United Nations Global Compact

Statement of support from Paul Skinner, chairman of Rio Tinto

Welcome to the United Nation's Global Compact section of the website. As a signatory of the UN Global Compact, we report annually on the ways in which we conduct our activities and carry out our programmes to support the Global Compact's ten principles. 

Here you will find out about how we are implementing the ten principles across the Rio Tinto Group and how we are developing processes to enable us to work in a sustainable way, one of the key benefits of which will improve our access to financial, human and land resources into the future. 

Mining is a long term, capital intensive business in which assets are often situated in remote locations, and can last for 30 years or more. This extended timescale means that if we are to deliver financial returns to host governments, local communities and our shareholders, we need economic, environmental and social stability.

You can read my full statement about Rio Tinto's commitment to sustainable development in our 2006 sustainable development review.

About Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto is a founding member of the Global Compact, and we are active members of the UK Network of the Global Compact. Its principles are reflected in our policy, standards and guidance, and we communicate our progress annually.  You can view our 2006 progress here, and our 2005 progress can be viewed on our 2005 sustainable development website.

Rio Tinto regularly participates in Global Compact events such as the Learning Forum, the Local Network meetings, the Human Rights' Working Group, and the Leaders Summit.

Rio Tinto attended the 2007 Leaders' Summit in Geneva, and our chairman signed the "Caring for Climate: The Business Leadership Platform" A Statement by the Business Leaders of the UN Global Compact.

Values and principles

The values and principles implicit in the Global Compact align with and support those that guide Rio Tinto's corporate policies and practices.
 
Membership of the Global Compact provides a meeting ground for debate, sharing of views and dissemination of best practice with corporate peers. In alignment with the Global Compact, Rio Tinto's Human rights guidance provides direction to our managers on implementing the Rio Tinto human rights policy.

The Group actively implements principles common to those of the Global Compact by making progress towards commitments that include:

• increasing the number and quality of targets to improve health, safety and environment performance;
• implementing programmes to improve the safety culture of the Group to meet the goal of zero injuries;
• increasing the focus on occupational health to meet the goal of eliminating occupational illness;
• developing tools to improve best practices including guidelines for environment and social impact assessment and risk assessment;
• improving understanding and communication of potential risks and benefits posed by metal and mineral products on the environment; and
• continuing to improve internal assurance mechanisms including the auditing and reporting process.