FOCUSED ON ALL STAKEHOLDERS
The importance of serving all stakeholders is becoming increasingly central to the way that corporates understand the larger role they can play in society. At Murray & Roberts, we have for many years had a sense of responsibility and duty towards all stakeholders and believe that our social licence to operate is inseparable from our profit aspirations.
Engineered Excellence, our philosophy which underpins the Group’s competitiveness, resilience and reputation as a well-governed, values-driven and ethical organisation, is central also to our consideration of stakeholder matters. The quality of our corporate citizenship and sustainability stewardship is a function of how well we are applying this philosophy across all activities:
- We expect from everyone who works for us, or who acts on our behalf, to adhere to the highest ethical standards. Our Code of Conduct, incorporating our Values and Statement of Business Principles, gives guidance in support of ethical decision-making. Despite the reality of many different operating environments, all our businesses across the world are expected to align to the Group’s Values, frameworks and standards as a minimum requirement.
- We aspire to be recognised by our clients as a specialist provider of services and a contractor of choice. Our ability to attract and retain the best management and technical expertise is critical to this aspiration and our duty to successfully deliver projects for our clients. This includes competitive and fair pricing of projects, concluding contracts on reasonable commercial terms and achieving predictable project outcomes in line with expectations.
- Being an employer of choice supports the recruitment, development and retention of competent and high-performing employees. We provide our employees with career advancement opportunities through experience on high-profile projects, as well as training, education and mentorship, which together with our Values, best people practices and diversity policy are all important aspects of our employee value proposition.
- We believe that a diverse workforce improves business performance and supports our social licence to operate as a multinational, multicultural organisation. Our diversity policy guides businesses in their responses to the specific diversity priorities of the many different countries in which we operate.
- We support undergraduate and post-graduate bursaries and offer scholarships and internships across all our operations, thereby providing employees with work experience and on-the-job training. Apprenticeships are aimed at addressing a growing and global shortage of tradesman by creating an opportunity for learners to master a technical trade which will support their long-term employability.
- We create value for societies through local employment and by establishing permanent infrastructure which has a considerable positive impact on socioeconomic development. In addition, our emphasis on commercial partnerships with and procurement from local businesses support enterprise development and the upliftment of communities located near our projects. Continual engagement with members of these communities is important to understand local norms and practices and to ensure that our initiatives respond appropriately to specific community needs and expectations.
- We are responding proactively to environmental concerns through the identification and implementation of environmental improvement initiatives in areas where we have influence. Although our operations have a low carbon footprint, we can play a role in assisting our clients to transition to a lower carbon future. We support the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which requires a collaborative approach among all stakeholders. In this context, we have decided not to participate in coal-related projects, other than in South Africa considering our economy’s dependence on the use of coal.
- A strong sense of social purpose and commitment as outlined above, helps a company to better understand and adjust to the changing demands of society. We believe this to be a fundamental requirement to ensure sustainability, to deliver long-term profitability and ultimately fulfilling our responsibility to our stakeholders.
RESPONDING TO OUR STAKEHOLDERS
Our reputation, and the trust it instils, is built on our Values and is critical to our long-term resilience.
The Group’s resilience and relevance in a dynamic, complex global context depends on our ability to maintain and enhance stakeholder trust in an environment of intensifying activism, public scrutiny and expectations of greater transparency. Listening to our stakeholders Effective and regular stakeholder engagement takes place across the Group. We understand that we cannot operate in isolation; that we must have the right processes in place to identify and understand stakeholder expectations and needs and respond appropriately.
The Board considers the legitimate interests and expectations of stakeholders in its decision-making processes. Our stakeholder engagement framework promotes inclusive and proactive engagement to identify, understand and respond to stakeholder priorities, and report and explain our decisions, actions, and performance. This includes working with governments and building trust between the public and private sectors, to ensure effective collaboration on solutions that deliver efficiencies, new sources of funding, innovation, and engineering excellence to infrastructure development.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT POLICY
Trust is created by organisational behaviours valued by stakeholders and is based on confidence in both character and competence.
Our reputation as a credible global operator and respected multinational rests on the value we create for our employees, clients and owners, and for local companies, host communities and countries in which we work.
Our Group stakeholder engagement policy ensures that the legitimate expectations and concerns of our stakeholders are placed at the centre of our strategy formulation and execution. It outlines our engagement responsibilities and applies to all our businesses and employees.
The policy requires that we:
- Comply with King IV recommended practices pertaining to stakeholder relationships.
- Integrate stakeholder engagement into the Group’s ongoing management and business activities.
- Ensure the fair and equitable treatment of stakeholders in line with the Group’s Values.
- Create a transparent and honest environment in which stakeholders can interact with the Group.
- Provide complete, timely, relevant, accurate, honest and accessible information while at the same time being cognisant of legal and strategic considerations.
- Proactively communicate with stakeholders and seek their views and feedback using appropriate communication channels.
- Promote internal awareness on the importance and value of stakeholder consultation and relationship management, as well as the methodologies in place to facilitate this.
View our Sustainability Report for more information on Stakeholder Engagement
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