Grievances from communities, NGOs, and landowners are an inevitable part of operating in extractive and energy sectors such as mining, oil and gas, transmission, utilities, and renewable energy. But how your organization responds to those concerns can mean the difference between project momentum and project shutdown. Poorly managed grievances can quickly escalate—into public opposition, legal action, or regulatory delays.
With social license, compliance, and operational timelines at stake, companies need more than just a form or inbox to manage issues. They need to implement an effective, transparent, consistent, and auditable grievance process.
This checklist outlines the 8 most common risks associated with ineffective grievance management—along with the cause of each risk, practical steps to help you avoid them, and self-assessment questions to identify whether your organization may be at risk.
1. Project delays due to unresolved community concerns
How to avoid it
- Implement automated workflows to assign issues and track deadlines.
- Use dashboards to identify stalled responses and ensure all complaints are acknowledged and addressed promptly.
Are you at risk?
Ask yourself and your team those questions
- How quickly can your team respond to incoming grievances?
- Where do you track unresolved issues—and who has access to that data?
- Have project delays ever stemmed from stakeholder concerns that weren’t addressed in time?
2. Loss of social license to operate
How to avoid it
- Provide multiple access points for stakeholders to raise issues, including anonymous options like a grievance and feedback portal.
- Offer timely updates and show how concerns are being addressed to build long-term trust.
Are you at risk?
Ask yourself and your team those questions
- Have you ever heard of a grievance that was ignored or repeated multiple times?
- Do you publish follow-up actions to show stakeholders they’ve been heard?
- What percentage of grievances are acknowledged within a set timeframe?
3. Reputational damage from poor transparency
How to avoid it
- Maintain a centralized grievance register with audit trails.
- Generate reliable reports that demonstrate issue resolution and transparency to the public, media, and regulatory stakeholders.
Are you at risk?
Ask yourself and your team those questions
- How long does it take to pull a complete grievance report?
- Where is grievance data stored, and who has access to it?
- Have you ever struggled to back up your actions during an audit or community meeting?
4. Regulatory non-compliance
How to avoid it
- Align your processes with standards like IFC, ICMM, and GRI.
- Use a platform that ensures full documentation, auditability, and traceability of all grievance cases.
Are you at risk?
Ask yourself and your team those questions
- What standards (e.g., IFC, Bettercoal, TSM, etc.) does your grievance process align with?
- Where is all the information kept—and is it easily traceable and retrievable?
- Can you show documentation of grievance handling during past inspections or audits?
Client use case: Improve compliance with international standards
5. Legal liability or escalation to courts
How to avoid it
- Offer a clear, fair, and accessible grievance process with defined escalation paths.
- Include documentation at every step to prove reasonable and timely resolution efforts.
Are you at risk?
Ask yourself and your team those questions
- How is your grievance process made visible to external stakeholders?
- Where do you document investigation steps and decisions?
- Has any stakeholder ever escalated an issue that could’ve been resolved earlier?
6. Fragmented internal coordination
Grievance resolution suffers when teams work in silos using separate systems. Misalignment between departments leads to slow responses, inconsistent handling, and frustration—both internally and externally.
How to avoid it
- Centralize grievance data and link it to stakeholder profiles.
- Use shared workflows to keep community relations, legal, and operations teams on the same page.
Are you at risk?
Ask yourself and your team those questions
- How do teams currently collaborate when resolving grievances?
- Is there ever confusion about who owns an issue?
- How often do multiple teams unknowingly respond to the same grievance?
7. Missed early warning signs of systemic issues
Recurring complaints—if not tracked and analyzed—can evolve into systemic problems that harm operations. These patterns often go unnoticed when organizations lack centralized data and a structured approach to stakeholder risk management, making it harder to detect root causes or prioritize emerging issues.
How to avoid it
- Use analytics and dashboards to identify trends, flag recurring issues, root causes, and intervene before problems escalate or reoccur.
Are you at risk?
Ask yourself and your team those questions
- How often do you analyze grievances for trends or hotspots?
- What data points help you detect recurring issues?
- Do you have a process to escalate systemic complaints for executive review?
8. Stakeholder disengagement and mistrust
How to avoid it
- Ensure stakeholders can submit and track complaints easily.
- Show that concerns are followed by action.
- Communicate outcomes clearly and respectfully.
Are you at risk?
Ask yourself and your team those questions
- How easy is it for someone in the community to submit a grievance?
- Have you ever received feedback that stakeholders didn’t feel heard?
- Are updates and resolution outcomes consistently communicated back to the complainant?
Download our free grievance management self-assessment checklist to quickly identify risks in your organization.
What to look for in a grievance management solution
Not all technologies can help improve grievance management—especially in the context of energy or natural resource extraction projects. These initiatives are often carried out in complex environments, under heightened scrutiny from communities, regulators, and the media, and their impacts can extend far beyond the project site. That’s why it’s essential to rely on a solution built to meet these high standards. Here are the key features you should look for:
- Anonymous, multi-channel submission options
- Integrated dashboards for tracking risk, resolution, and volume
- Workflow automation with task assignments and notifications
- Cross-functional visibility and data integration
- Audit-ready reporting and document logs
- Alignment with IFC, GRI, IPIECA, or other international standards that apply to your business
- Linkage between grievances, stakeholders, assets, and commitments
Discover how Borealis can help
Centralize your complaints and issue management in a single, purpose-built system trusted by leading energy and mining companies.
