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Environmental Resources Management (ERM) was requested by BHP Billiton Limited to assess and comment upon the accuracy of the data used in the Annual Health, Safety, Environment and Community (HSEC) Report for the period 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2003.
ERM undertook this assessment by reviewing the on-site data collection process, the data management and collation process, and the synthesis of this data into the tables, graphs and statements that are presented in this Annual HSEC Report.
Ten sites were selected from the operations managed by BHP Billiton in order to determine the robustness of data collection processes at the operational level. The sites were selected to provide a representative sample of BHP Billiton's total number of sites, geographical spread, operational types, the age of operations, and social and environmental settings. The sites were:
- Bayside - Aluminium Smelter in South Africa
- Western Chrome - Chromite ore mine in South Africa
- Koornfontein - Coal Mine in South Africa
- Griffin - Offshore Oil and Gas Production in Australia
- TEMCO - Manganese Smelter in Australia
- West Cliff - Coal Mine in Australia
- Yabulu - Nickel Refinery in Australia
- San Manuel - Copper Complex undergoing closure in the USA
- Cerro Colorado - Copper Mine in Chile
- Lelydorp - Bauxite Mine in Suriname
The data collection process was examined at each of these sites and key personnel involved in data collection were interviewed.
The collation of the data at BHP Billiton's offices in Melbourne, Australia, was examined. Members of the team in Melbourne who were instrumental in analysing the data were interviewed and their analytical activities were shadowed. Selected calculation steps were independently repeated by ERM to check the veracity of the interpreted data for samples of key HSEC parameters discussed in this Annual Report.
Conclusions drawn from the data and corresponding statements made in this Annual HSEC Report were reviewed by ERM in the context of the robustness of data. Case studies were not included in this review.
Observations
In general, the data collection, collation and interpretation processes exhibited by BHP Billiton at its individual operating sites and its offices in Melbourne, Australia, provide a sound basis for the credible reporting of performance. An overall improvement in data management both at operational and corporate level was noted from the previous two annual reports that were verified by ERM.
A number of minor errors were detected in the site data and immediately corrected. The errors were unlikely to have resulted in any material shifting of the results presented.
In order to assist BHP Billiton with continual improvement in HSEC reporting, ERM provided the Management Team with a number of recommendations made following observations by the audit team.
Some opportunities for improvement in future annual reporting are as follows:
- Definitions - Many of the minor errors identified could be attributed to different interpretations used in the questionnaires. Whilst a marked improvement has been shown since previous years, there is room for further improvement.
- Data Security - There are no restrictions on sites changing calculations embedded in the questionnaire which increases the cross-checking requirements and provides the potential for inaccurate data to be submitted to head office.
- Detail - A number of the minor errors appeared to be due to limited validation of data at the site level, prior to submission to head office. Greater attention to detail will reduce the number of errors and improve overall confidence in the results.
Opinion
On the basis of the activities undertaken to verify its content, ERM believe that the material presented in this Annual HSEC Report is a fair and reasonable representation of Company performance on reported HSEC issues across the operations managed by BHP Billiton.
David Snashall
Partner
Danny Ptak
Senior Auditor
