Green Industries Didipio Mine bags Global CSR awards By LEANDER...

Green Industries
Didipio Mine bags Global CSR awards

By LEANDER C. DOMINGO, TMT
April 13, 2019

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KASIBU, Nueva Vizcaya: Oceana Gold’s Didipio Mine bested other companies across all industries in the world and won the Best Environmental Excellence (Platinum) award and other recognitions during the 11th Annual Global Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Summit and Awards in Sarawak, Malaysia on Thursday last week.

OceanaGold’s Didipio Mine won the Best Environmental Excellence (Platinum) award and other recognitions during the 11th Annual Global Corporate Social Responsibility Summit and Awards. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Martin Blake, Global CSR Summit and Awards chairman, said the event, which was attended by almost 300 global delegates from Australia, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Taiwan and India, among others, was an excellent opportunity for corporations to share their best practices in CSR that enabled them to provide sustainable development to communities where they operate.
“As we move forward with the transparency, the social media, and the other forms that the media bring, along with reporting mechanisms, it is essential that organizations take the issues of social, environmental and prosperity side of the equation very seriously,” said Blake, who is also a director, speaker and mentor, with specialized expertise in board direction and governance.
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He said Didipio Mine was also recognized for Empowerment of Women (Platinum), Provision of Literacy and Education (Gold), and Best Workplace Practices (Silver) during this year’s CSR summit and awards with the theme, “A New Era of Corporate Responsibility and Activism.”
Receiving the awards for Didipio Mine were Glen Duncan, logistics and services manager; Bonifacio Labatos Jr., principal social ecology advisor; and Christian Co, communications specialist. Also from Didipio, specialist Marivic Walihon and Tenessee Baguilat, biodiversity restoration and forestry senior supervisor, received the awards, as well.

David Way, OceanaGold Didipio Mine general manager, said the awards demonstrated “the testament of how responsible mining continues to play a leading role in advancing cleaner, greener energy markets, economies and improved outcomes for society.”
Way also said OceanaGold continuously strengthens its partnership with the government and the community, where they serve an extensive array of human values that could not be captured by merely concentrating on economic value and profit.
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“Our partnership with the government and the community has been creating impacts that go beyond mere business transactions,” he added.
He said OceanaGold had become a usual recipient of the Environmental Excellence Award and “this highlights the company’s commitment to managing and reducing its environmental footprint through a strong focus on continual improvement in environmental performance.”
Among the successful environmental programs of OceanaGold, Way cited the establishment of paste backfill plant to backfill the underground voids using tailings and cement, resulting in the reduction of waste being deposited into the tailings storage facility.
Also, the company has planted more than 1.6 million trees within and outside the mine site.
Women empowerment and education
At OceanaGold, women empowerment programs do not only provide the best workplace for women, but also transformed the mining industry where it was once a workplace dominated by men.
Way said by providing literacy and education to communities where it operates, OceanaGold was able to empower Didipio and neighboring communities to make decisions on programs geared towards a sustainable future longer than the mine life.
“We strive to be the gold-mining company of choice, an ‘Employer of Choice,’ by investing in our people and providing greater development opportunities, as well as improving management practices,” he said.
He said operating mine in a remote community also provided opportunities for younger people, the host and neighboring communities to acquire quality education without leaving their homes.
“To do this, we have recently built a P43.8-million senior high school building and continuously supports its scholars in finishing tertiary education,” Way said.
Last year, the Didipio Mine also received a Special Citation Award for Five Consecutive Years of CSR Excellence by the world-renowned Global CSR for its continued implementation of excellent programs for environment enhancement and community development.