October 2007, Business for Social Responsibility (BSR)
Over the past decade a number of prominent stakeholders such as governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), multi-lateral organisations, project finance institutions, the media and host communities have increasingly looked to extractives companies to demonstrate enhanced contributions to sustainable community development. It has therefore become paramount for extractives companies to better align their efforts at the operational level with local needs, values and concerns in order to secure their ‘social license to operate’ – a concept defined as ‘meeting and/or exceeding the letter and spirit of legal and societal expectations.’ SEAT was conceived specifically to enable Anglo American’s operations to enhance their social license to operate, consistent with the expectations of local stakeholders.
Anglo American retained Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) to conduct an independent third-party evaluation of the impact of SEAT implementation on stakeholder relationships, the internal management of social issues and on community development initiatives.
BSR’s analysis is therefore intended to help inform and guide future implementation of the revised SEAT toolbox launched in 2007. Specifically, BSR sought to identify those aspects of implementation which might be regarded as ‘best practice,’ and to provide recommendations for potential improvements where we identified remaining obstacles.
Anglo American retained Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) to conduct an independent third-party evaluation of the impact of SEAT implementation on stakeholder relationships, the internal management of social issues and on community development initiatives.
BSR’s analysis is therefore intended to help inform and guide future implementation of the revised SEAT toolbox launched in 2007. Specifically, BSR sought to identify those aspects of implementation which might be regarded as ‘best practice,’ and to provide recommendations for potential improvements where we identified remaining obstacles.
