Community and Stakeholder Engagement and Investment

2024 Sustainability Report
FY24 ESG Performance Data
Sustainability Case Studies
Regulatory Reporting

Community Engagement (including Local employment)

Management approach

We understand the responsibility of being a major community employer, partner, and neighbour. Across Australia and Canada, we employ local people, provide competitive wages and benefits, use a mix of national and local suppliers, deliver critical infrastructure such as health and education facilities to enhance living standards for generations to come, and support economies broadly through taxes, royalties, and other government payments.

We make it a priority to live among and employ our workforce from our local communities to strengthen working relationships with local communities, understand expectations, share information, resolve issues as they arise, and ensure economic benefits of employment remain in the community. Several operations require Management to live locally. Due to the Tier 1 developed regions where we operate, we have been fortunate to have the ability to source our workforce locally and to build local capability and skills to ensure they are fit for work. However, it is occasionally necessary to source specific skills, levels of experience, or technical expertise from abroad.

To engage our community effectively, and continue to encourage local employment, our operations are guided by our Social Responsibility Performance Standards and Plans. They establish processes for working collaboratively with our communities to resolve issues and opportunities, making positive contributions in the communities, maintaining regular communication mechanisms and reporting.

We have established direct and regular two-way communication with communities at all operations using a variety of forums tailored to local needs. Many maintain established community consultation committees, such as Cowal’s Community Environmental Monitoring & Consultative Committee, providing a regular forum for open discussion between Evolution, community representatives and other stakeholders about the environmental management and performance of the operations.

Performance

Local employment

In FY24, we had 65% local employment across our operations (FY23: 73%). This decrease has been seen across all operations and is attributable to an enhanced methodology narrowing the definition of ‘local’.

Stakeholder Perception Survey
In FY24, we undertook our sixth biennial Stakeholder Perception Survey to gauge stakeholder sentiment within our local communities, focusing on reputation, quality of relationship and communication. It enabled us to forecast emerging community impacts and opportunities, identify areas for improvement, and ensure that stakeholder feedback informs our Social Responsibility strategies and action plans.

Deloitte, as an independent external facilitator, was engaged to undertake this survey, and leverage the findings to inform our FY24 Materiality Assessment, following a market accepted methodology. Our operations invited Core stakeholders to undertake an online survey as well as an in-depth interview. The online survey was also made available to Anonymous stakeholders. 254 stakeholders completed the online survey, and 56 stakeholders had in-depth phone interviews.

The survey reached a broad stakeholder mix, including community, education and government organisations, landholders/local residents, local businesses and suppliers, First Nation partner organisations, employees, and others. The inclusion of employees and Anonymous responses in the stakeholder mix was distinct from our previous Stakeholder Perception Surveys.

The survey returned an enhanced acceptance of our activities and overall Social Licence to Operate score of 4.19 out of 5 (up from 4.00 in FY22), retaining Evolution’s ‘High Approval’ scoring. This range is optimal as it reflects that stakeholders support Evolution, however, will also take opportunities to provide feedback and criticism as considered healthy for building trusted partnerships. The direction of Evolution’s ‘Relationship’ in 2024 was predominantly positive, with 41% of Core stakeholders interviewed saying our relationship is improving. Our ‘Reputation’ score, however, saw a decrease to 3.80 in 2024 (4.04 in FY22).

Our improvement in Social Licence to Operate scores reflects targeted work at each operation to enhance community engagement and presence, communication channels, and address concerns flagged in 2022. It is also an indication of our improved engagement with Traditional Custodian, First Nation, or Indigenous organisations and landholders/local residents as these were underrepresented stakeholders in 2022. However, there is more work to be done with opportunity to further improve Evolution’s reputation, aligning communication channels, supporting community infrastructure, and managing risks of dependency at our operations where they are on a roadmap to closure.

Community Consultation
Consulting and engaging our communities as early as possible is critical for safeguarding our social licence to operate, and gaining the approvals and permits required for operations.

