INDUSTRY OUTLOOK
TRACKING THE CULTURAL SHIFT IN AUSTRALIAN MINING EVOLVING MINING BUSINESS MODELS CAN OFTEN MANIFEST AS UPDATED INVESTMENTS AND VENTURES TO GLOBAL CLIMATE-CHANGE COMMITMENTS.
IN PART TWO OF A SERIES INSPIRED BY DELOITTE’S TRACKING THE TRENDS 2022 REPORT, AUSTRALIAN MINING EXAMINES A MOVEMENT TOWARDS REIMAGINING WORK TO ALIGN WITH SOCIAL PURPOSE.
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ver the last 14 years, Deloitte’s annual Tracking the Trends report has sought to monitor changes in the Australian mining industry, defining the most important issues that will impact companies and individuals over the coming 12–18 months. Released in February, the 2022 report places strong focus on topics concerning low-carbon targets, effective company structure, and attracting workers in a competitive labour market. In its latest assessment, Deloitte suggests a growing sense of urgency among miners to meet sustainability commitments and retain employee engagement. This has resulted in a mass restructure of value chains, and a movement towards reimagining work to align with social purpose. As Deloitte points out, these growing changes in sentiment bring a rare opportunity for business leaders to
investigate where out-dated practices could benefit from change. These new approaches could utilise Industry 4.0 and digitalisation, offering data-driven solutions to employee fatigue, or pivot the way investors value green-energy alternatives. Steven Walsh is the national mining and metals leader and partner in the consulting division of Deloitte Australia. He is a trusted voice on innovative enterprise systems and specialises in the topic of how people and technology can support broader organisations. Walsh told Australian Mining that paying attention to which voices are steering the conversation around this progression was key, noting the importance of integrating diverse perspectives across the board. “Getting in touch with the culture of an organisation requires a shift in approach to authentically listening and continually sensing, gathering feedback and adapting,” he said. AUSTRALIANMINING
“This will ensure the most important aspects of the organisation’s aspirations are being realised, consciously addressing bias and wiring in inclusive practices that support a diverse workforce is paramount.”
Showing up for change
In the report, Deloitte references the evolving priorities of consumers, suppliers and investors to “spur new business models”. This often manifests as a reworked company portfolio, publicly relating updated investments and ventures to global climate-change commitments. “The speed of portfolio realignment will depend heavily on the make-up of the current assets and the pressure the company is feeling from its key stakeholders,” Walsh said. “The timing for every company will be different and that will determine which remain in fossil fuels and which transition to other operations.” Circular value chains are also cited as a critical new approach, as
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companies aim to minimise their environmental impact through adopting reprocessing, metals recycling, and urban mining initiatives. A key question remains, however, regarding how to best coordinate a transition to clean energy while still fulfilling existing material demand. Walsh suggested this gradual handover would naturally occur under investor and consumer pressure, leaving traditional fossil fuel production less profitable over time. “Deloitte works with many mining companies, from global diversified organisations to mid-tier single-asset operations,” he said. “This work on climate has mostly focused around understanding the timing and scale of emerging risks, developing a roadmap to effectively mitigate the downsides and secure the opportunities.” “We now start to see many of these clients move to the implementation strategies, investing in both portfolio realignment and major capital allocation assessments.”
