BHP’s Vital Resources Fund, designed to help regional communities through the coronavirus pandemic, has now delivered A$50 million to hundreds of businesses, and families across Australia with a focus on the regions where we operate.
The fund was established by BHP in March 2020 to contribute to the immediate needs of communities facing impacts from the pandemic, and then to help organisations and local businesses participate in economic recovery.
BHP President Minerals Australia Edgar Basto said the Vital Resources Fund has delivered assistance to 89 organisations, reaching more than 700,000 people including 140,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
“The resilience and determination of businesses, organisations, towns and families across regional Australia in the face of national crisis has been incredible and humbling. BHP is proud that we were able to do our part in supporting the very communities that support us. From everything we’ve seen, the communities where we operate are well positioned to lead Australia toward economic recovery,” Mr Basto said.
Examples of how the funding has been put to good use in regional Australian communities include:
To secure personal protective equipment for medical personnel and cleaning and sanitising products
Food relief and daily essentials to vulnerable families
Transport services
Increased accessibility to mental health services
Additional COVID-19 testing services
Support to family and domestic violence services
Upgraded technology equipment, infrastructure and processes to strengthen economic resilience
To keep people employed or engaged in relevant training
Support to local businesses by increasing demand for local products and services
Support for health, mental health and emotional wellbeing
Fast facts
BHP’s Vital Resource Fund (VRF) has distributed A$50 million*, indirectly supporting more than 290 organisations and 300 local businesses.
To date, more than 700,000 people have directly benefitted from the VRF, including more than 140,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, more than 60 indigenous communities and nearly 9,000 socially isolated people.
In total, the VRF has provided:
$6.1 million to national projects supporting the regions where we operate** and more
$18.1 million to the communities where we operate in Queensland and New South Wales
$4.6 million in South Australia
$19.4 million in Western Australia
An additional $1.6 million has been used to source and purchase medical personal protective equipment and other hygiene supplies.
Other relief measures introduced by BHP include: reduced payment terms for small suppliers to provide critical cash flow during the pandemic peak; hired an additional 1500 people on six-month contracts to support its Australian operations; and created a $6 million fund to support labour hire companies and their employees.
Background
Response phase: In the first six months of the pandemic, the VRF provided more than A$25 million to address the immediate needs and impacts being felt by communities in the regions where we operate and across Australia.
These initiatives focused on local and regional health networks for critical services and workforce support; maintaining the functioning and reach of essential community services; and supporting remote Indigenous Australians to get back to country safely.
Of those funds:
more than $600,000 went to national projects
more than $13.4 million went to projects in Queensland or New South Wales
almost $2.2 million went to projects in South Australia
more than $9.1 million went to projects in Western Australia
In addition, we spent almost $1.6 million sourcing and purchasing medical personal protective equipment and other supplies to distribute throughout communities across Australia.
See projects funded by state during response phase.
Recovery phase: Between September 2020 and June 2021, BHP committed around $23 million in further funding to 34 additional projects. These focused on supporting recovery in the regions where we operate.
While response donations were more immediate and reactive, designed to support efforts where communities needed it most, recovery projects were developed to address the community-specific impacts resulting from the crisis. These were longer term and designed to provide additional investment to support people and economies, to bolster their ability to take advantage of recovery once it hit, as well as strengthen community resilience.
The spend was distributed across projects focused on: people and business (more than $10.5 million); technology (more than $5.5 million); and wellbeing (more than $7 million).
Of those funds:
more than $5.5 million have been to committed to national projects
more than $4.7 million have been committed to projects in Queensland or New South Wales
more than $2.4 million have been committed to projects in South Australia
more than $10.3 million have been committed to projects in Western Australia
*All figures are in Australian dollars
**Funds have focused on projects that benefit people in: the Bowen Basin in Central Queensland; the Hunter Valley in New South Wales; Roxby Downs and the Upper Spencer Gulf in South Australia; the Pilbara and Goldfields regions in Western Australia; and supported by various state-based Aboriginal Community Controlled Health organisations.
for more go to
https://www.bhp.com/media-and-insights/news/2021/07/covid-support-for-regional-communities-reaches-a$50m/ |