See demonstrations of our consultation at Cowal and Mt Rawdon. Read more about our operations and communities undergoing consultation in the ESG Performance Data.

Community Investment

Management approach

We have an established tradition of supporting innovative, targeted local initiatives in our neighbouring communities, and supporting nationally and globally relevant programs. Our community investment framework, comprising SVPs and sponsorships and donations, aims to address specific challenges faced by our local stakeholders and catalyse long-term socioeconomic development and prosperity in local communities.

We actively engage our local stakeholders to understand local sentiments, needs, and aspirations for sustainable development, aim to strengthen local social and economic institutions, infrastructure, and build the skills, capacities and capabilities that diversify economic activity. Where possible we seek to be consistent and supportive of local development plans, and to leverage development resources and funding available through partnership with other bodies.

The approach to community investment remains contextual and targeted for each operation, while upholding our values, Sustainability Principles, and those presented below. We recognise areas of growth in impact measurement and addressing emerging best practice and mandatory disclosures, and are focusing on implementing lessons from these projects throughout the business and beyond.

Our Community Investment program is underpinned by four guiding principles:

Attraction and Retention

  • Raise awareness and strengthen reputation of Evolution / mining sector in broader community
  • Attract younger generation to careers with Evolution / the mining sector
  • Grow Evolution’s brand as employer of choice

Build Community Advocacy

  • Demonstrate industry relevance (now and future)
  • Foster trust in mining/ gold sector
  • Touch the hearts of our local, regional and national communities
  • Grow understanding of modern mining practices

Enhance Outcomes for First Nation Groups and ATSI* people

  • Demonstrate our respect and accountability for any disturbance
  • Partnerships that build capacity for the future
  • Develop/support actions to help close the gap: Health, Education, and Employment

Innovation and Industry Relevance

  • Unlock value for Evolution / mining sector
  • Support leading practice and new approaches in: Environment, Safety, Discovery, Operations, Technology, and Community outcomes

*Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander

Performance

Direct Community Investment

Total direct community investment expenditures across our operations and Group office in FY24 were approximately $4.4 million, and supported the following impact areas:

Community Investment Breakdown FY24(%)

The following table highlights key Shared Value Projects at our operations:

Shared Value Project Operation Purpose Impact Area Outcomes

Galari Agricultural Company
Cowal
Strengthening a partnership with the WCC to address significant youth unemployment within the Lachlan Region, including young Indigenous men and women.

Arts, Culture and
Sport; and Skills,
Education and
Training
  • Revitalisation of the Galari Farm,1,600 hectares.
  •  Support for Indigenous trainees to undertake two-year Certificate of
    Agriculture course.
  • Enhanced capability of First Nation partners and Indigenous peoples in the region.
  • Additional investment provided for training resources.
  • Visits from industry peers, such as Glencore.
  • Formation of the Galari Pathways Forum to showcase outcomes to date.
The Hope Project
Mungari
Increase the capacity of the local Goldfields Women’s Refuge and provide additional housing to women and children escaping domestic violence or at risk of homelessness.
Health and Wellbeing; Infrastructure Capability; Community Resilience
  •  Addresses high domestic violence mortality rates in Western Australian Goldfields, and provides safety for women, children and transgender persons.
  • Establishment of transitional and emergency accommodation, involving six short-stay, trauma-informed units, nearly doubling the facility’s capacity.
  • Earthworks have been completed, modular buildings have been installed on site, and ongoing work to furnish the facilities, construct the staircase and landscaping.
First Nations Summit and 1770 Cultural Connections Immersion Festival
Group and Mt Rawdon
Bringing our First Nation partners together in the spirit of collaboration, connection and knowledge sharing, including attending the 1770 Cultural Connections Immersion Festival.
Arts, Culture and Sport
  • First-of-its-kind First Nations Summit.
  • Around 30 attendees and delegates across Australia and Canada took a tour of the Gidarjil Development Corporation and sat with Elders in Burnett Heads, participated in a yarning session and shared their reconciliation journey, and attended the 1770 Cultural Connections Immersion Festival.
  • Cultural education, immersion, dancing, and engagement activities to support reconciliation at the 1770 Cultural Connections Immersions Festival.
  • Demonstrated commitments to listening to our First Nation Partners, and identifying opportunities to support their aspirations towards self-determination.
Project Sprouts (Due to the ongoing integration at Northparkes, the initiative was not implemented directly under the SVP program, however the partnership arrangement is similar)
Northparkes
Provide early intervention strategies for developmental delays in children to ensure appropriate support prior to kindergarten.
Health and Wellbeing
  • Supports a Coordinator role over three years.
  • Screenings to identify mild or moderate developmental delays in children and assist families who require access to Allied Health therapy to get support before kindergarten.
  • Early intervention strategies enable the skill development children require to be ready and capable of learning when they start school.

