Our vision

While the world is in a race towards reaching net zero by 2050, we already know mining will continue or even increase in the coming decades, as the green energy sector will need metals and other elements for their production of sustainable energy and plants. So, if mining does not stop, how will the sector deal with their enlarged operational risks in increasingly volatile environments?

With the growing scarcity and potential depletion of natural resources, as well as conflicts over their use, profound environmental and social issues arise. Within mining, large infrastructural and energy projects there is always social disruption. Development projects do not easily coincide with populated surroundings. Conflicts will increase as resource-rich zones overlap with indigenous held territories; this basically means that getting the metals out will mean territories will be invaded. News reports from all over the world constantly report on new cases of social disruption that lead to unrest, and, consequently, tremendous losses for all parties involved.

Meanwhile, investors are moving their portfolios away from non-sustainable investments, and are pressuring companies to limit negative impacts. Companies face serious challenges to maximize profit whilst becoming more responsible global citizens. The new-age impact investor wants ESG-proof investments pressuring companies to dedicate larger parts of their budget to sustainability measures.

These global, national and regional specific pressures combined cause a serious threat to any large-scale project. If you do not permanently manage your (stakeholder) relations and understand your environment, you will be out of the game before you know it. Companies are starting to make the change. In the last 10 years alone the budget for sustainability within the 10 top-mining companies increased by 900% (to USD 20 billion a year). However, we believe these spendings are merely ’band aids’, not providing enough insights for continuous guarantee of a social license to operate for your operation.

What if you can de-risk your operation?
What if you can predict, and mitigate, your next conflict before it erupts into a burning platform?
And what if, this can be done without affecting your profits?

Our propriety model, which we designed on 15+years of experience in mining and working in indigenous areas, centers on “Peace Is The Objective” (PITO). The PITO.method navigates culture, business economics and environment. Bilateral interests are at the heart of the model to create thriving relationships: the best security strategy for your operations.

The team
Our team has worked for the past 15+ years in indigenous areas doing development projects of which 12+ years in the gold mining sector advising governments and companies on how to create win:win solutions. We have worked directly with all stakeholders involved, bridging views between these groups: from the boardrooms of publicly traded companies, to government leaders, to communities, small-scale gold miners, environmental NGOs, media and (indigenous) advocacy groups.

We asked ourselves: How can stakeholders help each other thrive? How can we help projects move from turmoil to harmony thereby eventually making mining a value-add to their host-community?

Our propriety model, the PITO.method, focuses on alleviating the implementation gap following traditional social impact assessments. We continuously analyze conflicts in high-complex environments where social disruption takes places, design and implement mitigating programs based on predictive behavior modeling and align these with company (or government) goals.

We do not operate in traditional silos but create systemic change. Our work therefore includes a combination of field work, research, policy writing, strategic communications, advocacy, conflict resolution, CSR and community development planning and aims to present win:win solutions for both company and community. Building this relationship is a constant, and cost-saving, commitment guaranteeing a better grip on retaining and maintaining your social license to operate.