Sustainability reporting

Tragically, in August 2025, our colleague Mohamed Camara was fatally injured while changing a heavy mobile equipment tyre at the SimFer mine site in Guinea. A comprehensive investigation was completed and several key actions are underway to strengthen fatality prevention measures, including enhancements to our Critical Risk Management framework.

We are also greatly saddened by the recent death of a colleague following an incident at the SimFer mine site in February 2026. We are determined to learn from these incidents, improve the effectiveness of our controls, and to do everything we can to prevent tragedies like this from happening.

We also share, with deep sadness, that we were informed by our joint venture partners of 3 fatalities at our non-managed operations and one fatality on one of the non-managed marine vessels.  

We care deeply about the safety, health and wellbeing of everyone involved in our business, and these tragedies highlight the ongoing need to prioritise these aspects every shift, every day.

In 2025: 

• We recorded 87 potential fatal incidents (PFIs). Falling objects, fall from height, and vehicles and driving remain our most prominent critical safety risks, representing almost 70% of our PFI profile. Entanglement and crushing has also emerged over 2025 as a critical exposure, with one permanent damage injury (right hand finger amputation) sustained at Rincon. 
• Our safety maturity improved by over 5%, reaching our target score of 5.7.
• Our all-injury frequency rate (AIFR) remained at 0.37 in 2025, consistent with 2024.
• We experienced 5 significant potential process safety events: 2 at Yarwun in Australia, one at Vaudreuil in Canada, one in Sorel-Tracy in Canada and one at Grande-Baie in Canada. 

Occupational health:

We aim to ensure everyone goes home safe and healthy every day. In 2025, we recorded 196 new occupational health illnesses (2024: 225). Many occupational illnesses develop over a long and continuous period, requiring sustained efforts to reduce exposure over time.  

In 2025 we: 

• Focused on strengthening the accuracy and clarity of health risk profiles across the business. This is underpinned by the implementation of Group health bowties, which provide a structured approach to identifying hazards, controls, and escalation pathways. Complementing this, control verification guidance helps to review the effectiveness of critical controls and supports informed decision-making and proactive risk management.
• Continued to standardise how occupational health and hygiene data is digitally collected and accessed, transitioning from manual to more secure and streamlined digital collection processes that deliver improved risk and trends insights to support our health management initiatives. Furthermore, we expanded health and hygiene reporting availability to provide real time insights and enable targeted risk-reduction focus. We implemented [22] targeted projects across [14] assets to successfully reduce exposures to known health risks for our employees and contractors.

Mental health and wellbeing:

Psychological health is a core part of our safety and health culture, with particular attention on creating a psychologically safe and healthy workplace.

In 2025 we:

• Enhanced psychosocial risk management through the introduction of a Group Psychological Harm Bowtie, supporting effective control of identified risks. This was reinforced by mental health and wellbeing training completed by 3,948 leaders (61%).
• Embedded principles of good work through people experience programs that promoted respect and inclusion, fair pay and flexible work, effective consultation and communication, and career development and progression opportunities. This included improvements to talent identification processes and the implementation of job adjustments across the employee lifecycle.
• Continued to shape the approach to psychological health with data-driven insights, including results from the twice-yearly People Survey informing targeted interventions and areas for improvement. 
• Advanced workplace and role design initiatives to enable psychologically safe and healthy working environments. These efforts included facility upgrades and actions to strengthen team and organisational culture, all aimed at reducing or eliminating psychosocial risks.
• Provided employees with tools and skills to support their psychological health, such as our global Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and our global Peer Support Program, where all of our 2,129 peer supporters are trained in mental health support. We also continued to offer domestic violence support programs to all Rio Tinto employees.
• Delivered awareness initiatives through global campaigns such as World Mental Health Day and our company-wide Mental Health month, “Wellness Matters”, which featured activities, wellbeing resources and an external video series.
• Maintained meaningful partnerships with mental health organisations, including Lifeline Australia, a new 5-year partnership with Western Australia-based Telethon, and our continuing support for the Fondation Jeunes en Tête in Quebec over the last 30 years.
• Made contributions to industry-wide improvements of psychosocial risk management as an active member of the Minerals Council of Australia Psychosocial Risk Management Working Group, and through our active participation in the ICMM Psychosocial Risk and Worker Wellbeing Management Working Group, including a significant contribution to the newly released tools for psychological safety and health.
• Improved our standing in the CCLA Corporate Mental Health Benchmark Global 100+ ranking to the Top Tier, for the first time since the benchmark’s inception.

