Governance
Business practice
Statement of business practice
The way we work is Rio Tinto's worldwide statement of business practice. It contains principles and standards of conduct which reaffirm the Group's commitment to corporate responsibility. It provides the directors and all Group employees with a summary of the core policies and controls in place to help ensure that high governance and business standards are communicated and maintained throughout the Group. Group businesses then put them into practice through local codes of conduct and report on their implementation.
Core policies are adopted by the board after wide consultation, externally and within the Group. Once adopted, they are communicated to business units worldwide, together with mandatory standards and guidance notes to support implementation. Business units are required to devote the necessary effort by management to implement and report on these policies and standards.
Rio Tinto's core policies, listed in The way we work, include: access to land; business integrity; communities; corporate governance; employment; environment; human rights; internal controls & reporting; occupational health; political involvement; safety; sustainable development and transparency. These are supported by policies in the areas of risk, information management and security. Each policy is supported by standards expanding on the minimum expectations on topics such as antitrust, continuous disclosure, compliance, cultural heritage and health, safety and the environment. Many of these standards are supplemented by guidance notes. These policies and standards apply to all Rio Tinto managed businesses. Where the Group does not have operating responsibility for a business, Rio Tinto's policies are communicated to its business partners and they are encouraged to adopt similar policies of their own.
The way we work and many of the supporting policies and standards are undergoing an extensive review process taking into account the significant number of new policies and standards introduced during the five years since its original release.
"Whistle blowing" programme
The board has adopted a Groupwide 'whistle blowing' programme called Speak-OUT. Employees are encouraged to report any concerns, including any suspicion of a violation of the Group's financial reporting or environmental procedures, through an independent third party and without fear of recrimination. A process has been established for the investigation of any matters reported with clear lines of reporting and responsibility in each Group business.
Sustainable development
Rio Tinto's report on Sustainable development follows the guidelines of the Association of British Insurers and is set out in the Sustainable development area of this report. In addition the performance of the Group and of its separate businesses has been disclosed on the website in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines.
Dealing in Rio Tinto securities
Rio Tinto has a set of rules which restrict the dealing in Rio Tinto securities by directors and employees with access to "inside information". These rules require those people to seek clearance from the chairman or the company secretary before any proposed dealing to ensure that they do not deal when in possession of inside information. Clearance is not given during "close periods" immediately preceding the announcement of annual and interim results. The rules prohibit the hedging of unvested options. The "Rules for dealing in Rio Tinto securities" can be viewed in the corporate governance section of the website.
