To facilitate our ability to address negative impacts on affected communities, we often employ community liaison officers who engage with local stakeholders to gather feedback and address grievances related to our projects, particularly during the planning and execution phases. We use various methods and channels to collect community input, including hosting informational town halls and open forums, telephone lines, emails, and social media as well as designated drop-off boxes in locations to allow residents to submit concerns anonymously.

Additionally, our Whistleblower Hotline enables individuals in affected communities to report any inappropriate or illegal conduct confidentially.

In 2024, we laid the foundation for many of the initiatives currently in progress for managing our negative impact and risks associated with failing to respect Indigenous Peoples’ rights and ensuring FPIC in our own operations. We began by developing a global guidance for social and human rights impact assessments, which will allow us to proactively manage these risks and impacts before the construction of new projects.

Furthermore, we finalised our internal guidelines for free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), a framework designed to ensure respectful and transparent engagement with Indigenous communities. These guidelines guarantee that we secure consent from Indigenous communities before initiating projects that might impact their lands or cultural heritage.

Going forward, we will be conducting specific assessments on how projects might affect Indigenous communities. This will involve engaging with these communities early in the planning phase to ensure that their needs and concerns are adequately addressed.