Listening to our people

In 2025, we ran 2 People Surveys to hear directly from employees and identify how we can make improvements across the business.  

Almost 40,000 employees participated in the Q4 survey, contributing over 140,000 comments – a 40% increase from Q4 2024 – showing a strong willingness to share honest feedback. Our employee satisfaction score (eSAT) was 74 and our Recommend Rio score was 72, both consistent with prior years. “I feel safe at work” remained the highest-scoring statement (79, up from 78 in Q4 2024), followed by “I am treated with respect at work” (78 up from 77 in Q4 2024) and “The work we do here is meaningful” (77 up from 76 in Q4 2024). Scores for taking meaningful action (60 up from 58 in Q4 2024) and confidence in Rio Tinto’s Executive Committee (62) were in line with 2024, indicating stability but reinforcing the need for continued focus. 

We empower leaders to turn survey insights into meaningful conversations that drive progress. With advanced AI sentiment analysis, leaders gain a clearer view of employee feedback, uncover deeper insights and better understand what results mean for their teams.

Building respect

Creating an inclusive workplace

Developing our talent

We strengthened our Talent Management by introducing a refreshed talent evaluation approach, including a new potential model to assess employees’ readiness for more complex or senior roles. Talent evaluations were completed for the majority of people in leadership or professional roles. In 2026, we will expand evaluations further across the business and enhance how we develop all employees, including accelerated development for those showing potential for more complex and challenging roles. 

Career conversations continued to be embraced, and to simplify our People Practices, we integrated these into the Performance 6 framework for 2026. 

Our Graduate and Intern Programs remain key talent pipelines. In 2025, we welcomed 140 graduates from 8 countries, of whom 65% were women, and 270 interns across 12 countries, of whom 57% were women. Our graduate program ranked #1 in the Mining, Oil and Gas sector on Prosple Australia’s Top 100 Graduate Employers list for 2025, and we were recognised as one of Canada’s Top Employers for Young People. We also simplified processes and communications to improve the experience for graduates and interns globally. 

In 2025, 6,606 new hires joined the business, of whom 1,843 were contractors becoming permanent employees (2024: 6,084 new hires of whom 1,821 were contractors). 

Investing in leadership development

In 2025, 124 of our most senior leaders completed the Voyager program, bringing overall participation to 91%. The program strengthens leaders’ ability to model psychological safety, demonstrate empathy and build genuine connection, helping them lead with confidence in an increasingly complex environment. 

We maintained a strong focus on coaching, with 461 leaders completing the Leader as Coach program – a key enabler of our Safe Production System rollout. 

Leadership Fundamentals, launched last year, continued to grow in 2025. The program builds core leadership skills through modules on team development and creating safe, inclusive environments. To date, 351 frontline leaders have participated, supporting consistent leadership capability across our operations. This year, we also developed new supervisor and superintendent programs to reinforce leadership expectations and skills. Piloted in Brisbane, Oyu Tolgoi and Saguenay with positive feedback, these programs will roll out globally from 2026. 

Equality through pay equity 

In 2025, our equal pay gap – which measures the extent to which women and men employed by our company in the same location and performing work of equal value receive the same pay - was less than 1.5% in favour of men. Our gender pay gap - which reflects the difference between the average earnings of women and men across the Group – was less than 1% in favour of women. Together, these outcomes reinforce our ongoing commitment to ensuring fair, equitable pay across our global workforce.

Footnotes:

¹ Includes our total workforce based on managed operations (excludes the Group’s share of non-managed operations and joint ventures,  and legacy Arcadium Lithium employees). The percentage of women in our workforce, including legacy Arcadium Lithium employees (and excluding the Group’s share of non-managed operations and joint ventures) was 26.2%, as of 31 December 2025.

² A UK business-led and Government-backed review that has established targets relating to the number of directors, and requires companies to set a target relating to the number of senior management, who identify as minority ethnic in UK-listed companies.

