How has BHP Billiton's approach to accountability changed over the years?
Ten years ago sustainable development used to be a "nice to have" for most businesses. Now it has become a critical business challenge and a core component of any business strategy. At BHP Billiton it is now an important feature of our management processes. Nonfinancial and financial issues are no longer separate.
What are the main trends in terms of accountability globally?
In SA there is a lot of pressure on the mining sector to improve its performance on safety, which I believe is long overdue. At an international level, climate change has become the business issue to deal with.
Do sustainability issues affect the bottom line?
Twelve years ago BHP Billiton took a proactive approach to managing HIV/Aids in the workplace. It required significant investment - from closing down single-sex hostels, to providing all employees with membership to private medical aid schemes. Today, less than 10% of BHP Billiton's employees have tested HIV positive, compared with higher rates in the general SA population and resources sector.
How do you integrate sustainability into your core business strategy?
Through consultation with various stakeholders, BHP Billiton has developed a list of 26 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) with corresponding targets, which we report on externally. These include measures such as energy reduction, community consultation and employee involvement. Every employee is allocated personal KPIs, which are linked to sustainable development performance. We've found that there is a direct correlation between good operational practices and sound financial performance.
Some of your achievements in sustainable development?
One is a public-private partnership to combat malaria in SA, Mozambique and Swaziland. In the past eight years the project has grown to over 160 000 km˛ and the pre-valence rate has reduced, on average, by 90%.
Is there room for improvement in BHP Billiton's accountability performance?
We have an overriding commitment to meeting our objective of "zero harm". This means no fatalities in more than 100 operations in the 26 countries in which we operate. Last year we recorded eight fatalities. Though this may be a significant improvement on our performance over the past decade, our target is zero. We have also fallen short of our target of reducing the amount of freshwater consumption by 10%/unit of production by end-June 2007 compared with our base year. Currently we are achieving a 4% reduction per year, and steps are being taken to accelerate improvement in this area.
