TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Major miner Goldcorp has been named as one of Canada's 50 most socially responsible corporations by Sustainalytics, an independent provider of environmental, social and governance (ESG) research to institutional investors and financial institutions around the world.
The yearly list recognised companies with an outstanding commitment to social and environmental responsibility.
"Operating in a transparent and socially responsible manner is a commitment that is absolutely fundamental to the way we do business. We're proud of the strides we've made incorporating best practices into everything from land reclamation to ensuring we hire local workers and source from local suppliers where possible.
“We believe that every community we work with should prosper. This acknowledgment from Sustainalytics validates the work we're doing,” Goldcorp president and CEO Chuck Jeannes said on Friday.
Goldcorp said it had made significant investments to development industry-leading policies and programmes in areas such as workplace safety, diversity, community development, education and support for non-profits.
Among the NYSE- and TSX-listed company’s important initiatives and accomplishments counted its ‘Six Pillar Strategy’ that sought to place people, safety and sustainability at the core of operations; the company’s ‘Sustainability Excellence Management System’ framework and set of standards that incorporated best-in-class environmental, safety, social and human rights practices; its participation in the Catalyst Accord, were it was the first mining company to commit to increasing the representation of women on its board to 25% by 2017.
The company's gender diversity policies were also recognised recently with the YWCA Metro Vancouver Women of Distinction Award for Outstanding Workplace.
Further, Goldcorp had collaboration agreements in place with all of the First Nations that asserted Aboriginal and treaty rights in the vicinity of its Canadian mines. The agreements included commitments to skills training, employment, opportunities for business development and contracting, and a framework for issues resolution, regulatory permitting and Goldcorp's future financial contributions.
Goldcorp's yearly Day of Remembrance – an event unique in the industry – enabled employees to focus on identifying risks and making operations safer. Each office, operation and project across Goldcorp's entire business (throughout North and South America) would halt all activities, including production, on this day every year to focus on safety.
The company's ‘Tailings Stewardship Strategy’ also ensured that the company implemented best practices for proper construction, operation, maintenance, monitoring and, ultimately, closure of Goldcorp's tailings storage facilities.
In 2014, Goldcorp paid about $62-million in community contributions through community investments, donations, sponsorships, trusts, infrastructure investments and collaborative agreements.
Over the years, Goldcorp had also been recognised for its achievements in corporate social responsibility and sustainability by Nasdaq, Dow Jones, Randstad, YWCA, Mexican Centre for Philanthropy and Alliance for Corporate Social Responsibility and the Canadian Land Reclamation Association.
Last year, Goldcorp was awarded the Excellence in Corporate Reporting Award from Chartered Professional Accountants Canada in recognition of the company's electronic disclosure practices and received an award for the best corporate sustainability report in 2014 from the Finance and Sustainability Initiative.
A member of the International Council on Mining and Metals, Goldcorp published an Annual Sustainability Report according with its commitments under the United Nations' Global Compact and aligned with Global Reporting Initiative guidelines.