Our water balance

Our Group water balance outlines where water was withdrawn from, discharged to, recycled, or reused and consumed at our operations. The reported categories correlate with the requirements of ICMM and the Global Reporting Initiative. 

We also report on our aggregated water balance for sites in water stressed areas. We assess water stress using the World Resources Institute’s Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas mapping tool. 

Our water performance

Our total operational withdrawals for 2025 were 1,147 gigalitres (GL) (2024: 1,250 GL). Freshwater, or category 1 quality, withdrawals accounted for 386 GL or 34% of this total (2024: 399 GL). Freshwater is generally suitable for consumption with minimal treatment required. Where possible, we aim to minimise our extractions from water sources of this quality. 

Total discharges for 2025 were 626 GL (2024: 641 GL). Total water recycled or reused for 2025 was 374 GL (2024: 344 GL).

Our activity

We progressed several initiatives in 2025 that demonstrate our ongoing recognition of the importance of respecting rights, partnerships, innovation and transparency. These include: 

• Implementation of the QIT Madagascar Minerals water strategy, with transparent reporting of water management and performance data through the 2024 Water Report and monthly dashboard, in parallel with community-focused programs.
• Construction of Stage 1 (4 GL) Dampier desalination plant, which will allow us to reduce our groundwater withdrawals from the Bungaroo Aquifer in the Pilbara, Western Australia, and establishment of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Western Australian Government to assess feasibility for a Stage 2 plant expansion.
• Management or involvement in regional water monitoring and engagement programs, including initiatives in Gladstone Harbour (Queensland, Australia), Nechako Valley (British Columbia, Canada), and Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean (Quebec, Canada). 
• Piloting technologies for water treatment and metal recovery at our Kennecott operation in the US, including use of plant-based methods (phytoremediation).
• Working collaboratively with stakeholders to improve our understanding of the cultural value of water.
• Entering a partnership with Skarn to develop an innovative water intensity benchmarking dataset for the lithium sector.
• Updating our Surface Water Allocation Disclosure Dashboard and continued work on an expansion of the dashboard to include groundwater information in 2026.

Our mineral waste generation and disposal volumes have remained similar over the past 5 years, however there is more annual variability in non-mineral waste volumes and disposals, which is largely driven by mine development and closure activities.

Looking ahead, we aim to maximise resource efficiency while eliminating waste and recovering valuable materials. We will continue to explore circular solutions and innovative ways to manage materials.

We operate 111 TSFs across our global assets. Of the 111 TSFs, 40 are active, 24 are inactive and 47 are closed.

In 2025:

• We’ve continued to progress our implementation of the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM). This focuses on preventing tailings facility failures, reducing the social and environmental impacts of tailings facilities, and improving engagement and transparency on tailings with local communities. We have also assessed our progress on implementation through self-assessment and independent audits, using ICMM’s GISTM Conformance Protocols.
• We achieved full GISTM conformance for the “Very High” and “Extreme” consequence classification tailings facilities, and for the majority of the “Low”, “Significant” and “High” consequence facilities. 
• Our product group and Closure teams will continue to work towards full conformance and we will report our performance yearly in accordance with the GISTM requirements.  
• In August 2025, in accordance with Principle 15 of the GISTM, we updated our public tailings disclosures for the 14 “Very High” and “Extreme” TSFs we operate and published new information on a further 84 tailings facilities rated “Low”, “High” or “Significant”.  
• We continued to regularly convene the Tailings Management Committee with our designated Accountable Executives. This provides coordinated governance of tailings management practices across the Group. 
• We continued to play an active role in the ICMM tailings working group, which provides guidance to support the safe, responsible management of tailings with the goal of eliminating fatalities and catastrophic events. 

Year in review

We are committed to being responsible operators throughout the entire life of our assets, delivering value at every stage – from discovery to closure.  

Today, we plan for the end right from the beginning, incorporating closure in each stage of the asset lifecycle in the way we design, build and operate. We work with communities, governments and other stakeholders to complete closure activities and repurpose and renew sites for their next use.  

