Who we are

Governance

Sound governance and high ethical standards of conduct are a source of competitive advantage in securing access to resources. Environmental performance, community relations and employee welfare and transparency are just as important as technical aspects of mining and processing. If Rio Tinto is to succeed in positioning itself as a "developer of choice" it has to be equipped to deal with complex stakeholder relationships.

Accordingly, our operating philosophy has a strong focus on corporate responsibility spelled out in our statement of business practice, The way we work. This covers issues such as human rights, political involvement, transparency and zero tolerance of corruption.

All our employees are required to comply with the policies in the document. The objective is to ensure that they reflect in their daily work high standards and values such as accountability, fairness, integrity and openness. Published in more than 20 languages, The way we work is a reflection of the Group's diverse workforce as well as the range of communities and stakeholders affected by our operations.

We also actively engage with a wide range of external stakeholders to promote leading business practices. As a member of the International Council for Mining and Metals (www.icmm.com) we are continuously improving our economic, social and environmental performance. We regularly report our progress in line with the Global Reporting Initiative (www.globalreporting.org) as part of the United Nations Global Compact Communication on Progress and in our annual report.