Phoenix, AZ (September 21, 2017) — For the fifth consecutive year, Freeport-McMoRan has been named to the Civic 50 list of most community-minded companies in the U.S., and for the second consecutive year was named the top company in the materials sector. This marks the company as one of 15 U.S. companies who have been named to this list for five years in a row.
The Civic 50 is conducted by the Points of Light Corporate Institute, a resource for companies looking to build and expand effective community engagement programs. The national survey and ranking initiative, developed through partnership with researchers and community as well as industry thought leaders, sets the standard for corporate civic engagement and recognizes companies for their commitment to improving the quality of life in the communities where they do business. The initiative reflects leading insight about how corporations can connect with communities in a twenty-first century economy.
Numerous community programs and efforts implemented by the company were evaluated as part of the process and overall ranking. As the No. 1 ranked company in its sector, Freeport-McMoRan was featured as a leader for programs focused on community and stakeholder engagement and its unique mining education initiative.
The Freeport-McMoRan Community Engagement Program, Transforming Tomorrow Together, develops deep partnerships with communities to cultivate sustainable programs and projects that address their unique challenges and priorities, and contribute to their enduring success. One of the cornerstone initiatives involves stakeholder engagement through Community Partnership Panels (CPPs). Panels in each community are comprised of local leaders and citizens representing a broad range of stakeholder groups who meet with company representatives to discuss issues important to the community with the goal of creating community collaboration that leads to success. A recent survey of CPP members from 11 communities across the southwest found that 77% of respondents believe the company truly listens to and considers their concerns, interests and questions; 73% believe the CPP forum has played a role in planning for long-term community sustainability; and 71% feel the CPP engagement has contributed to positive community change.
Bill Cobb, Vice President, Environmental Services and Sustainable Development, Freeport-McMoRan, said, “The two critical elements of our overall approach to corporate citizenship are our deep engagement and dialogue with stakeholders in the communities in which we operate, and our focus on building community capacity that aids communities in strengthening their resiliency, skills and abilities needed to adapt, develop and thrive. Not only does the community become deeply and mindfully involved as the architects of both specific projects as well as their own broader success, those positive outcomes around shared values improves our social license to operate within those communities.”
Freeport-McMoRan has also partnered with Discovery Education to create and implement "Dig Into Mining," an online, interactive program for grades 6-8 that explores the use of metals such as copper in our everyday life, provides students with a deeper understanding of mining, inspires career interests, and facilitates STEM learning and concepts in the classroom. The initiative includes an annual, interactive virtual field trip, interactive digital learning tools, and school-to-home connections with career exploration activities intended to inspire further exploration of the world and improved STEM learning and performance. To date, there have been over 500,000 Virtual Lab Views, 42,000 widget plays, 100,000 website visits, and more than 80,000 students and teachers have participated each year through virtual field trips to a mining operation. The program also engages technical and STEM-skilled employees in content development and interactive, online experiences directly with students.
“Dig Into Mining brings the mining process to life for students and allows them to engage with the employees who make it happen,” said Josh Olmsted, Senior Vice President of North American Copper. “It’s an excellent way for students to gain a greater understanding of how STEM knowledge is used in various careers on a daily basis, making the content they learn in math and science classes more relevant. It also provides a great opportunity to recognize our employees for their hard work.”
To find out more about Freeport-McMoRan’s community engagement visit www.fcx.com/sd/sustain/index.htm .