Executive Message

Every business aspires to be sustainable, to reach its full potential. If a business fails, so does its continuing contribution to the world's social, environmental and economic needs. Borax defines its contribution in terms of:

• Return on investment for Rio Tinto shareholders
• Good jobs and a place to develop marketable skills for employees
• Products our customers rely on to grow food crops, create construction materials and build infrastructure
• Economic support for communities surrounding our operations
• Investment in new technologies to improve products and protect the environment

Our business is ultimately dependent on our ability to gain access to resources – natural, human and financial. A strong record of responsible business practices demonstrates that we have the ability to manage those resources wisely. We are also judged on how well we can manage the full spectrum of risk inherent in our business. Customers and employees increasingly differentiate on the basis of environmental and social issues that foster long-term viability, as well as economic performance.

Borax has sustained its business for more than 100 years. Last year, we improved how we engage stakeholders in shaping our program, and how we integrate sustainability into our core business functions. We also met targets to keep people safe at our operations and to learn more about the effects of our products after they leave our gates. Our performance was not as successful in other areas, particularly in meeting our own aggressive environmental targets to reduce water and energy use, as well as air emissions.

This report presents our thoughts on how we define sustainability, what we believe we are responsible for accomplishing, and the steps we are taking to live up to those responsibilities. It has been prepared in accordance with the 2002 GRI Guidelines and represents a balanced and reasonable presentation of our organization's economic, environmental and social performance. We also invite you to read our parent company Rio Tinto's 2004 Sustainable Development Review, available at www.riotinto.com, to understand the overarching codes of conduct that guide how we work.

We cannot define or pursue sustainability in a vacuum. We welcome your feedback and will continue to seek counsel from employees, customers, neighbors, government officials and other important stakeholders to improve how we measure and report our progress. Thank you.

Gary J. Goldberg
Chief Executive