Vale launches its third anual sustainability report
Vale's 2009 Sustainability Report, which features the highest levels of
transparency, in line with GRI standards, demonstrates the company's
commitment to sustainable development
In recent years, Vale has steadily increased its level of transparency in
communicating sustainability information. In its first Sustainability Report in
2007, 51 indicators were reported, with an additional 22 the following year.
These efforts recently led the company's 2008 Sustainability Report to win the
GRI Readers Choice Award in the Civil Society category. This award is given to
the organization whose report receives the highest number of votes from civil
society, which includes labor unions, public institutions, academics, specialists,
citizens in general and the media. Vale's first two reports were also considered
to be Notable Communications on Progress (COPs) ¹ by the United Nations
Global Compact.
In its third sustainability report, which relates to 2009, Vale achieved an A+
application level, according to the GRI ² methodology, with 86 indicators
reported. For the 2007 and 2008 reports, the application level obtained was
B+. This means that Vale's report, which sets out information on the
company's economic, social and environmental performance, has achieved the
highest level of transparency as defined by the GRI.
The A+ application level takes into account all information provided on the
company's profile and management, essential performance indicators and
Mining and Metals Sector Supplement data. The level also indicates that the
sustainability report was externally checked by an independent entity, in our
case Ernst & Young, which verified the report based on ICMM (International
Council on Mining and Metals) as well as GRI guidelines.
According to Vale's environment and sustainable development director, Vânia
Somavilla, "This report represents a watershed, given that we have achieved
the A+ transparency level in our third sustainability report. This important
advance reflects our alignment with global initiatives to which we are
signatories, such as the United National Global Compact and the International
Council on Mining and Metals."
The report also followed the principle of materiality (relevance), which involved
consulting different stakeholders in order to discover what information they
wanted to see provided in the report. Our stakeholders considered the
following information to be the most important (in decreasing order of
importance): jobs and labor relations; minimization of environmental impacts;
business performance; ethical business practices; environmental conservation;
safety and work accidents; regional legacies; the supply chain; staff training
and development; and communications and engagement.
Environmental actions, technology and the supply chain
In 2009, Vale made it a priority to take action to tackle the challenge of
climate change. Together with the Ethos Institute and the Sustainable Amazon
Forum, the company led the writing and delivery of an open letter on climate
change to the Brazilian government. The letter presented 30 major Brazilian
companies' voluntary commitments to support global efforts to reduce the
impacts of climate change, including the preparation of greenhouse gas
inventories and engagement with government and civil society to contribute to
discussions on public policy in the field. Vale also signed the Copenhagen
Communiqué, a statement issued by global business leaders in support of an
agreement on climate change issues.
Another initiative that warrants highlighting is the creation of the Vale Fund for
Sustainable Development, a non-profit entity that aims to promote sustainable
development, balancing preservation and conservation of the environment with
improvements in socioeconomic conditions in developing countries. Among
other ventures, the fund has established a partnership with Amazon research
institute Imazon to improve the deforestation monitoring system in the
Amazon region. The fund has been given an initial sum of US$26 million to
invest over the next three years.
Every year, Vale produces a greenhouse gas inventory. In 2009, the
company's total direct emissions were 12.1 million tons of CO2 equivalent,
22% down on the previous year's figure. Indirect emissions added up to
around 800,000 tons of CO2 equivalent, 40% less than in 2008. According to
the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), in 2009 Vale once more registered the
lowest intensity of emissions per unit of revenue among major mining
companies, with 522 tons of CO2 equivalent emitted for each US$1 million of
revenue.
Also last year, we began a preliminary diagnosis of emissions produced within
our supply chain, using a progressive approach, with the aim of incorporating
them in our inventory. Our suppliers' emissions totaled 0.6 million tons of CO2
equivalent.
In 2009, 76% of the water used in the company's operations was reused: of
the 1.2 billion m3 we required, 288 million m3 was taken from nature and the
rest was accounted for by recycled water.
In order to develop and support research projects in mining, steelmaking,
energy, eco-efficiency and biodiversity, last year the Vale Technology Institute
(ITV) entered into partnerships with the state research promotion foundations
of Minas Gerais (Fapemig), Pará (Fapespa) and São Paulo (Fapesp). The
partnerships will support research proposals in a variety of areas, such as
reuse of wastes, new processes for producing biofuels and conservation of
ecosystems.
For our business to become truly sustainable, it is essential for this concept to
be present throughout our supply chain. Vale has been working to contract
local suppliers with the aim of boosting the economies of the remote regions
where it operates. The Inove Program, which trains regional suppliers to help
them meet market demands, has been strengthened. Around 400 companies
took part in distance courses and 169 benefited from a credit line. 2009 also
saw the launch of our Suppliers' Code of Conduct, which has the aim of
spreading the principles of ethical conduct followed by Vale in its commercial
relations with companies supplying goods and services.
