BHP Billiton displays corporate responsibility

$ 3 mn investment in community development projects in Orissa

BHP Billiton, the largest mining company in the world, plans to invest three million dollars in community development projects in Orissa over the next three years.

The allocation of fund for Orissa is the first major assignment of BHP Billiton India Development Society, which was incorporated in the country recently.

The money will be spent to fund economically, environmentally and socially sustainable community development projects in entire Orissa, Tim Clifton, general manager, Orissa office of the company told Business Standard.

"The projects will be implemented through partnership with credible organisations which will match our vision", he said and added that selection of the projects will be based on the socio-economic needs of the local people, deficiency in social infrastructure and utility value to be accrued.

In the initial stages, the society intends to focus attention on health, hygiene, education (particularly of girl children), rural development, water supply and small and medium enterprise promotion activities in the state. The society is all to set to announce its first assistance to the tune of half a million dollar to an eye research project in Bhubaneswar.

The funding of the projects is not linked to any specific business plan of the company in the state and will be spread over all socially relevant development work anywhere in the state, Clifton clarified.

The company has proposed to set up a three million tonne alumina refinery in Kalahandi district at an estimated investment of three billion dollar. So when the need arose, the company may invest more money over and above three million dollar earmarked now by its social development society for project specific community development work near the site.

The BHP Billiton is engaged in a number of community development projects in South Africa, Mozambique, Chile, Brazil and Colombia where socio-economic conditions are very similar to India.

"Hence, we can utilise our expertise and experience in those countries for effective implementation of various community development work here", Clifton observed.

He said, BHP Billiton, whose market cap is estimated at 92 billion dollar, invests about one per cent of its net profit in community development work throughout the globe. It won the international Business In The Community (BITC) Award, 2005 for best practices in corporate responsibility recently.

The company's turnover stood at 32 billion dollar and net profit of 8.7 billion dollar in 2004-05.