Driven by society's increasing concern for the origin of the products they buy and under what conditions they are produced, company and pension fund law is evolving to require investment funds to incorporate considerations of the environmental, social and ethical impacts of their investments. Hence there are increasing requirements for companies to report and provide more information on their non financial performance.

There are differing interpretations of what SRI means, ranging from an objective assessment of risks that may affect long term shareholder value to the use of subjective criteria to screen out companies involved in particular products such as tobacco, armaments and uranium.

Reflecting the greater focus on SRI, a number of related initiatives are now being developed. Indexes of publicly listed companies have been developed including FTSE4Good and Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Rating agencies collate information for use in the selection of companies in the indexes and for sale to investment managers.

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), under the auspices of the UN Environmental Programme, is working on standards that will elevate sustainability reporting to the level of financial audits. The UK Company Law Review will require reporting of non financial data. The detail is still being finalised. There are also initiatives in the US and Australia which will require reporting of non-financial information.

Despite the variation in specifics the main topic areas are relatively consistent and include corporate governance, human resources, human rights, safety, health, environment, customer and supplier relationships, and stakeholder relationships. Some also look to investment decision making, and risk management, while the other end of the spectrum look to activities and businesses involved in "unethical activities". The definition of an unethical activity also varies but has included uranium mining, old growth forestry, coal mining and operations located in areas regarded as high risk in terms of human rights.

Rio Tinto's main activities include:

Engaging with investors

Communicating with shareholders