more information refer to the Economic Contribution Report 2023.