About us
| Mobilizing the communities - Holcim Brazil |
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Stakeholder comment Solange Reis, Ortopolis Coordinator, Barroso, Brazil: "What guarantees the success of the program is its participative planning approach. The result is greater participation from citizens themselves - sharing responsibilities, bringing in new ideas - thus increasing their participation in building the city's future". |
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Description 
Good community relations help us maintain our license to operate. Holcim Brazil has consulted with its stakeholders for years, mostly in separate meetings with various groups. What generally occurs in such bilateral discussions is that each group's particular concerns are addressed, without considering other stakeholders' perspectives. As a result, it then becomes more difficult for Holcim to fully resolve the respective issue.
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Objectives From 2003, therefore, Holcim Brazil began assembling stakeholders across its whole range of interest groups in Community Advisory Panels (CAPs). Such cross-fertilization makes for richer discussions and a better forum for developing environmental and social programs. |
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Activities Diverse stakeholder groups are better able to prioritize issues and address those that may give rise to conflict. The stakeholders themselves are often in the best position to contribute to solving problems. Under the CAP approach, action plans are set after each meeting, and community members take responsibility for carrying out any agreed activities. Holcim Brazil is also employing this approach in its foundation, Instituto Holcim, whose mission is to take part in communal life, especially via educational and sustainable development initiatives. Since 2003, the Instituto has switched from doing projects for the community to doing them with the community. The process involves all community opinion leaders in a workshop to define the community's main issues, how they should be resolved, and what priorities to establish. Working groups are then responsible for achieving the agreed outcomes. The role of Instituto Holcim is to moderate the process and support each group's activities. |
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Results A pilot program, Ortopolis, is underway in the city of Barroso, and is being followed as a case study of the UN Global Compact. Read more on Ortopolis in this case study. |
