1994-95

When WMC Ltd. Published an environment progress report in 1995, it was a first for the Australian resources sector and an early step on a path to sustainable development.

Our early environmental reporting encouraged us to make some very frank and open assessments of our performance. While we believed we did many things well, we acknowledged that we had much room for improvement in managing our environmental performance.

Importantly, our early reports contained a commitment to regular, open and transparent reporting, independent verification and continuous performance improvement.

Over subsequent years, WMC set benchmarks both within the resource sector and in industry generally in environmental reporting - with the resources industry leading development of environmental reporting globally.

1997

By 1997, we had introduced an external advisory group made up of individuals from diverse backgrounds and external auditors. The next year, we produced our first suite of individual site and business reports, allowing an unprecedented insight into our environment performance across every aspect of our activities. In our 1999 community report, WMC discussed aspects of communications, social responsibility, community development and its relationships with employees in a purpose-built publication for the first time.

2000

The year 2000 was a watershed for WMC's approach to sustainability reporting. In the first year of the new century, we published over 200 pages of data through 12 separate environment, health and safety, community and individual site reports. At the same time, corporations, industry associations, non-government groups and regulators were all grappling with a better way to collect, collate, understand and report sustainability data - across corporations, industries and countries.

The ongoing standardisation of reporting approaches, the birth of global reporting guidelines and the rapid adoption and acceptance of Internet delivery gave us the opportunity to foster an improved and streamlined reporting approach.

2004 and beyond

A real-time, real data approach to sustainability reporting - extended throughout our operations - is becoming a reality. Since our first environment progress report in 1995, we have sought to chart this journey through reporting on our social, environmental, health and safety performance annually. Our improved web-based reporting approach is next step on this journey. Within this site we've presented our approach to environmental, health and safety management, our governance and controls, and measures of our performance.

In 2004 we moved to a format that allows us to reflect our performance, challenges, achievements, and, of course, our failures when they occur. Our site is live and our sustainability noticeboard carries regular updates. A comprehensive update of the sustainability site was conducted in March 2005.

We first published our Pathway To Sustainable Development model in our 2001 Sustainability Report. In subsequent annual reports, we have noted our progress through the four phases of sustainability.

During 2004, we continued to implement our risk management programs. We began a substantial program of stakeholder opinion surveys, and reviewed environmental baseline data and monitoring programs across our operations. We also extended the community and environmental baseline work for our Corridor Sands mineral sands project in Mozambique.

We recognise that sustainable development is, by its nature, dynamic and evolving. While we have made progress in many areas during 2004, we recognise the need for ongoing effort as we approach the fourth phase of our Pathway To Sustainable Development, which signifies greater integration of sustainable development into how we manage our business.