ArcelorMittal: Knowing Our Stakeholders is a Strategic Priority
ArcelorMittal is committed to handling their interactions with stakeholders in a proactive and accountable way that demonstrates the business’s integrity. Shareholders’ continuing engagement is key for the company to maintain their social licence to operate.
“We need the support and understanding of our stakeholders,” said Lakshmi Mittal, Chairman and CEO at ArcelorMittal in a February 2014 letter to employees. “Effective engagement to ensure they have a good understanding of our business and the decisions we take is vital.”
The company has increased its number of local stakeholder engagement plans from 30 in 2012 to 38 in 2013. By understanding what the people most important to the company want, ArcelorMittal is able to prioritize any issues and utilize time and resources in the best ways possible.
One of the company’s most important stakeholder priorities has been providing a confidential and accessible system through which people can report grievances. Most of their sites have a process for accomplishing this – there are 27 mechanisms that cover 87 sites in this regard.
Transparency
In order to appease stakeholders of all kinds (including employees, governments, regulators, customers, communities, investors, social partners, suppliers, the media and others) ArcelorMittal operates within internationally agreed guidelines and relevant legislation, and works towards meeting the needs of its stakeholders.
“We take pride in our levels of disclosure and invest time into ensuring the information we disclose is relevant and meaningful,” the shareholder portion of their website mentioned.
Arcelor Mittal is also a supporter of the Extractives Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI), which addresses concerns related to the tax and royalty payments made to government by the industry. The initiative is driven by governments at a national level to encourage debate about what kind of contribution mineral resources have on economic and social development.
As an EITI corporate supporter and member of the board since 2013, ArcelorMittal contributes to the annual reporting process of EITI Liberia. The company is also a member of the Association of Mining and Metallurgical Industry of Kazakhstan, and the National Mining Association in the US.
Relationships both inside and outside the sector
Continuing relationships with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are essential to ArcelorMittal’s business. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, air emissions was the topic of discussion with NGO Ekoforum. The company’s Biodiversity Conservation Programme in Liberia has united several stakeholders in thinking about the impacts the first phase of mining has on biodiversity. The program is in its second year and already showing results.
Sustain our Great Lakes in the United States won the Excellence in Sustainability award from the World Steel Association. There are several partners in the endeavor, including the US Environmental Protection Agency, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the USDA, Forest Service, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
For more information regarding ArcelorMittal’s stakeholder accountability trends and policies, visit their website.
