Pehta Disclosure Topic Descriptions

The Pehta Framework is designed to address critical issues that can undermine the credibility of relationships between industry and Indigenous communities. The selection of Pehta disclosure topics is based on factors such as achievability, utility, and ability to elicit comprehensive responses. These topics embody attributes such as awareness, recognition, voice, transparency, character, performance, and comparability.

Each disclosure topic plays a vital role in fostering sustainable and equitable relationships among all interested and affected parties. The Pehta Framework aims to hold industry accountable for their commitments to Indigenous communities, ensuring that benefits align with Indigenous Communities’ values.

Qualitative Disclosure Topics

1 Management Commitment

The objective of the ‘Management Commitment’ is to ensure that industry and their contiguous supply chain are fully committed to upholding the principles of Indigenous community benefit reporting. This commitment involves establishing and implementing policies and actions that prioritize Indigenous rights and sustainable practices, both within industry and across its supply chain. By demonstrating a strong Management Commitment, industry can create a culture of accountability and responsibility, fostering trust and cooperation with Indigenous communities. This approach ultimately leads to more transparent Indigenous community benefit reporting, stronger relationships with Indigenous communities, and improved ESG performance across the entire supply chain, creating long-term value for all interested and affected parties involved.

2 Indigenous Community Testimonials

‘Indigenous Community Testimonials’ disclosure topic is designed to robustly capture and reflect the nuanced dynamics of the relationships between Indigenous communities and industry. The core of this approach is the mandatory collection of feedback, coupled with the optional showcasing of these testimonials by industries.

Central to this process is the use of pehta.org's likert survey, alternatively by direct interviews and community feedback mechanisms through internal processes. This diversified approach enables Indigenous communities to report their experiences, both positive and negative, in a manner that best represents their perspectives where they are most comfortable. The emphasis on direct and verbatim testimonials, whether gathered through the likert survey or direct engagement, ensures a genuine representation of Indigenous voices, free from industry intervention and aligned with the principles of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC).

The mandatory solicitation of these testimonials signifies a deepened commitment to transparency and meaningful engagement by industry. This shift from a solely survey-based system to a more holistic feedback collection mechanism encourages a more inclusive environment for Indigenous voices, ensuring their experiences and insights are given due weight in the decision-making processes of industries.

The feedback, encompassing both quantitative and qualitative data, provides a dual insight: objective measures of engagement and subjective sentiments of Indigenous Communities. This rich data pool empowers industry to align their policies and actions more closely with Indigenous values and aspirations, fostering respectful and constructive relationships.

For investors and other stakeholders, the insights gleaned from this comprehensive feedback collection offer a clearer picture of perceived Indigenous rights risks. It underscores the importance of Indigenous perspectives in assessing the ESG performance of industry, particularly in the realms of social responsibility and Indigenous rights.

This approach not only amplifies Indigenous voices but also encourages industry to responsibly display these testimonials, reflecting their commitment to Indigenous well-being and sustainable operations. It lays the foundation for stronger, more transparent relationships between industry, Indigenous communities, and investors, guiding all parties towards a future that honours and sustains the rights and aspirations of Indigenous peoples.

Quantitative Disclosure Topics

3 Indigenous Community Employment - Direct

The ‘Indigenous Community Employment - Direct’ disclosure topic, as outlined by the Pehta Framework, embodies a comprehensive approach to enhancing the involvement and acknowledgment of Indigenous communities in industry employment. The core objective of this initiative is to strengthen the commitment of industries towards employing Indigenous people. This goal transcends mere compliance and integrates the ethos of Indigenous employment deeply within organizational culture and practices.

Central to this disclosure topic is the adoption of standardized employment accounting practices. These practices are essential for the ethical identification and acknowledgment of Indigenous employees, ensuring the representation of employment data is accurate and reflective of each Indigenous community. This process not only requires a rigorous approach to identifying Indigenous heritage but also mandates the maintenance of data integrity and confidentiality.

A significant aspect of this initiative is ensuring representation across all occupation levels within an organization. This means that the inclusivity in hiring should not be confined to entry-level positions but should extend to career development opportunities and leadership roles. Indigenous community members should have access to positions of influence and decision-making within the organization, reflecting true diversity and inclusion.

Furthermore, the commitment to Indigenous employment goes beyond any regulatory engagement. It is an intrinsic part of the organization's values, indicative of a proactive approach and an effort to build trust and long-term relationships with Indigenous Communities. This unwavering dedication extends beyond the immediate operations of a company and includes its contiguous supply chain, influencing suppliers and business partners to adopt similar inclusive practices.

4 Indigenous Community Employment - Indirect

The disclosure topic ‘Indigenous Community Employment - Indirect’ is designed to motivate the contiguous and potential supply chain of the industry to adopt practices aligned with the 'Indigenous Community Employment - Direct' standard. This strategy aims to extend the principles of Indigenous engagement and employment beyond an industry's direct operations to its entire supply chain, including suppliers, vendors, and business partners. The key goal is to ensure that the emphasis placed on Indigenous employment and participation in direct employment is reflected and amplified throughout the entire business ecosystem.