You can read our complete sustainability report in Portuguese and English at
Other key figures
Corporate governance
As part of the continuing process of globalizing our internal policies and
regulations, in 2009 we approved 15 new documents of global scope.
These include our Sustainable Development Policy, Business Security
Policy, Health, Safety and Environment Rules, and Human Rights Policy,
which reaffirms Vale's commitment to this issue of worldwide interest.
Staff
Vale ended 2009 with 140,600 direct employees and contractors, 78% in
Brazil.
Despite experiencing a significant reduction in demand, we strove to
maintain our greatest store of knowledge and production capacity: our
employees. In order to position ourselves successfully at a time of
economic crisis, we implemented creative means of reducing costs whilst
retaining employees. As a result, our workforce fell by 3.5% from 2008
to 2009, compared with a reduction in iron ore output of 22%.
In 2009, women continued to account for 10% of Vale's workforce,
broadly in line with the global mining sector. Of Vale's female workers,
53% worked as technicians, 39% as specialists (university degree level),
4% were supervisors and 4% worked at management level.
Local development
In 2009, Vale spent US$200.9 million on social initiatives, 13% less than
in 2008, due to the cost-reduction strategy adopted in response to the
global recession. This reduction was smaller than the company's drop in
revenue and output.
Around 16% of this social investment was allocated to infrastructure
projects. One of the Vale Foundation's goals is to contribute to reducing
deficits in urban infrastructure and housing in the areas where the
company operates. The Vale Foundation helps municipal governments to
produce technical plans that are then submitted to the federal and state
governments for funding. As of December 2009, 72 plans had been
produced or were in the process of being produced, benefiting 40
municipalities in the states of Pará, Maranhão, Espírito Santo and Minas
Gerais.
The Vale Foundation has continued to establish new "knowledge stations"
-
human and economic development centers that are managed jointly by
Vale, public authorities and civil society. The objective is to help improve
the quality of life and contribute to integrated, sustainable development
in local communities, leaving a legacy of systematized and
institutionalized knowledge for the regions and municipalities where we
are present. Approximately 30,000 young people will benefit from the 18
knowledge stations to be built by 2012 in the states of Maranhão, Minas
Gerais, Espírito Santo, Pará, Sergipe and Rio de Janeiro.
Also in 2009, the Vale Foundation launched the Brasil Vale Ouro
program, which is designed to select and train athletes in judo,
swimming and athletics in the towns and cities where the company
operates. The program, which operates at knowledge stations,
represents Vale's contribution to elite sport.
Health and safety
The rate of accidents leading to time off work fell 33% from 2008 to
2009 (from 1.5 to 1.0 accidents per 1 million man-hours worked).
Despite our efforts to manage risks and a significant fall in our accident
rates, we regret to say that there were nine fatalities in 2009 at our
operations involving Vale employees and contractors and three fatalities
suffered by transport service providers on highways.
In 2009, we managed to reach implementation of more than 72% of our
"Critical Activities Requirements," fundamental tools to reducing accident
rates within our Brazilian operations, beating our target of 70%.
Vale has been working to encourage the members of its supply chain to
adopt safety measures.
Environment and biodiversity
In 2009, Vale spent US$580 million on environmental projects, 14.5%
less than in 2008. This reduction was largely due to temporary
shutdowns at some operations as a means of dealing with the economic
crisis. Most of the investment was allocated to the following areas:
acquiring and installing environmental control equipment; environmental
geotechnical maintenance and ensuring the safety of tailings dams and
slag heaps; reforestation and restoration of degraded areas as part of
the Vale Reforestation program; and agreements with a number of state
governments in Brazil.
In 2009, Vale produced 436,000 tons of waste (10% of which was
hazardous), 10% less than in 2008. Almost all of the waste was send to
landfills (58%) or recycled (33%).
In 2009, taking into account restoration and reforestation activities
carried out voluntarily on leased land and other land owned by third
parties (land that is not related to our mining operations), we exceeded a
ratio of one hectare recovered/planted for each hectare affected by our
mining operations throughout the world, in line with the commitment we
made in the previous year's report.
Rio de Janeiro, 29th June 2010.
1
Established in 1997, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is a network of sustainability
specialists who have developed a structure to prepare reports on sustainability that is the most
widely used internationally.
2
A COP is a report to stakeholders about the signatory's progress in implementing the ten
principles of the United Nations Global Compact.
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