260
15 Risk-Informed Decision Making
15.11 Risk Communications
In Chap. 5 we discussed “what people want”. With the results of the risk assessment
at hand we can now test and return to the discussion of risk communication.
Enhanced transparency, sensible information, and better risk communication will
certainly help to foster robust corporate social responsibility (CSR) and social license
to operate (SLO) in addition to fulfilling societal requirements (Chap. 5) and fostering
healthy NI43-101 compliance. Breaking the siloes between risk assessment, SLO and
CSR becomes paramount to maintaining sustainable operations and projects.
In the following pages we tackle specific aspects of risk communication, risk
acceptance/tolerance (see Chap. 13) and risk comparisons. We will see that fostering
rational quantitative, updatable and convergent risk assessments is of paramount
importance to support not only technical aspects of risk management, but also to
boost any CSR, SLO and NI43-101 activity.
Indeed CSR approaches have inherent limitations when they:
• treat CSR as public relations;
• focus on the system’s elements that generate the largest risks rather than on those
(people, environments) with the greatest need;
• excessively simplify complex processes;
• focus on maintaining the status quo.
These limitations hinder proper consideration for those living nearby a mining
operation, even when CSR activities are considered a corporate priority.
15.11.1 Enhancing Transparency Through Risk
Communication
Experience shows that successful risk communication should always focus on
planned control measures and precautionary actions rather than on risks. As in many
other fields, actions speak louder than words and are what matters to the public.
Indeed, people demand to know what preventative actions are foreseen even if it is
claimed that the likelihood of an accident and associated risk is very low. Experience
has unfortunately shown that events with a very low likelihood of occurrence actually do occur (Fukushima and other nuclear accidents, incidents in the hazardous
materials industry, etc.). We are not mentioning tailings dams breaks here, as at a
rate of one to four failures per year (Oboni and Oboni 2013), no one should actually
talk about a very low likelihood for this type of accident in the world-portfolio.
The considerations above may explain why the public:
• puts more emphasis on what is done to reduce mishaps, rather than on the details
of the mishaps and their potential effects;
• cares about the skills and awareness of the operation manager more than about the
risk itself;
15 Risk-Informed Decision Making
15.11 Risk Communications
In Chap. 5 we discussed “what people want”. With the results of the risk assessment
at hand we can now test and return to the discussion of risk communication.
Enhanced transparency, sensible information, and better risk communication will
certainly help to foster robust corporate social responsibility (CSR) and social license
to operate (SLO) in addition to fulfilling societal requirements (Chap. 5) and fostering
healthy NI43-101 compliance. Breaking the siloes between risk assessment, SLO and
CSR becomes paramount to maintaining sustainable operations and projects.
In the following pages we tackle specific aspects of risk communication, risk
acceptance/tolerance (see Chap. 13) and risk comparisons. We will see that fostering
rational quantitative, updatable and convergent risk assessments is of paramount
importance to support not only technical aspects of risk management, but also to
boost any CSR, SLO and NI43-101 activity.
Indeed CSR approaches have inherent limitations when they:
• treat CSR as public relations;
• focus on the system’s elements that generate the largest risks rather than on those
(people, environments) with the greatest need;
• excessively simplify complex processes;
• focus on maintaining the status quo.
These limitations hinder proper consideration for those living nearby a mining
operation, even when CSR activities are considered a corporate priority.
15.11.1 Enhancing Transparency Through Risk
Communication
Experience shows that successful risk communication should always focus on
planned control measures and precautionary actions rather than on risks. As in many
other fields, actions speak louder than words and are what matters to the public.
Indeed, people demand to know what preventative actions are foreseen even if it is
claimed that the likelihood of an accident and associated risk is very low. Experience
has unfortunately shown that events with a very low likelihood of occurrence actually do occur (Fukushima and other nuclear accidents, incidents in the hazardous
materials industry, etc.). We are not mentioning tailings dams breaks here, as at a
rate of one to four failures per year (Oboni and Oboni 2013), no one should actually
talk about a very low likelihood for this type of accident in the world-portfolio.
The considerations above may explain why the public:
• puts more emphasis on what is done to reduce mishaps, rather than on the details
of the mishaps and their potential effects;
• cares about the skills and awareness of the operation manager more than about the
risk itself;