Guy Battle, CEO of Social Value Portal and co-Chair of the Global Social Value Taskforce, outlines the key role social value has to play in building tomorrow’s mining industry.
THE NEW RETURN ON INVESTMENT
Demand in the mining sector has never been higher, yet scrutiny has never been sharper.
Companies know that trust and transparency are crucial, and the consequences of getting it wrong are escalating.
Part of that is the impact mining has on the people and places around their sites. Whether you call it social licence to operate (SLO), environmental, social, and governance (ESG), responsible mining, or community investment, none of these guidelines – though all vital – are sufficient on their own.
The industry needs something more robust, more transparent, and, crucially, more measurable.
So, sorry to ‘throw in another thing to consider’, but this is where social value comes in. Not as a new cost centre, but as a strategic asset that will determine the future viability of major projects.
SOCIAL VALUE AND THE NEW ECONOMICS OF STAKEHOLDER TRUST
Trust has always been a currency in mining. Now, however, everyone from investors and governments to Indigenous communities, civil society, and global supply chains expect more than good intentions – they expect positive impact that is backed up by evidence and proof.
Social value fills this gap by allowing firms to translate contributions into quantified, externally validated data that show ‘value added’.
Forget glossy narratives and corporate social responsibility (CSR) stories – these are all important, but what is needed is auditable metrics that stand up to scrutiny.
This matters because when communities do not see meaningful benefit, they will complain, projects will slow as regulators intervene, and development will get more expensive.
Conversely, where there is evidence of well-designed, measurable social impact, risk profiles improve.
This means jobs for local people, inclusive procurement, strengthened community capacity, investment in education or health, and contributions to biodiversity, climate resilience, and protection – the list goes on.
I want to be very clear – social value is not about just measurement and reporting; that’s old hat. Social value is active and backed up by a theory of change that is proven to deliver better societal outcomes to communities – locally, regionally, and nationally.
It’s about targeting interventions and programmes that create both community outcomes and long-term commercial resilience.
When you can quantify this impact, in local currency and in comparable global terms through the ‘international social value dollar’, you don’t need to rely on assertions – you can demonstrate return on investment (ROI) through a shared language.
FUTUREPROOFING PROCUREMENT AND SUPPLY CHAIN RESILIENCE
Mining sits at the top of supply chains that power the world. And guess what – automotive manufacturers, battery producers, tech companies, and infrastructure developers, to name just a few, are under major pressure to provide evidence of responsible sourcing.
If mining companies cannot prove their social contribution and value creation, then this means customers are exposed. That puts contracts, investment, and long-term partnerships at risk.
Procurement teams are already moving in this direction. They’re asking:
- What jobs are being created locally?
- How are suppliers in the region being supported?
- What training, safety, and wellbeing improvements have been delivered?
- How is cultural heritage being protected?
- How is the company contributing to environmental resilience?
- What is the long-term value you are creating for future generations?
Social value measurement answers these questions with structured, comparable indicators.
This provides a huge advantage to mining companies who can demonstrate responsible practices consistently, wherever they operate.
FROM FRAGMENTATION TO GLOBAL BENCHMARKING
Of course, many operators work incredibly hard to deliver meaningful impact.
But activities differ by region, reporting varies from site to site, and metrics are often incompatible with one another.
This makes it difficult, sometimes impossible, for leadership teams to articulate the full scale of their global contribution.
A common framework changes everything. When you can measure job creation in South America using the same methodology as skills development in Africa, you create a unified story that is credible locally and comparable globally.
That is the advantage of the Global TOM System™, which turns scattered social impact into a single, auditable data stream, grounded in international and national evidence sources.
Its core themes of work (opportunity for all), economy (inclusive growth), community (empowering communities), and planet (safeguarding and restoring our world) mirror the areas of greatest relevance to mining – from inclusive employment to resilient supply chains.
This all ensures local relevance is visible, valued, and comparable across the business.
BALANCING THE NOW AND NEXT
Social value should not be misinterpreted as a short-term gain; the mining sector knows all too well that immediate benefit cannot justify long-term harm.
Jobs cannot override the destruction of cultural heritage, and infrastructure investment cannot compensate for irreplaceable ecological loss.
These are aspects of social value where humility and listening must come first, and where measurement should support rather than dictate the decisions we make.
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Responsible mining must therefore embrace the now, ensuring today’s operations deliver tangible community benefit, and the long-term – ensuring the landscapes, cultures, and economies around mining projects are strengthened, not weakened, by what is left behind.
A well-designed social value framework helps decision makers balance both. It forces organisations to consider outcomes beyond immediate operational need and to embed legacy planning into their core business model.
This is essential to securing future growth, reputation, and regulatory confidence.
THE MESSAGE TO LEADERSHIP
The future of mining is being shaped in boardrooms, not at the rock face. Decisions made today will determine whether projects proceed, communities consent, investors stay committed, and supply chains remain resilient in future.
And the differentiator will be this: who can demonstrate their impact clearly, credibly, and consistently?
Social value provides that evidence, enabling not just individual success but a metric by which the sector as a whole can build trust and leave a lasting positive legacy.
