TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Mining companies that fail to engage with social media or other online platforms face the risk of increased criticism, scrutiny and protest by opposition groups, speakers told delegates at the Risk Mitigation & CSR Seminar in Toronto on October 17.

Many companies are also failing to successfully broadcast the benefits accrued by project stakeholders and, in doing so, are not realising the full value inherent in their CSR programmes. 

TURN ON, TUNE IN AND TWEET

HigherEye Trade & Consulting president and CEO Radcliffe Dockery emphasised how perception can quickly dictate a narrative. This includes the impact of protests.

“Perception is reality … Protests that gather steam [can] create a new reality,” he warned.

Social media is a superb, cost efficient vehicle for mining opponents to convey their message and set the parameters of a story. This is frequently achieved through an eye-catching headlines or 140-character tweets.

“And we live in a headline society … When someone posts something on Facebook, they’ll often just read the headline and not the story,” Dockery said.

Mining companies that downplay the importance of social media, or believe it is niche territory, or even fail to engage, are forgetting that half the world’s population use the platform and often formulate their beliefs and opinions by doing so, he added.

Dockery’s argument was underscored by figures highlighted by the UK’s Daily Telegraph on October 31; Facebook currently accounts for one in every five minutes spent on smartphones and one in eight on the Internet overall.

But only 16% of CEOs were using social media to promote their company’s aims, objectives and narratives, Dockery said, citing IBM statistics.

Part of the problem here lies within the mining sector’s inherent conservatism and unwillingness to engage with the causes of its unpopularity, Radius Communications president Jeff Silverstein argued in a later speech.

In turn, this opens the sector up for greater scrutiny and fiercer attacks by opponents. “We live in [a world of] increased expectations and increased scrutiny,” he said.

YOUR EYES ONLINE

The impact of robust and negative online opinion can soon percolate through to affect investor confidence and, if left unchecked, start to damage a company’s relationship with its shareholders.

“The increase in scrutiny alerts investors to ESG [environmental, social and corporate governance] risk in a way they’ve never been alerted before,” Silverstein said. “The stakes are high and include the loss of reputation and public support. Ultimately, it could include the loss of opportunity and productivity.”

“Companies should track a project’s environmental and social risk exposure on a daily basis. They should monitor third-party sources, including major media, print media, hundreds of NGOs [non-government organisations], newsletters and news sites, government agencies and blogs,” he said.

There should also be a greater understanding of who the opposition might be, including community groups, trade unions, indigenous organisations, charities, religious organisations, professional organisations and private foundations.

In addition, mining companies need to be aware that the Internet enables opponents to achieve their objectives with greater ease. “The Internet and social media have been great levellers. [Opponents] know time is money and, in the world of mining, that a delay can be as good as a denial,” Silverstein said

“They represent kind of media strike force that can damage a company’s reputation and threaten its operations through coordinated efforts. At worst, they can [also] file lawsuits that could cost hundreds of millions of dollars,” he added.

KEEP TALKING

But many mining companies often facilitate their opposition by failing to successfully publicise the value and advantages of their CSR programmes; they are failing to stress the creation of wealth, healthcare, infrastructure, jobs and training for project stakeholders, Silverstein argued.

“There’s very little point in doing sustainability activities if you don’t talk about them and communications are an integral part of capturing the value of sustainability,” he said.

“[Mining companies need] to tell their story and retell it until they reach the people who need to hear it,” he added. “And with budgets shrinking every day, the need to leverage and maximise the value of sustainability activities is greater than ever.”

Companies must also maintain a proactive rather than reactive approach and constantly monitor and update their CSR communications techniques.

“CSR communications need to be quick and need to address negativity, misinformation or errors,” Silverstein said. “Communications [also] need to be honest, open and transparent. [Within this] companies need to clearly identify the impact of their operations and to reach out to stakeholders and listen to their concerns.”

But there are pitfalls that companies need to be aware of, with looking insincere or to be seen as green washing considered the greatest dangers.

“People should understand exactly the information that you are giving them and that you’re not doing corporate advertising. That you are simply telling your story,” Silverstein said.

Dockery followed the same vein, arguing that it was critical a company wholly believe in its social programmes and not just simply “go through the motions”.

“Drop the fake stuff, otherwise you’ll get found out quickly,” he cautioned. “Remember that all it takes is one tweet, one Facebook message, or one text message saying ‘this is not real’.”

Companies should infuse their ethos, outlook and actions by understanding not just the benefits their CSR programmes can bring but also the need to continually adapt to on-going and changing stakeholder requirements.

“Have a social board of directors or a social board of advisors think about these issues. Get them to report back to the company board for the best steps moving forward,” Dockery advised.

Companies with damaged or difficulties surrounding their public image might also consider third-party advocacy on social platforms.

“Help your brand appear more authentic; use third parties to spread awareness if your company has an image problem. Start building back some brand credibility,” he said.

“The ‘S’ in CSR has to mean something,” he added. “And always remember that bad news spreads faster than good news. The question is this: which side of the ledger do you want to be on?”