Immerse the students in the Case Study content by conducting a brainstorming session or constructing a class generated mind map. The brainstorming/mind map could relate to what it means to be an ethical business or good corporate citizenship.

Provide relevant examples to distinguish between the two main concepts ‘sustainable development’ and ‘socio-economic sustainability’. Explain the relationship between the two concepts.

Explain that BHP Billiton deals with socio-economic sustainability with reference to three strands:

• Employee relations
• Supply
• Economic contributions.

Engage the students by reading and discussing the individual Case Studies that relate to the three strands. Students may answer Case Study questions individually or in small groups. Have responses reported back to the rest of the class.

The BHP Billiton website contains excellent detailed information about its sustainable development practices and socio-economic programs. Two reports of special interest are:

• Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow. This report can be accessed by going to http://www.bhpbilliton.com/bb/home/home.jsp and using the search facility on this web site, type in the search term <yesterday today tomorrow>. This will allow you to access the .pdf file of this report.  
•  BHP Sustainability Report 2005- A Sustainable Perspective This report can be accessed by going to http://sustainability.bhpbilliton.com/2005/index.asp

The report Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow’ presents a selection (27 Case Studies) of the many community programs and projects conducted by BHP Billiton around the world. They reflect BHP Billiton’s focus on supporting sustainable programs in the key areas of community welfare, education, health and the environment. Each student could be given a Case Study to read and investigate, and then present a brief oral report to the rest of the class.