Performance
- Sustainable development
- Aluminium
- Copper
- Diamonds & Minerals
- Energy
- Iron Ore
- Exploration
- Technology & Innovation
- Financial review
- 2010 financial performance comparison
- 2009 financial performance comparison
- Exclusions from underlying earnings
- Net earnings and underlying earnings
- Group financial results by product group
- Cash flow
- Statement of financial position
- Financial risk management
- Capital management and dividends
- Liquidity and capital resources
- Treasury management
and financial
instruments - Foreign exchange
- Interest rates
- Commodity prices
- Credit risks
- Disposals and acquisitions
- Critical accounting policies and estimates
- Off balance sheet arrangements and contractual commitments
- Five year review
- Acquisitions and divestments
- Capital projects
- Home
- Performance
- Sustainable development review
- Independent Assurance Report
What we found
Based on the work described below, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the selected subject matter for the year ended 31 December 2010 has not been prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with the Reporting criteria.
To the directors of Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited (together Rio Tinto),
What we did
Rio Tinto engaged us to perform a limited assurance engagement on the selected subject matter within the Sustainable development review section of the Rio Tinto 2010 Annual report for the year ended 31 December 2010.
Selected subject matter
- Rio Tinto’s assertion that it has incorporated the requirements of the 10 Sustainable development principles of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) into its own policies, strategies and standards
- Rio Tinto’s assertions regarding the approach that it has adopted to identify and prioritise its material sustainable development risks and opportunities
-
Rio Tinto’s assertions regarding the
existence and status of implementation of
systems and approaches used to manage the
following selected sustainable development
risk areas:
- Safety
- Greenhouse gas emissions
- Energy use
- Water
-
The following Rio Tinto performance data
related to the selected sustainable
development risk areas:
- All injury frequency rate
- Lost time injury frequency rate
- Number of fatalities
- Total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
- Greenhouse gas emissions intensity
- Total energy use
- Freshwater withdrawn
- Freshwater use per tonne of product
Reporting criteria
The subject matter above have been assessed against the definitions and approaches presented under the Reporting at a Group level heading on the Our performance page of Rio Tinto’s website (www.riotinto.com/ourapproach) as at 4 March 2011.
Responsibilities
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Our responsibility is to express a conclusion based on the work we performed.
Rio Tinto
Rio Tinto management is responsible for the preparation and presentation of the selected subject matter in accordance with the Reporting criteria.
What our work involved
We conducted our work in accordance with the International Standard on Assurance Engagements 3000 (Revised) Assurance Engagements Other than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information. This Standard requires that we comply with independence and ethical requirements and plan the engagement so that it will be performed effectively.
Main procedures performed
- Making enquiries of relevant management of Rio Tinto
- Evaluating the design of the key processes and controls for managing and reporting the performance data within the selected subject matter
- Testing performance data, on a selective basis, substantively at both an operational and corporate level
- Undertaking analytical procedures over the performance data
- Reviewing a sample of relevant management information and documentation supporting assertions made in the selected subject matter
We believe that the information we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our conclusion.
Liza Maimone
Partner
4 March 2011
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Melbourne
Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation
Inherent limitations
Inherent limitations exist in all assurance engagements due to the selective testing of the information being examined. Therefore fraud, error or non-compliance may occur and not be detected. Additionally, non-financial data may be subject to more inherent limitations than financial data, given both its nature and the methods used for determining, calculating and estimating such data.
Restriction on use
This report has been prepared in accordance with our engagement terms to assist Rio Tinto in reporting its sustainable development performance. We do not accept or assume responsibility for the consequences of any reliance on this report for any other purpose or to any other person or organisation. Any reliance on this report by any third party is entirely at its own risk.
We consent to the inclusion of this report in the Annual report to assist Rio Tinto's members in assessing whether the directors have discharged their responsibilities by commissioning an independent assurance report in connection with the selected subject matter.
Limited assurance
This engagement is aimed at obtaining limited assurance for our conclusions. As a limited assurance engagement is restricted primarily to enquiries and analytical procedures and the work is substantially less detailed than that undertaken for a reasonable assurance engagement, the level of assurance is lower than would be obtained in a reasonable assurance engagement.
