At Vedanta, we are building systems that will help build trust with local communities and thereby enhance our social licence to operate. Our processes are meant to regularly engage with community members and ensure that they are consulted/made aware of aspects of corporate performance that may impact their lives. Under the aegis of "Social Performance", we have constituted 'Social Performance Steering Committees' across all our sites. The SPSCs have been created to ensure that site management has comprehensive visibility to all community expectations and concerns and respond in a co-ordinated manner that helps build community trust.
All sites have grievance mechanism cells and well-laid-down procedures to handle community grievances transparently and in a timely manner.
The SPSCs also help ensure that:
i. All social incidents are investigated and closed in a systematic manner
ii. The site takes mitigative and pre-emptive action on any operational elements that may cause harm to the community
iii. There are strategies in place to ensure local procurement and local employment
iv. There is a coordinated stakeholder engagement strategy that involves the relevant internal teams such as CSR, External Affairs, and Security among others
v. All social incidents are investigated and closed in a systematic manner
To further enhance our performance and governance on security matters, we have established a security Community of Practice. This CoP has been tasked to implement the recommendations of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, which are recognised as global best practices for managing private and public security forces.