On Wednesday, September 14th, the roundtable for the launch and discussion of the Socio institutional Relationship Guide for the Mining Sector took place at EXPOSIBRAM, developed by the Community Relations Working Group (GT) of IBRAM.

During the roundtable, some of the GT members presented an overview of the main contents of the Guide, including Ferreira Rocha’s Chief Executive Officer, Delfim Rocha, responsible for developing the theme “Importance of Social Legitimacy.”

The event discussed the importance of paying attention to human rights in the relationship with different stakeholders involved in mining projects, both internal and external to the organization. It covered engagement strategies and approaches with these stakeholders, basic guidelines for engaging with traditional communities, and the relevance of promoting local development to achieve effective shared value generation.

Regarding social legitimacy, Delfim Rocha emphasized the importance, for organizations, of achieving and maintaining a Social License to Operate (SLO), an internationally recognized term that does not constitute a formal license or document issued by any entity to the company.

It actually means obtaining acceptance of a given operation by the interacting public.

As a consequence of a company’s attitudes and practices, he reminded that social legitimacy is extremely dynamic and potentially unstable, resulting from managing the expectations that different stakeholders develop regarding a specific project.

It entails a set of strategies to manage social risks and opportunities and their consequences for organizations, which ultimately translate into negative or positive impacts on the economic and financial attractiveness of businesses.

To learn more about the concepts, models, strategies, and ways to assess levels of social legitimacy, as well as other relevant topics for stakeholder engagement, read the Socioinstitutional Relationship Guide for the Mining Sector, available here on the Ferreira Rocha website.