Stakeholder Engagement

Stakeholder dialogue is an essential element of our CSR approach. We identify stakeholders as individuals or organizations that are significantly affected by, or involved in, our operations and activities.  Each business unit is expected to put in place stakeholder engagement practices that are consistent with Hudbay’s objectives while reflecting the specific context of its location.

In 2014, we introduced stakeholder engagement and community response standards and guidance documents as part of our human rights implementation plan. The standards are designed to:

• Provide clear corporate direction on expectations;
• Enable corporate oversight by senior management and the Board;
• Ensure adherence to public commitments; and
• Reflect good practice and emerging expectations.

By implementing these standards, we aim to build trust, strengthen relationships, reduce social risk and improve opportunities to create value for the Company and stakeholders.

In simple terms, stakeholder engagement is about connecting with people and organizations that can impact or be impacted by our business (such as investors, employees, communities and government). The objective is to listen, communicate and integrate their voices into our plans, keeping in mind that we are also part of these communities. Our engagement takes many forms, including: formal community meetings with community members and community governance bodies, participating in community activities, assessments and interviews, site visits, workshops, joint committees and more, so that there is a mutual appreciation of plans, priorities and concerns.

It takes a lot of planning and organization to accomplish successful stakeholder engagement. We also need to be disciplined about documenting our processes and communications to ensure that we are being proactive, engaging appropriately, and following up on our commitments and what we learn. Typical site processes and activities are as follows: