CSR and Sustainability in BHP Billiton: A Critical Evaluation of Sustainability Reports

This article critically evaluates the sustainability reports of BHP Billiton after the 2015 dam disaster in Brazil. It discusses the company's corporate social responsibility and sustainability practices, and its response to the incident. The article also explores the theory of legitimacy in corporate environmental and social disclosures.

Running head:CSR AND SUSTAINABILITY
CSR and Sustainability
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Discussion..................................................................................................................................2
Corporate social responsibility and sustainability practices in BHP Billiton after the
incident...................................................................................................................................2
Sustainability report 2016......................................................................................................3
Sustainability report 2017......................................................................................................4
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7
References..................................................................................................................................7

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Introduction
According to the Age article, the BHP Billiton dam disaster that took placein 5
November 2015, when an iron ore tailings dam in Mariana in Brazil, witnessed a calamitous
failure, that resulted in flood and devastated the village of Bento Rodrigues and killed
minimum 17 people. In the history of Brazil this has been the worst environmental
disaster where around 60 million metre cube of iron waste flowed into the Doce River,
causing toxic brown mudflows to pollute the river and beaches near the mouth when they
reached the Atlantic Ocean This caused and humanitarian crisis where hundreds of people
were moved and cities suffered from water shortages (Ceulemans, Molderez & Van
Liedekerke, 2015)). The owner of the Bento Rodrigues dam, Samarco, was subject to
extensive trial and government authorisations. In 2016, charges of these circumstances were
filed against the companies like Vale and BHP Billiton, who were in a joint. Controversy
over the investigation grew after exposure of a 2013 report indicating structural issues in the
dam.
Discussion
Corporate social responsibility and sustainability practices in BHP Billiton after the
incident
The Corporate social responsibility or sustainability is an international organisational
policy or a strategy adopted by an organisation, that time has passed as various international
laws have been developed and various business have used their authority to push it beyond
individual or even industry-wide initiatives.
The discussion deals with the Critical evaluation of the CSR disclosures in
sustainability reports of BHP Billiton after the incident in the year 2016 and 2017. Moreover
the focus of the report is on the theory of legitimacy that highlights the limit to which

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corporate social and environmental disclosures are influenced by the boundaries established
by the society in order to be appreciated and avoid being penalized by the community in
which the company operates.
Sustainability report 2016
As mentioned in the sustainability report about the Samarco which is a joint venture
owned by the BHP Billiton in Brazil and Vale each of them having a 50 per cent
shareholding (Chelli, Durocher & Richard, 2014). The Samarco operates with iron ore
mining, processing and concentration. The sustainability report vividly describes the incident
that took place on 5 November 2015, the Fundão dam which is one of Samarco’s two primary
tailings dams – failed. This led to a significant volume of mine tailings being released that
resulted, the communities to get flooded and even loss of life. Unfortunately, 19 people died
– five community members and 14 people who were working on the dam at the time of the
failure. Notwithstanding the effects on the groups and related framework downstream of the
dam, the tailings spill made broad harm the indigenous habitat along the Rio Doce. Roughly
700 individuals were rendered penniless after the Samarco dam incident. Bridges were
broken, streets were harmed and 100 kilometres of fencing was affected. More than 2,000
hectares of riparian vegetation and rural land was affected, with a huge number of huge
amounts of tailings material stored in the riverbed and along stream banks. Sea-going fauna
were influenced by the arrival of the tailings material into the stream framework (El Bizri, et
al.,2016)). BHP Billiton is profoundly sorry to learn who have been affected by this
catastrophe, specifically to the families and companions of individuals who passed on and in
addition the individuals who have lost their homes or jobs and face an unverifiable future in
the close term (Dowbor, 2016).
As an immediate reaction of the Samarco dam incident, BHP Billiton Brazil stretched
out its help to Samarco in the reaction exertion. The main concern was for the welfare of the

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Samarco workforce and the influenced groups. Samarco helped with giving brief settlement,
water and nourishment help for influenced groups. BHP Billiton Brazil and Vale together
dispatched geotechnical, calamity alleviation and compassionate reaction specialists,
alongside senior wellbeing and security officials, natural researchers and various other care
staff, to help the victims. Activities at the mine were promptly suspended. Moreover,
individuals from the BHP Billiton Forum on Corporate Responsibility, which is comprised of
nine exceptionally regarded common society pioneers, went by the Mariana region in January
2016 to comprehend the effects of the dam disappointment and Samarco's reaction. BHP
Billiton has now settled a changeless nearness in Belo Horizonte to keep on supporting
Samarco's remediation and reaction work over the more extended term. A group of around 35
specialized specialists and senior administration is currently drawn in full time in the
continuous reaction exertion (Junior, Best, & Cotter, 2014). BHP Billiton Chief Commercial
Officer Dean Dalla Valle accepted everyday obligation at an Executive Leadership Team
level for BHP Billiton's reaction to the dam disappointment and has been situated in Brazil
since February 2016.
Sustainability report 2017
The sustainability report states that Sustainability is at the heart of everything the
company does. They put health and safety first, they are environmentally responsible, they
respect human rights and they support host communities
(Nishitani, 2016) As a partner in the communities in which they operate, they share
stewardship of the environment, support local cultures and help drive economic development.
Many of the operations last for decades, and the maintenance of a social licence to operate
them is essential.

