Rio Tinto businesses contributed a total of US$70 million to their affected communities in 2003, an increase from the US$48 million in 2002. Approximately US$7 million of the increase was due to exchange rate movements against the US dollar.

In 2003:

• 35 per cent was community investment, which covers initiatives in areas such as health, education, community infrastructure and enterprise development... more details. This reflects the effort and resources that Rio Tinto businesses put into providing socio economic programmes that support and enhance the livelihoods of those communities affected by the Group's operations;
• 29 per cent was direct payments to communities, usually under formal, legally binding agreements; and
• 21 per cent represented management costs associated with these programmes.

Data reliability

Terms used

Note: The sum may not equal 100% due to rounding values.

Contributions to communities by type in 2003 (US$ million)
Type	Cash	Time	In kind	Total
Charitable gifts	3.2	0.1	1.1	4.4
Community investment	23.1	0.7	0.9	24.6
Management costs	12.8	1.9	0.1	14.8
Commercial initiatives	5.8	0.2	<0.1	6.0
Direct community payments	20.5	<0.1	<0.1	20.5
Total	65.4	2.9	2.1	70.4

Note: the sum may not always add up to the total due to rounding values.