In 2020, we undertook a materiality assessment process to help us identify those sustainability related aspects that are most important to our business.
Methodology
Both SSR and Alacer businesses had carried out extensive materiality assessments and the 2020 process sought to build on the work previously undertaken. Working with an independent consultant, our Corporate sustainability team conducted a peer and industry benchmarking review of sustainability aspects that are common to the mining industry.
This included:
- The results of materiality assessments previously undertaken at SSR and Alacer businesses
- International standards and guidelines, such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) topic-specific disclosures, the Sustainability Accounting Standard Board’s (SASB) materiality map for the metals and mining industry
- Industry association frameworks such as the World Gold Council’s Responsible Gold Mining Principles, the international council on mining and metals responsible mining principles, and the Mining Association of Canada’s Toward Sustainable Mining
- Risks identified by the World Economic Forum
- Community grievance logs and Environmental Impact Assessment and baseline work
- Sustainability related risks identified in site level risk registers
Identified aspects were then assessed for level of importance via a specifically designed scoring system based on frequency of occurrence on a one – three scale, where three is very important and one is less important. The results were then plotted on a scatter graph, reviewed and validated by SSR senior management.
The graphic below provides a visual representation of the priority given to the assessed topics.
