Since my appointment as CEO of Seventy Ninth Resources, I’ve had the privilege of spearheading our ethical approach within the asset management space. And while I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to take on such an important role, I can’t say that it’s been an easy job. After all, Seventy Ninth Resources is a rapidly growing company with an ever-expanding global footprint, extending from West Africa to North America and beyond. That makes defining a set of social values and embedding them into every aspect of the organisation a major challenge – to put it mildly!
Before joining Seventy Ninth Resources, I spent over a decade in a range of regulatory and compliance roles. During this time, I saw that the careful implementation of governance frameworks was essential to ensuring that businesses operated in a fair, transparent and equitable way.
The key lesson I took from this experience was that ESG is about more than just ethics – as important as this is! Too often, ESG is seen in contrast to a business’s core motive of generating profit. In fact, I have come to believe the opposite – ESG is fundamental to running a successful business. As McKinsey has argued, a company that takes ESG seriously can enhance its value creation across a range of different metrics, from top-line growth to customer retention.
A key focus of our ESG efforts has been our ongoing work in the Republic of Guinea. Seventy Ninth Resources have been working in Guinea since 2011, and in that time we’ve managed to build up one of the largest portfolios of natural resource concessions in West Africa.
Needless to say, undertaking this kind of extensive work in a developing nation poses some significant ESG challenges. It also makes clear that your ESG commitments can’t just be vague promises or general statements – they need to be concrete, realistic plans to improve the lives of communities in a specific region. These communities will have their own distinct needs and hopes, so a one-size-fits-all approach won’t help you truly add value.
Our guiding belief in answering this question was that we cannot and should not dictate to the communities we are working in. It is not for us to decide what their priorities should be, nor what the region’s most pressing needs are. We need to listen, with care and attention, to the local communities, and let them tell us the challenges they face.
In concrete terms, this meant undertaking an extensive fact-finding mission in the local communities in the Republic of Guinea., What we uncovered during this mission was shocking and deeply moving. This included, in particular, a persistent lack of access to education. Many in these communities felt that this was a key issue, preventing future generations from achieving their hopes and pursuing their ambitions.
They also mentioned issues related to healthcare and access to clean drinking water, both of which pose significant risks to the health and wellbeing of those in the region. These risks are exacerbated by the dangers that communities perceive regarding mining activities. These extended from the general daily aches, pains and discomforts involved in the work to potentially fatal tunnel collapses and other disasters. They also noted that, because of the broader lack of access to education, many of the mine workers exposed to these dangers were teenage girls and pregnant women.
From these heart-breaking discussions with local communities, one thing became clear: without access to appropriate training, trade-specific education and adequate healthcare, it would be impossible to solve the challenges facing the residents living on or near our concessions.
Exploring and understanding the needs of local people was an essential first step. From there, we aligned what we learned with the principles outlined in the Global Compact – including providing a safe working environment and adequate access to education and healthcare. But instead of simply applying these principles in an abstract way, we were able to connect them to the real concerns and needs of the people we’d spoken to. And that helped us to ensure we would truly be adding value.
Ultimately, I believe that ESG must be a collaborative effort. It’s not simply about businesses embracing sustainable, equitable approaches – as important as this is. It’s about working closely with those you are trying to help and making sure you can deliver a meaningful difference to their lives.
I won’t deny that improving the lives of communities in the Republic of Guinea is an ambitious goal. We’re only just getting started, and it’s going to take a long and consistent effort to see results. Whatever challenges we face and however difficult the process might be, I couldn’t be prouder that here at Seventy Ninth Resources I’ve been given the opportunity to make these kinds of long-lasting commitments to adding value.
