INTEGRITY MEANS MAKING GOOD ON OUR PROMISES

Brian is an Approvals and Cultural Heritage Manager for our Queensland coal assets in Australia, who has worked at Glencore for ten years. He works with a range of government and community groups to support the conservation of Indigenous culture. Valuing honesty and openness above all else, Brian is able to mediate between multiple perspectives and make decisions he is proud to stand by.

Brian’s ability to communicate with a variety of people has developed throughout his career. Before working at Glencore, he worked as an economist, first in the sugar industry and then in government.

This year, Brian has worked on our Australian coal business’ employment programme for Indigenous groups. Of the 20 young Indigenous Australians who participated in the programme across our Queensland coal business, nine have already found permanent jobs.

My role is to provide guidance to teams needing approval to operate in a particular area. We work with the communities to conserve their heritage and ensure that the work we do will benefit them. When I’m working with an Indigenous community, it’s so important to be respectful. From a very young age, my parents instilled in me a respect for other people. They taught me to be honest; to yourself and in how you present yourself.

I work across a whole range of different stakeholders. Even if we have completely different perspectives, if we respect each other’s position we have a much better chance of reaching a mutually beneficial decision. My mantra is: “what we say is what we do”. We don’t just say things because it’s what they want to hear. If you’re not open and honest, you won’t ever be able to reach a decision. From a business sense, it pays to act with integrity.

My career transition might seem like an odd one, but one of my strengths is being adaptable. I can adapt to a variety of different environments. I’m very passionate about the work we do at Glencore. I’m proud of our environmental impact assessment process, our community engagement and Indigenous participation. In more recent times, we’ve gone beyond what I call the “transaction” and worked on developing relationships. We’ve explored how we can work together, how individuals can participate more in our business, and how we can bring positive generational change for a community.

It’s a very humbling achievement, knowing that young people have an opportunity, which otherwise might have passed them by. I take pride in doing what’s right. It’s never an option to take shortcuts. It’s about doing the right thing, not only in terms of what we are required to do by legislation, but also by working with the communities where we operate. We’re all part of a team and we have to work together. We have to trust each other, and together, we can make a difference.