OREANDA-NEWS.  September 26, 2013. ArcelorMittal is featured in a new publication by the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) called Responsible Business Advancing Peace, released at the UN Global Compact Leaders’ Summit in New York.

In a dedicated case study, the publication shines a spotlight on ArcelorMittal Liberia’s good practice in the area of stakeholder engagement, and on how significant improvements were achieved in only a few years.

Responsible Business Advancing Peace is a collection of good examples of companies and investors implementing initiatives that helped build and maintain social peace in conflict-affected markets. “It is intended to help understand how each party can make a positive contribution to peace,” says Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, chair of the UNGC, in his foreword. 

Rapid yet sustainable development
The case study highlights the work done by ArcelorMittal Liberia, particularly since 2008 when a dedicated stakeholder engagement programme was launched. The first step was to appoint a corporate responsibility manager – Marcus Wleh – to oversee the process of building a strong corporate governance structure and to strengthen community relationships.

Marcus then established a community liaison unit (CLU) comprised of officers in charge of engaging local communities and their representatives –  as required by ArcelorMittal’s external stakeholder engagement procedure.

The CLU formally launched the local consultative forum (LCF) programme in 2011. These forums serve as platforms for dialogue where any community member or group can discuss mutual concerns, for example in relation to the impact of our daily operations, resettlement and compensation matters, or access to jobs.

LCFs are managed by a committee which includes the town chief, a female representative, a youth representative and an ArcelorMittal community liaison officer. Fifty-two consultative forums have been established across the three counties where ArcelorMittal Liberia operates and in 2012, a total of 103 LCF sessions were held. In order to build the capacity of these forums, ArcelorMittal has trained 370 LCF members in community engagement, conflict resolution, mediation and project monitoring.

Marcus Wleh commented, “As a company, we play a significant role in maintaining social peace and improving the wellbeing of our communities. From the very beginning, we wanted to act responsibly, so we established an inclusive and ongoing dialogue with our stakeholders. Here the community can openly discuss how we do business, our social and environmental impacts and the scale of wealth and wellbeing we generate as a business.  I am very happy to see our efforts recognised by the UNGC”.

“ArcelorMittal Liberia has developed a strong foundation for engaging, in a meaningful way, with those communities that are affected by its operations. Our stakeholder engagement programme has now been recognised by the United Nations Global Compact as a good example of how a business can organise its community engagement to support social cohesion and peace building. It is a great achievement for such a process to receive third party recognition at such a high level. It also adds credibility to how we are implementing the stakeholder engagement procedure throughout the group,” said Charlotte Wolff, head of corporate responsibility for ArcelorMittal.

Looking at the positive outcomes of the programme, the case study highlights improvements achieved in the community’s living standards. The community has been able to gain access to basic social goods and services and has also benefited from the development of local skills, employment and sourcing opportunities.

When it comes to areas for improvement, the case study suggests that further engagement is required with local communities to effectively address complaints and to gain more information about issues arising in areas where the company operates. Recommendations also include the need to address the communities’ lack of basic social infrastructure, as well as expanding the programme to cover all engagement activities, including livelihood restoration and cultural heritage management.

Other companies featured include China Development Bank, Eni Spa, Maersk Drilling and LG Electronics, among others. The publication released on 20 September coincides with the launch of a new initiative by UNGC called Business for Peace - B4P. B4P is a business leadership platform launched by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, which aims to expand and deepen private sector action in support of peace - in the workplace, marketplace and local communities in conflict-affected areas.