Benefiting communitites: bringing local suppliers into the supply chain
Anglo American explains how a formal local procurement strategy helped it build trust with a community concerned about the impacts of mining
Sponsor’s feature
- Anglo American
“It’s one thing to be passionate about sustainability. It’s another to actually do something about it. Selma actually stood up and made it happen.”
Linda Wedderburn, Supply Chain Sustainable Development, Anglo American
In late 2010, Anglo American started to seek final approvals for the Quellaveco project, a potential copper mine near the city of Moquegua in southern Peru.
Despite the economic benefits the project would bring to the area, gaining a social license to operate would be difficult. The troubled history of mining in Peru meant that there were low levels of trust and fears about the impacts on local communities.
The project team knew that the best way to allay these concerns was to ensure that a broad cross-section of the community would benefit from Quellaveco’s development.
Early in 2011, Selma Fernandes began working with the Quellaveco project team to build a local procurement strategy for the project. This was ground-breaking work: although Anglo American often procures from local businesses, this was the first time that the company had drawn up a formal local procurement strategy.
Selma temporarily moved from her hometown of Sao Paulo to Lima for seven months to support the Quellaveco project team. Together with the local team, Selma was responsible for designing the strategy, spending time in Moquegua to understand the circumstances of the communities and where local suppliers could add value to the supply chain.
The resulting strategy has been approved by the Quellaveco steering committee.
Local businesses are more supportive of the project, as they can see that Anglo American is genuinely committed to supporting them.
“Selma’s dedication is remarkable. She made personal sacrifices to collaborate, listen, involve other people, and then put the structure in place,” says Linda.
Selma’s work at Quellaveco has convinced many other operations of the value of local procurement strategies. She has run procurement workshops for several business units, and the Michiquillay project has asked for her support in this area.
The template and local procurement tools Selma helped to develop are now being used globally throughout Anglo American.
In August 2012, after some 14 months of negotiations, Anglo American reached an agreement with the local community and Moquegua’s regional government on a way forward for developing Quellaveco.
Content on this page is provided by Anglo American, sponsor of the social impact hub
-
This year marks the tenth anniversary of Anglo American’s ground breaking decision to provide free anti-retroviral treatment to all HIV positive employees. It has been a decade of progress, but our journey towards ‘zero’ continues. Sponsor’s feature
-
Believing in the innovative spirit of communities
Christian Spano, Anglo American’s international enterprise development manager, shares his thoughts about the value of programmes to support entrepreneurs both for communities and business.
Sponsor’s feature -
Communication at the heart of building trust in Brazil
Communitiy relations are of great importance to the success of Anglo American’s operations in Barro Alto, Brazil
Related Articles
Mensaje de Fidel en sus 90: “El cumpleaños”
Deseo expresar mi más profunda gratitud por las muestras de respeto, los saludos y los obsequios que he recibido en estos días, que me dan fuerzas para reciprocar a través de ideas que trasmitiré a los militantes de nuestro Partido y a los organismos pertinentes
Why Afghanistan’s Poppies Aren’t the Problem
For years, there has been much discussion about the best strategy to rid Afghanistan of its poppies. Eradication, says Bush.
Turkey’s diplomatic rise
As the global leadership of the US recedes, Turkey is positioning itself as a key regional playerRichard Falk Turkish foreign