Assessing sustainability communication in the mining industry, the case of Newmont Golden Ridge Limited

Abstract

Mining companies depend on the approval of influential stakeholders in the environments where they operate, hence the need to demonstrate that they are sustainable. This study investigated the sustainability communication practices of Newmont Ghana. It specifically examined how the company is incorporating sustainability communication into its operations and how the sustainability communication practices of the company meet the expectations of stakeholders. It also examined the sustainability communication challenges of the company and proffered measures for improving same. A single case study design was adopted for this study which allowed the researcher to combine in-depth interviews and focus group discussions to primary gather data from the purposively sampled staff of Newmont and opinion leaders of the Akyem communities. The thematic data analysis technique was used, and it was found out that Newmont incorporates sustainability communication in its operations. The sustainability communication activities of the company take the form of community engagement, knowledge sharing, government relations and the publication of an annual sustainability report. The opinion leaders had mixed views about the extent to which Newmont meets the sustainability communication expectations of community members. It was further realized that the company faced a major challenge of how to develop communication materials that provide diverse stakeholders with the messages at the right time. The study concludes that there is a need to balance sustainability communication in a manner that reflects the core business of a company but also fits into stakeholders‘ expectations. It recommends that Newmont invests more in community research and engagement to better understand stakeholders‘ interests, information needs and communication channel preferences.