Grievances

Management approach
We have established grievance mechanisms and direct community communication lines at each project, operation and at Group through which the community, First Nation partners, and local or other stakeholders can express any concerns, issues or grievances about real or perceived actions by a project or activity. The intent of the mechanism and procedure is to ensure issues and grievances are identified, managed, investigated, and remediated in a timely and consistent manner and in accordance with relevant policies and procedures.

The procedure assists us to:

  • Facilitate early resolution of grievances.
  • Provide an open and responsive grievance management process.
  • Enable the Social Responsibility teams to resolve grievances in a consistent and effective manner.
  • Avoid issues escalating.
  • Identify risks and trends to inform strategies or work plans and identify improvement opportunities.
  • Meet compliance requirements.
  • Integrate feedback and areas of improvement into our operations.

Performance
All concerns were documented in a transparent and accountable manner in our internal Stakeholder Management System and addressed in a timely fashion. Refer to the ESG Performance Data for the total number of grievances filed
through grievance mechanisms at the operations. In FY24, all responses were closed within the required timeframe

Case Study

The Parkes Frontline Services Ball, the brainchild of the Northparkes team, was recognised as a finalist in both the Australia Day awards and at the NSW Mining HSEC annual awards

VIEW HERE

Sponsorships and donations

Our Sponsorship and Donations program is one of the ways we support organisations and initiatives that benefit our local communities.

Evolution particularly encourages members of the community to submit applications that provide outcomes in the areas of economic development, youth, health, education and environment. In addition to applications for financial assistance, we encourage organisations to submit applications for in kind support, material donations or volunteer assistance.

In order to submit a sponsorship or donation application, please read the guideline document and return a completed application form to the Community Relations team at your nearest site.

Red Lake

For applicants near our Red Lake site, sponsorship and donation requests come under the Red Lake program:

Cowal

For applicants near our Cowal site, sponsorship and donation requests come under the Cowal Partnering Program:

Mungari

For applicants near our Mungari site, sponsorship and donation requests come under the Mungari Partnering Program:

Ernest Henry

For applicants near our Ernest Henry site, sponsorship and donation requests come under the Ernest Henry Partnering Program:

Northparkes

Our Northparkes Operations invests in the future of our community through meaningful partnerships and awards programs, with a total of $100,000 provided to successful applicants each year. We support initiatives that contribute to the Parkes and Forbes local government areas in the following categories: economic development, culture and recreation, education and youth, environment and health. Applications are accepted year-round and are reviewed during May and October each year.

In addition to the Community Investment Program, Northparkes is committed to several long-term community partnerships:

• $80,000 per annum – Parkes Grants Officer

• $60,000 per annum – Project Sprouts

• $35,000 pe annum – Parkes Sports Grants

• $12,350 per annum – Parkes Life Education

• $17,500 per annum – Parkes Elvis Festival

• $5,000 per annum – Parkes Agricultural Show

For more information, please check out the guidelines below.

For other sites, please use the following sponsorship and donation documents:

Social Responsibility

Indigenous Stakeholder Outcomes

Cultural Heritage

Sustainable Procurement

Modern Slavery and Human Rights

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