That was four years ago. We have been collecting and reporting performance data according to that team's guidelines ever since. In 2004, we brought another group together to weigh in on our progress. This time, the group included customers and distributors, leaders from the Nature Conservancy and the California Department of Conservation, and Rio Tinto and Borax representatives from five continents.

First we asked if we were measuring the right things in the right way. One of the best pieces of advice was this: "People assume that you obey the law, so more than a brief statement on compliance is not impressive or interesting. Tell us what Borax does voluntarily to improve its performance."

Another recommendation was to give people more context - "Reporting how much fresh water you use is fine; but tell us if that's a lot or a little compared to other mining companies; if it's safer to work at Borax than elsewhere." - and to reconsider the relevancy of what we communicate, "Reporting fuel reductions is self-serving; that just saves you money."

There were also requests for more specifics about how we interact with our communities. "How much do you give to communities and what are your criteria for allocating contributions?" and "You need to show how you are helping the community in Boron reduce its reliance on Borax. Generating economic diversity creates greater stability in social systems, just as biodiversity strengthens ecosystems."

We also asked for guidance on how we communicate about our sustainable development program. A consistent piece of advice was to painstakingly seek out and destroy jargon - and to avoid words like "optimize" and "maximize" which lack precision and credibility. Many also counseled us to publish case studies. "People relate to stories more than numbers; what does this mean to regular people in regular jobs?"

The group also addressed the need to tailor the message to the audience. An informal survey of the participants demonstrated that each had different interests, media preferences and tolerance levels for information. "This is a world where you're bombarded with messages. Structure your report like a newspaper so people can find what they need."

Borax also received commendations. "It is very encouraging to see outcomes, not outputs; to see that you're trying to achieve more difficult targets every year." Our Stakeholder Engagement Forum helped us set new targets for 2004 and beyond - the least of which is not to use the term "stakeholder engagement forum." We will apply what we learned from this group, and continue to invite outside perspectives in - to improve both what we measure and what we report.