By aligning the supply chain with Pehta standards, industries can incorporate and attribute the success of their suppliers in Indigenous employment to their own Indigenous community Pehta metrics. This alignment not only demonstrates the industry's commitment to Indigenous employment but also enhances and increases its influence on delivering tangible benefits to Indigenous communities. It promotes a ripple effect, where industries integrate Indigenous employment within their core operations and simultaneously influence their supply chain to adhere to similar standards. This integrated approach is expected to significantly multiply the impact and benefits of Indigenous employment, fostering broader opportunities for skill development, career growth, and economic empowerment within Indigenous communities.

Consistent and meaningful engagement with Indigenous communities remains critical in this process. It ensures that adopted practices align with the communities' needs and aspirations, guaranteeing that the benefits are realized sustainably. The focus on indirect employment within the supply chain represents a comprehensive approach to Indigenous participation in the business environment, reinforcing the imperative of Indigenous involvement at every stage and facet of business operations, and recognizing the collective impact of industry and its supply chain in enhancing community benefits.

5 Indigenous Community Corporate Contributions

The disclosure topic of ‘Indigenous Community Corporate Contributions’ plays a crucial role in fostering transparency and genuine commitment of industry towards the prosperity and welfare of Indigenous communities. This topic is designed to communicate and showcase the contributions made by industry that are purely altruistic, focusing on financial support provided from overheads, and deliberately not tied to any specific business-driven project development, consultation, or pursuit process.

These contributions are distinct in their nature, as they are made independent of any business expectations or reciprocal benefits from Indigenous communities. This separation is key to ensuring that the contributions are not influenced by, nor do they influence, any business dealings or expectations, thereby maintaining their altruistic intent. The primary goal of these disclosures is to highlight and acknowledge the efforts of industry that are dedicated solely to the betterment of Indigenous communities, demonstrating a true dedication to their welfare and progress.

6 Indigenous Community Project Benefits

The ‘Indigenous Community Project Benefits’ disclosure topic, serves a vital role in fostering transparency and accountability in the financial interactions between industries and Indigenous communities. Its core objective is to meticulously quantify and report the economic benefits that accrue to Indigenous communities, whether directly or indirectly, from project development, consultation, or related activities. This encompasses a wide array of financial aspects including, but not limited to, direct financial contributions, investments, and other forms of economic benefits originating from various collaborations, agreements, or even unplanned outcomes with industrial entities.

In its essence, this disclosure topic aims to establish a clear, credible, and quantifiable metric that can effectively measure and assess the extent of financial benefits received by Indigenous communities through project development. The meticulous documentation and reporting under this topic are designed to capture a comprehensive picture of the economic landscape, highlighting the nuances and complexities of the financial benefits that flow into these communities.

7 Indigenous Community Procurement - Direct

The ‘Indigenous Community Procurement - Direct’ disclosure topic, presents a strategic approach for industries to transparently report their procurement expenditures with Indigenous businesses in relation to Indigenous communities. This initiative is pivotal in establishing a credible and standardized method for showcasing an industry's commitment to Indigenous procurement. A significant focus of this topic is on providing detailed, quantifiable data regarding spending with Indigenous suppliers, thereby ensuring that the economic engagement with Indigenous communities is both transparent and accurately depicted.

Integral to this objective is the verification of the Indigenous ownership or relationships of suppliers. This step is crucial to ensure that procurement data genuinely reflects transactions with Indigenous entities, thereby maintaining the reporting's integrity and aligning with the authenticity that the Pehta Framework seeks to promote. This verification process underscores the importance of ethical and responsible business practices, as it helps prevent misrepresentation and ensures that benefits are directed to legitimate Indigenous suppliers.

Furthermore, this disclosure topic aligns with the growing global focus on ethical, sustainable, and socially responsible business practices. By adhering to these standards, industries demonstrate their commitment to the well-being of Indigenous communities, which is increasingly valued in the investment market.

8 Indigenous Community Procurement - Indirect

The ‘Indigenous Community Procurement - Indirect’ disclosure topic signifies a strategic and inclusive initiative to boost Indigenous economic participation in Canada. It expands the realm of industry responsibility and influence beyond direct procurement to encompass the entire supply chain. The aim is to inspire and guide industry vendors to engage Indigenous procurement not only directly but also to actively promote and report on Indigenous procurement within their broader supply chain networks. This initiative fosters an inclusive procurement culture, positioning industries as catalysts for expansive Indigenous economic involvement.

Going beyond traditional procurement methods, this disclosure focuses on indirect means through which industries can drive Indigenous economic empowerment. Industries are urged to adopt a proactive stance in ensuring their suppliers and partners prioritize Indigenous business engagement.

This holistic strategy illuminates the entire range of economic possibilities open to Indigenous communities, encompassing both direct and indirect forms of engagement.

The dual aim of this approach is significant. First, it broadens the economic impact on Indigenous communities by expanding procurement practices to encompass the extended supply chain of the industry. This expansion is vital for generating more robust and sustainable economic benefits for Indigenous communities. Second, it empowers industry vendors to deliver a more detailed and substantial report of their contributions to Indigenous economic empowerment. This enhanced reporting enriches ESG metrics, aligning with the growing emphasis on responsible and sustainable business practices in the view of both communities and the institutional investment market.

Furthermore, by aligning the contiguous supply chain with Pehta standards, industries can aggregate and claim their suppliers' achievements in Indigenous community procurement as part of their own industry success. This alignment enhances and increases their influence on creating opportunities for Indigenous communities.