For information on the role of the BHP Board in overseeing our approach to and delivery on sustainability refer to the Sustainability approach webpage.   

Our Charter and Our Code of Conduct (Our Code) set out the expectations and standards of behaviour for our people, as well as our expectations of the third parties who work with us or on our behalf, including our suppliers, contractors and community partners. The human rights commitments in Our Code are implemented through our Human Rights Policy Statement and the mandatory minimum performance requirements in our relevant Global Standards, including our Community and Indigenous Peoples Global Standard.

Our Human Rights Policy Statement was developed in line with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, included consultation with internal and external stakeholders, and was approved by the Board. Our Human Rights Policy Statement and the Global Standards that implement it apply to all our operated assets and functions in accordance with our reporting scope and boundaries. Our Policy Statement is reviewed annually by the Chief Legal, Governance and External Affairs Officer.

Human rights due diligence is an important part of our approach to respecting human rights, which helps support our dialogue with partners and stakeholders about our potential human rights impacts and assists in identifying opportunities to promote respect for human rights.  The Human Rights Policy Statement and relevant Global Standards outline our approach to due diligence, which involves assessing actual and potential impacts, integrating and acting upon the findings, monitoring effectiveness and communicating how actual and potential impacts are addressed. 

BHP has developed a globally consistent methodology for our community and human rights impact and opportunity assessments, which are conducted on a regular basis for our operated assets, designed to allow us to identify threats to and potential adverse impacts on, as well as opportunities to promote respect for, human rights through our activities. The methodology design seeks to incorporate consideration of all relevant human rights, the applicable legal and regulatory context and views from our stakeholders, and focuses on the most salient potential human rights impacts so that issues that present the highest threats or greatest opportunities can be prioritised. Our approach allows for local customisation but also enables us to have a global view of any shared human rights issues, which can also help us identify potential opportunities for Group-wide collaboration. 

We strive for early, meaningful and ongoing dialogue with people whose human rights may be impacted by our operations. Where possible, we seek to engage with potentially affected people throughout our due diligence to understand their perspectives, minimise any power imbalances and achieve relationships built on respect, trust and transparency. 

We also engage with civil society, industry, government and other partners and stakeholders on human rights issues related to our business, our sector and, where appropriate, businesses at large, to enhance collective action in support of the corporate responsibility to respect human rights. 

The findings from our human rights due diligence are required to be integrated into BHP’s material risk profile under our Risk Framework at a company and operated asset level, so we can monitor and evaluate our approach to prevention and mitigation of adverse human rights impacts throughout our own operations and in our supply chain. 

Reflecting our due diligence processes conducted to date, we recognise we have the potential to cause, contribute to or be directly linked to human rights impacts related to workplace health and safety, labour rights, activities of security providers, land access and use, water and sanitation and Indigenous peoples’ rights relating to culture, identity, traditions and customs. More information on our approach to these specific issues can be found in our Human Rights Policy Statement, Indigenous Peoples Policy Statement, Community and Indigenous Peoples Global Standard, Health Global Standard, Safety Global Standard and Minimum Requirements for Suppliers. 

Our Code explains how to protect people who speak up. It applies to everyone. Our employees, those who work with or on behalf of us, including contractors and suppliers, and those affected by our business globally, are encouraged to promptly raise any concerns about anything that may be illegal, improper or involve misconduct. 

BHP’s reporting channels to raise misconduct concerns, including any human rights concerns, comprise an online portal and a confidential, 24-hour, multilingual call service  which are  open to all, including employees and contractors and members of the public. Local community complaints and grievance mechanisms are required to be in place at our capital projects and operated assets. We aim to acknowledge, review and document all issues raised through these mechanisms.

Where complaints are investigated and substantiated, we will provide for or cooperate in their remediation and will continue to work with partners and stakeholders to identify ways to communicate how complaints have been addressed and integrated back into our due diligence processes.

Under Our Code, BHP does not allow any form of punishment, discipline or retaliatory action to be taken against anyone for speaking up or cooperating with an investigation. 

We take steps to assess adherence to BHP’s mandatory minimum human rights performance requirements across our operated assets and develop improvement plans where necessary.   The Board’s Sustainability Committee receives periodic updates on emerging human rights issues and trends. 

For more information, refer to the BHP Annual Report 2024, Operating and Financial Review 8 – How we manage risk. 

We report annually on our human rights performance through our Annual Report, ESG Standards and Databook and Modern Slavery Statement.