Sábado 10 de agosto de 2024

The consulting firm promotes the sustainable development of mining projects, through an integrated vision of social and natural risks.

A multidisciplinary approach that transversally addresses critical factors for the development of mining projects, taking into account environmental, social and security aspects, is, in the opinion of the strategic consulting firm Conjunto, one of the keys to integrated risk management in mining.

“An integrated risk approach enables mining companies not only to identify and mitigate risks, but also to take advantage of opportunities to promote sustainable sustainable development,” explains Patricia Montes, founding partner and Projects Director of Conjunto.

It specifies that, by incorporating environmental, social and security social and security considerations in planning and strategic management
strategic management processes, companies can can improve their operational operational effectiveness, advancing prevention and control of undesired events that could affect performance and generate socio-environmental impacts.

“It is interesting to approach the analysis and formulation of recommendations from the specificity of each of the components mentioned, as well as to consider the interrelationship between them. For example, environmental factors translate into social implications, which in turn could have an impact on the security dimension,” says the professional.

Conjunto’s work focuses on the design, support for the implementation and follow-up of plans for preventive management and risk control, integrating environmental, community and security factors, at the service of mining projects of different scales and stages of development. “We seek to accompany companies and their mining projects in achieving their operational objectives, with a sustainability perspective, adherence to regulations and in recognition of their active role as agents of development in the territories where they operate”, he emphasizes.

Currently, the main risks/challenges that the mining industry must manage in the territories are associated with the prevalence of a regulatory framework that imposes high performance standards in terms of sustainability; presence of opposition movements due to possible socio-environmental damage and devalued social image; location in indigenous areas; weakness of management and internal control systems to prevent and control possible socio-environmental damage due to operational failures; exposure to criminal events, among the most important.

Services

Conjunto’s main services refer to the preparation of diagnoses, formulation and follow-up of integrated risk management plans, which allow us to address in an organic and preventive manner the multiplicity of environmental, social and security conditioning factors present in the territories of interest, inherent to the companies themselves or arising from the interaction between mining projects and their operational environment.

This also implies the development of studies and articulation of specific management plans for the security, environment, community and institutional relations and strategic communication components, according to the particular requirements of each project. “We also focus on the implementation of sustainability performance evaluations, oriented both to the design/improvement of related plans and programs, and to the accreditation of compliance with international standards”, adds Patricia Montes.

In the current context of the public security crisis, the services most required by Conjunto’s clients are related to the need for security risk prevention and control tools, seeking to protect the safety of people, the protection of critical assets and operational continuity.

“In the case of the mining industry, such requirements derive both from the limited capacity of public security services to deal with such phenomena, and from regulatory changes that establish the obligation to adopt internal control measures to ensure timely and effective responses to criminal risks, taking into account not only the threats and dangers existing in the areas of operation, but also the vulnerabilities of mining projects,” he concludes.