Support communities and Indigenous peoples

Our activities, behaviours and decisions can impact the social, physical and economic wellbeing of local and Indigenous communities. An understanding of their perspectives, concerns and aspirations enables us to design better projects that contribute to sustainable outcomes for communities, employees, partners and our operations.

What it means for you

Our communication with communities is respectful, honest and transparent. We invite community feedback regarding our business activities, and when issues arise, our people handle them with care; seeking timely solutions.

BHP acknowledges the unique connection that Indigenous peoples have to the customary lands, waters, plants, animals and cultural heritage that they rely upon for their collective identity and survival as distinct peoples. Respecting their rights and cultural knowledge is central to how we develop projects that achieve long-term benefits for them and us. We seek the free, prior and informed consent of Indigenous peoples for new operations and capital projects in accordance with our Indigenous Peoples Policy Statement.

The important bond that communities and Indigenous peoples have with specific places contributes to a sense of their identity, history and belonging. This is why we take all reasonable steps, to avoid or minimise involuntary resettlement of communities and manage activities with potential impact to cultural heritage.

We support the development of thriving and empowered local communities by partnering to deliver jointly defined economic, social and environmental outcomes that have the potential to continue beyond the life of our operated assets.

We contribute to our communities transparently and with due diligence, through taxes and royalties, local hire and purchases, and supporting social investment projects, sponsorships and donations.

How you make an impact

You seek to understand the concerns, perspectives and interests of impacted communities, you respect their cultures and customs, you have the right training and support to engage respectfully and in a culturally appropriate way with communities and Indigenous peoples, and you act with integrity in all your interactions.

Resources

Indigenous Peoples Policy Statement

Community and Indigenous Peoples Global Standard

Social Value and Sustainability Global Standard

Always

• Respect the cultures and customs of the communities and countries in which we operate, as long as they do not conflict with Our Code or the law.

• Engage with respect, honesty and transparency.

• Take the views and expectations of stakeholders into account in decision-making.

• Investigate concerns and complaints and report outcomes back to relevant stakeholders.

• Obtain any necessary compliance pre-approvals, in accordance with the Community and Indigenous Peoples Global Standard, before offering, promising or approving expenditure for a community project, sponsorship or donation on behalf of BHP.

• Contact Compliance for advice if you have any concerns about the legitimacy of a proposed community project, sponsorship or donation, or contact Ethics and Investigations if you have an undisclosed potential conflict of interest.

• Engage regularly with suppliers and partners to share Our Code and implement robust contract management processes to ensure the respectful behaviours and performance of vendors in the communities in which we do business.

Never

• Intentionally favour individuals from one political, religious or ethnic group on the basis of their membership of that group. The exception is when such action supports a BHP approved or legally required program of positive discrimination (for example, to assist historically disadvantaged groups in the community).

• Contribute to any religious organisation for religious purposes on behalf of BHP.

• Implement a community development project that will intentionally, or likely replace, take over or destabilise the authority of any level of government.

Hypothetical Scenarios

Q: I work in the Supply team and am looking at a scope of work where one of the tenderers is an Indigenous business. I know we are about to commence negotiations related to heritage and land access in the near future. Is it ok to award this work to the business?

A: Providing economic empowerment opportunities to Indigenous and traditional owner businesses is a priority for BHP under our Indigenous Peoples Strategy, and an important way to ensure our operations provide mutual benefit to communities within which we operate. Because we are commencing discussions on heritage and land access you should speak with Compliance to assess any actual or perceived connection between the upcoming heritage negotiations and the scope of work related to the contract we are looking to award. If the contracting opportunity does proceed it may be necessary to put measures in place that ensure any perceived conflict or undue benefit to the group is managed appropriately.

Q: A community member says they are unhappy with the level of noise from our operation at night. How do I respond to them?

A: Understanding the concerns of host communities is important. Community concerns are raised in a range of different forums and our teams should respond appropriately as they arise. All our operations are required to have local mechanisms in place to record complaints and grievances and to address these in a timely and effective manner. In this instance you should acknowledge the concerns and direct the community member to the Asset’s complaints and grievance mechanism. Alternatively, gather the necessary information from the community member as per the complaints and grievance mechanism for the Asset.

View more Hypothetical Scenarios

Support communities and Indigenous peoples

Always

Never

Download Our Code