Welcome to the Bench Marks Foundation's website...

Bench Marks Foundation is a non-profit, faith-based organisation owned by the churches in South Africa. It is a unique organisation in the area of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and monitors corporate performance against an international measuring instrument, the Principles for Global Corporate Responsibility; Bench Marks for Measuring Business Performance. Also known as the Bench Marks Principles, this document is shared by a number of churches and church agencies across four continents.

Bench Marks Foundation is part of an international faith-based coalition that also has partners in Australia, Hong Kong, Canada, the USA, Colombia and the United Kingdom. Our partners in South Africa are the South African Council of Churches (SACC), the Ecumenical Service for Socio-Economic Transformation (ESSET), Industrial Mission of South Africa, and the Justice and Peace Department of the South African Catholic Bishops Conference.

View Marikana Video Footage:: Women in Marikana

MONITORING ACTION PROJECT

community monitoring project - resources manual

Consisting of community blogs and an activists school, the project is a part of the larger Bench Marks Foundation's aim which is to get communities and church leaders actively involved in the monitoring of private corporations (and government) to ensure that they are acting in an accountable and socially responsible way.

Visit the site at:

http://communitymonitors.net

CALLS TO ACTION...

We encourage you to
DOWNLOAD THIS LETTER
Sign it and Post, Fax or Email it to the Minister

church leaders call for responsible investment

RECENTLY ADDED...

MInes operating without Water Use Licenses (PDF 388 Kb)

Rustenburg Community Report 2011 (PDF 2.2Mb)

Action Voices 2011 (PDF 1.4Mb)

Bench Marks CSR Centre launch Potchefstroom (Video)

PRESS RELEASES...
	John Capel Interviewed on SAFM Morning Talk 15/05/2013 Listen to the podcast...
	Rain and contaminated water impact farming and harm communities - 25/03/2013 Acid rain and contaminated water continue to negatively impact farming activities and communities in areas in which mines operate, despite claims by mining companies...
	Portfolio Committee urged to consider key Recommendations - 07/03/2013 The draft Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Bill (MPRDA) was gazetted on 27 December 2012 by the Department of Mineral Resources without proper public consultation and participation, says the Bench Marks Foundation...
	Women still Marginalised in Mining - 05/03/2013 Women are still a minority in the mining sector, and particularly in the lower paid categories...
	Request to Portfolio Committee regarding Input to MPRDA - 04/03/2013 The Bench Marks Foundation requests a meeting with the Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources to discuss our recommendations for the Minerals and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment Bill...
	JSE SRI GRI Fical Points - 03/03/2013 On Tuesday 26th and Wednesday 27th February 2013, the Bench Marks Foundation participated in a panel discussion at the JSE on the relevance of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)...
	Alternative Mining Indaba - 03/02/2013 Tax avoidance, extreme environmental degradation of proposed, current and past mining activities, equitable redistribution of wealth and financial resources are some of the topics that will be debated at the Alternative Mining Indaba...
	Church Leaders adopt an African-wide Campaign - 31/10 /2012 A tool to forge a broad-based campaign of church leaders, leaders of other religious faiths and civil society organisations aimed at serving the needs of people was launched by Rt Rev Dr Jo Seoka...
	"It's time for miners to benefit," Business News - 30 /10 /2012 Over the next few days we will be discussing minerals and a just world, and will ask the question, "Whose resources?"...
	Ex-employees and community members to march to ArcelorMittal - 24/10/2012 Community members of the Vaal, ex-employees of ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA) and supporting organisations of Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance (VEJA), will march to ArcelorMittal's Vanderbijlpark premises today, 24 October 2012...
	Differing expectations due to mining fragmentation - 09/10/2012 The high level of fragmentation within the mining industry is a contributing factor to the continued discontent of miners and mining communities which ultimately ends in strike action...