In 2025, we continued to advance delivery of our major closure projects in Australia and management of our global legacy portfolio. Key highlights include:

• Argyle diamond mine: We continue rehabilitating the former Argyle diamond mine on Miriwoong and Gija country in Western Australia. We have made significant progress on reprofiling the former processing plant area, and waste rock dumps, and capping the tailings storage facility. We have now passed beyond 85% overall project completion, and the removal of the Argyle mine accommodation facilities, utilities infrastructure and airport is nearly complete. We’re continuing to review our contracting strategy to focus on work awarded to Traditional Owner businesses, spending A$47.1 million in 2025 (2024: A$44.9 million).
• Gove refinery and residue disposal areas: In 2025, we completed demolition of the remaining large structures of the refinery. Working with Traditional Owners, and through careful planning, we took measures to ensure the protection of an important cultural heritage site during demolition activity, understanding its importance to the Yolŋu. We have processed around 127,000 tonnes of scrap steel for recycling since 2023. We continue to advance soil remediation of the refinery site as we work towards final landform and revegetating the area. We are progressing rehabilitation work of the former BRDAs, completing civil works on Pond 5 to prepare for monitoring and maintenance, and starting work on Pond 6 South, working with a Traditional Owner business on enabling works. We launched a pilot housing demolition program for properties unsuitable to be retained, to create opportunities for local builders to develop new and diverse housing on vacant, serviced lots. Work to upgrade services such as sewer lines, power and water is also underway. We are developing programs that build local capability and resilience, including partnering with schools to offer virtual work experience opportunities for young people. We continue to be an active member of the Gove Peninsula Future Reference Group along with Traditional Owners, Northern Territory and Commonwealth governments, and the Northern Land Council, to support planning for the region’s future and helping transition to a post-mining future. 
• Ranger Rehabilitation Project: We continue to operate under the Management Services Agreement (MSA) with Energy Resources of Australia Ltd. (ERA) to manage the Ranger Rehabilitation Project with oversight from the ERA board. We hold approximately 98.43% of ERA’s shares and in April 2025, we began the compulsory acquisition process to acquire the remaining shares in ERA. In May 2025, objections were lodged during the objection period by the holders of at least 10% of the ERA shares subject to the acquisition notice. We have applied for court approval of the proposed compulsory acquisition of the remaining shares in ERA, and the matter remains before the court. In 2025, we progressed Pit 3 dry capping, installing geotextile and beginning the initial dry capping layers. We continue to face challenges in drying the tailings surface and are assessing engineering options and solutions to continue the capping works in 2026. Other aspects of the project are making good progress including environmental management, regulatory approvals, stakeholder engagement, land tenure negotiations and technical studies. 
• Legacy assets: We have achieved safe closure status at Argyle TSFs ATD 1, ATD 2 and ATD 3 at the former Argyle Diamond Mine in Western Australia and the Kelian in-pit TSF at Kelian in Indonesia. At Holden and Ridgeway in the US, Kelian Namuk in Indonesia, and Segoussac in France, TSF risks are considered as low as reasonably practicable, demonstrating improvement in risk management.
  

Delivering on our climate commitments is central to strengthening resilience and economic performance as we work to become the most valued metals and mining company.  

Our Climate Action Plan (CAP) remains at the heart of this mission, guiding our strategy to grow production of materials essential for the energy transition, decarbonise our operations, and support our partners in reducing value chain emissions. It also reflects our commitment to a just transition for the communities where we work and to grow responsibly in a changing world. 

Our updated 2025 CAP provides an overview of our climate change strategy, commitments, targets, and forward-looking plans.

Key highlights

• Our 2025 gross Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions (adjusted equity basis) were 31.5 Mt CO₂e, a reduction of 0.2 Mt CO₂e from the previous year. Reductions were driven by the increased use of renewable diesel at Kennecott offset by higher emissions from increased production, particularly in iron ore and copper.
• As of 2025, our gross adjusted Scope 1 and 2 emissions are 14% below 2018 levels. After applying high-integrity offsets, our net adjusted Scope 1 and 2 emissions are 17% below our baseline. Overall reductions were primarily achieved through renewable energy contracts including the use of unbundled renewable energy certificates in regions where new energy is under development.
• We retired approximately 1.01 million Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs) to meet our 2024 Safeguard Mechanism compliance obligations, compared to the anticipated 1.1 million ACCUs.
• Final safeguard liability and surrendered ACCUs for financial years 2024-2025 were less than the planned reported values, therefore the net emissions number and carbon credits have been restated.