Critical Resource Strategy & Analysis

Across many industries, sustainability and stakeholder pressures are intensifying, putting significant value at stake for companies. In the resources sector in particular, such issues are increasingly giving rise to critical business risks and opportunities.

Our client work focuses on the areas below. Click on each for more detail and for brief examples of past projects, including some undertaken by our experts prior to joining Critical Resource. For confidentiality reasons, client names are not given. Please also see the News & Insights page.

Rating, risk and impact assessment: assessments of the “socio-political license to operate” for resource projects using Critical Resource’s proprietary methodology, LicenseSecure™. Also analyses of social and human rights risks and impacts of projects.

Critical Resource has developed a proprietary methodology, LicenseSecure™, to assess the health of the “socio-political license” for resource projects. Please see the LicenseSecure™ page for further details. Critical Resource team members also have extensive experience conducting other forms of on-the-ground assessments of socio-political, community and human rights issues and impacts related to major investments, for example:

Client challenge: Global resource company facing concerns over human rights issues in the vicinity of a large copper project in Asia
What we did: On-the-ground assessment of human rights risks of local operations, including those related to security, community impacts and indigenous peoples
How it helped: Made client aware of key exposures and recommended changes to policy and management approach in these areas

Client challenge: Global mining major considering new investment in Asia involving construction of a major infrastructure project involving resettlement and bearing significant social and reputational risk
What we did: Analysis of potential stakeholder issues and international NGO responses, and recommended investment and policy approach
How it helped: Allowed board to make more informed investment decision and respond effectively to civil society concerns

Policies, guidance & implementation: Development of policies, guidance and management systems on sustainability and stakeholder issues. Also support for on-the-ground implementation of these policies, including internal awareness building and training.
Issue leadership: Content for advancing international debates across the range of stakeholder and sustainability issues
Strategy development: Advice on ways to create and protect shareholder value by embedding stakeholder and sustainability issues into core business strategy.
Research: Analysis to support client decision-making & approaches.

In terms of approach, Critical Resource will assist clients to achieve improved sustainability outcomes and responsiveness to external expectations. It will work with organisations which have a genuine commitment to responsibility. Some services are outside the scope of Critical Resource's work. Critical Resource is not a PR or lobbying firm. While able to provide fact-based content for potential external use, Critical Resource does not undertake media relations itself or represent clients externally. Client confidentiality is a core principle for Critical Resource.