Sustainability

Environment - Our Approach

Environmental Management

Responsible environmental management is a cornerstone of WMC's approach to sustainable development. Our Environment Policy commits us to observing all environmental laws, having company-wide standards in environmental management appropriate to our business needs, understanding our potential impact on the environment in all phases of our activities and continually improving our environmental performance.

We identify and manage environmental risks at our operations and we have the capacity to respond to emergency situations and environmental incidents should they occur. We seek and respect our key stakeholders' opinions in regard to environmental issues of common interest, including our approach and performance.

Our Environmental Operating Policies describe our company-wide approach to managing a range of specific environmental issues and business processes.

The implementation of WMC's integrated Environment Health and Safety Management System ensures we meet our environmental commitments. We plan to progressively modify and update our EHS policies, standards, guidelines and procedures to ensure we are aligned with the requirements of the ICMM's Sustainable Development Principles and the Minerals Council of Australia's ‘Enduring Value - The Australian Minerals Industry Framework for Sustainable Development’. This includes systems that meet the functional requirements of specific environmental management standards, such as ISO 14001, the international specification for environmental management systems.

It is a requirement that each site operates in accordance with the company-wide Environment, Health and Safety policies and standards. These policies and standards are implemented through site-specific programs, procedures and initiatives. Effective implementation of EHS policies and standards is the most significant influence on each site's environmental performance and, consequently, on the company's overall environmental performance.

Each operating site develops environmental targets, which are used for measuring and reporting their environmental performance. Realistic site environmental targets and objectives are developed with an aim of reducing our environmental impacts and continuously improving our resource-use efficiency. We are aiming to improve the integration of site and company level environmental targets during 2005.