The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is an international, multi-stakeholder effort to create a common framework for voluntary reporting of the economic, environmental and social impact of an organisation. The GRI seeks to elevate the comparability and credibility of sustainable development reporting practices worldwide. The most recent Sustainability Reporting Guidelines (the Guidelines) were released in 2002.

Rio Tinto, as a member of the International Council for Metals and Mining (ICMM), is currently working with the GRI to develop a Mining and Metals Sector Supplement. The process to develop the Supplement is following the GRI's due process requirements for a global, multi-stakeholder, consensus-based approach. The scope of work focuses on economic, environmental, and social performance indicators specific to the mining, minerals, and metals industry. A draft for public comment is expected by June 2004. During 2003 we also participated in the GRI's Structured Feedback Process on the 2002 Guidelines.

We believe that the reporting principles identified in the GRI Guidelines are as important as the elements and indicators. The following sections provide a guide as to how Rio Tinto's reporting activities incorporate these principles and where information relevant to the elements and indicators can be found in our 2003 S&E Review. Where elements and indicators in the Guidelines are relevant to Rio Tinto we aim to report against them. In other areas we have reported against indicators and elements that are more relevant to driving performance improvements within our business.

Reporting principles

The 2002 Guidelines identify eleven principles which are 'essential to producing a balanced and reasonable report on an organisation's economic, environmental, and social performance' (GRI 2002 Guidelines, page 22). These are transparency, inclusiveness, auditability, completeness, relevance, sustainability context, accuracy, neutrality, comparability, clarity and timeliness.

Rio Tinto has a number of programmes in place to support these principles, including:

• Policies on openness and accountability in The way we work, with supporting guidance to assist implementation of these policies;
• External assurance of the relevance, completeness and accuracy of the information reported in this S&E Review and that policies and programmes are reflected in activities at operations;
• An internal data quality programme which includes data quality reviews at all business units.

Report content

Use the GRI checklist in the right hand panel to link to relevant sections of the S&E Review.