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The report is focused on agreeing to the laws and controls of the wards in which they
work and expect to surpass lawful and administrative prerequisites where those are less
stringent than our own (Burritt, & Christ, 2018).). The Charter depicts the compulsory least
execution prerequisites and give the establishment to create and actualize administration
frameworks for their benefits (Luger, Mammen, & Haleblian, 2015)). The benchmarks are
expected with the standards, position articulations and compulsory prerequisites of the
International Council of Mining and Metals' Sustainable Development Framework, the
United Nations' (UN) Global Compact, the UN Declaration of Human Rights and the
Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights. Contractual workers working at our
advantages are required to conform to our wellbeing, security, condition and group (HSEC)
gauges and necessities (Miranda & Marques 2016).
In terms of administration of manageability, the BHP Billiton has elevated
expectations of administration and regulates the manageability approach sustainably. The
Board's Sustainability Committee helps with administration and observing (Choett,
al.,2015)). The Sustainability Committee likewise directs HSEC and other human rights
matters, including the ampleness of the frameworks set up to recognize and oversee HSEC-
related dangers, legitimate and administrative consistence and general HSEC and human
rights execution. Individuals from the Sustainability Committee are Non-official Directors,
every one of whom is fittingly gifted in HSEC and related issues as controlled by the Board
(Santos, et al., 2017).
For the 2015 dam incident the responsibility regarding help influenced groups has
stayed undisturbed since the dam incident. The company kept on working intimately with the
partners to guarantee the best results for all included (Meira, et al.,2016). Their underlying
need was to help Samarco in directing the philanthropic reaction and guarantee the wellbeing
of the general population and nature. BHP has overcomed from that crisis stage to a more

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key, organized method for attempting to add to the advancement of medium and longer-term
arrangements. Fundação Renova Fundação Renova is actualizing projects to re-establish the
nature and modify the groups, as set out in the Framework Agreement with the applicable
Brazilian specialists marked in March 2016. Fundação Renova is a non-profit, private
establishment, named after the Portuguese word for 'recharge'. It was built up by Samarco,
BHP Billiton Brasil and Vale, and wound up operational on 2 August 2016. Fundação
Renova's staff of 400 individuals is bolstered by around 2,500 temporary workers and few
BHP representatives approved to the association who give authority natural, social,
legitimate, administration and correspondence counsel. Fundação Renova's financial plan for
CY2017 was R$1.94 billion (roughly US$590 million). To address the decent variety, scale
and multifaceted nature of the projects, Fundação Renova works together and draws in
comprehensively with influenced groups, logical and scholarly establishments, controllers
and common society (Luger, Mammen,& Haleblian 2015). A free logical specialized and
warning board, to be overseen by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN),
will give master counsel to Fundação Renova. The board is to be guided by the standards of
autonomy, straightforwardness, responsibility and commitment, and its reports and
suggestions will be openly accessible. Led by Yolanda Kakabadse, right now President of
WWF International, the board means to hold its first gathering before the finish of CY2017.
Around 8,000 budgetary help cards have been conveyed to individuals whose jobs
were affected.. Around 400,000 individuals are relied upon to be qualified for remuneration
for interference to water supplies along the Rio Doce. As at 22 July 2017, more than 186,000
cases have been acknowledged for instalment, with more than 82,000 paid. More than 14,000
families have enlisted for remuneration for different harms, for example, property misfortune
or business impacts. Fundação Renova is moving and modifying the groups of Bento
Rodrigues, Paracatu and Gesteira, in discussion with the influenced group individuals (Llena,

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& Talalweh, 2015)). The people group individuals recognized their new areas through a
participatory procedure, which deduced in a vote directed by a free review organization.
Urban arranging and plan of houses has initiated for Bento Rodrigues and Paracatu; be that as
it may, issues with the offer of the land chose by Gesteira inhabitants has postponed their
procedure and Fundação Renova is currently exploring options for the occupants'
thought(Morgan, Gomes, & Perez-Aleman, 2016).
Conclusion
The theory of legitimacy states the limit to which corporate environmental and social
disclosures are impacted by the limitations established by the society in order to be
appreciated and avoid being penalized by the community in which the company operates.
From the above discussion it is clear that in order to gain back the trust of the community the
company of BHP Billiton through their performance has overcome the crisis effectively and
has tried its level best to bear the loss. Billiton’s Brazil mine disaster in 2015 that lead to a
great loss was overcome by the company with its operation as stated in the sustainability
report of the years 2016 and 2017.

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