Task 2 - Understand stakeholder perspectives
An analysis of impacts and risks is impossible without an understanding of the perspectives of potentially affected stakeholders. Site stakeholder engagement processes are pivotal to , and one of the primary purposes of stakeholder engagement (see Section 3A) is to identify potential impacts and appropriate mitigation measures.
In terms of collecting information, sites can draw on three main sources:
- Stakeholder Engagement Plan (3A) – this contains a summary of issues raised by or discussed with external stakeholders; these issues should be categorised by groups or individuals, including those most vulnerable to potential impacts.
- Community Engagement Forum (3A) – over the course of the year, discussions at the provide insights and analysis into a range of concerns held by a cross-section of stakeholders.
- Incidents and Grievance Management (3B) – a review of incidents and grievances allows sites to assess areas where concerns have been raised regarding actual or perceived impacts or ineffective mitigation measures.
Understanding external stakeholders’ perceptions is an additional reason for engaging stakeholders on potential impact and risk identification. Perceived impacts should be treated as seriously as those that can be objectively verified. Perceptions influence the levels of trust and confidence in Anglo American and result in risks to the business.
For example, a site may be legally compliant in terms of its emissions, but communities may still feel that their health is being negatively affected. In these cases, perceptions may be managed through proactive and ongoing engagement, sharing of site air quality monitoring data, relying on independent and/or participatory monitoring (see Sections 1 and 3A), or further lowering site emissions (where possible).