In September 2020, the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), in partnership with Business Fights Poverty and The Partnering Initiative, published the Building Forward Better Framework.
The Framework recognises the mining industry as a “partner in supporting more inclusive and resilient societies,” and its focus is on “rebuilding better” in the wake of COVID-19.
In seeking to seamlessly connect the immediate crisis response to the long-term global sustainable development challenges, the Framework provides practical tools and resources for the mining industry and other sectors to guide them through the coronavirus pandemic and to lay the pathway for building forward to a more resilient future post COVID-19.
The Framework aims to help companies identify practical actions that can be taken across their core business activities, community investment programmes and policies, to support community rebuilding and resistance. It has identified three key areas for action, which are as follows:
- lives (health and safety);
- livelihoods (jobs and income); and
- learning (education and skills).
Polyus is proud to be a member of ICMM, and was the first company from Eastern Europe to join the organisation in 2015. At Polyus, we are supportive of the Building Forward Better Framework, which we see as an example of how cross-sector collaborative initiatives can be instrumental in promoting industry and global change.
In keeping with the Framework’s goal to align short-term responses with long-term resilience, Polyus has established a fund in partnership with the Far East Development Fund (FEDF), jointly donating an initial RUB 250 million towards financing activities to prevent the transmission of Covid-19. To date, this fund has proven instrumental in procuring personal protective equipment and medical equipment for local hospitals in the Far Eastern federal district, and has laid the foundations for better medical care and provisions in the region, the impact of which will continue well beyond the pandemic.