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Borax prepared its 2003
Sustainability
Report in accordance with the Global
Reporting Initiative
(GRI) 2002 Sustainability
Reporting Guidelines, generally considered
to be the leading international standard for reporting
social, environmental and
economic performance. As a result, we greatly increased
the amount and depth of information presented.
Internal policies and external auditing practices
to guarantee the accuracy, completeness and
reliability of these data are covered in Rio
Tinto’s statement of business practices,
The
Way We Work.
For this report, data are generated by senior
managers and approved by Borax’s Executive
Team. These data are also subject to the following
audit procedures:
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Social
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Borax site
health and safety programs and practices
are audited by regional and national regulatory
agencies. For example, in the United States,
the federal Department of Labor’s Mine
Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) inspects
Borax’s primary mine and refinery twice
annually, and the California Office of Safety
and Health Administration (Cal-OSHA) performs
safety
audits in response to company and employee
requests. |
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Borax and Rio
Tinto safety professionals also conduct internal
audits of our operational sites’ safety
programs |
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Environmental
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The company
maintains external certification of its environmental
management systems through ISO 14001 registration
at each of its worldwide operations |
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Borax’s
environmental programs and practices are
audited by regional and national government
regulatory agencies at each facility |
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Rio Tinto conducted a Data
Quality Review to ensure that environmental
data is complete and accurate. |
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Economic
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Borax’s
financial records are subject to an annual
external audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers. |
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Ernst & Young
are engaged to conduct a program of internal
audits on an ongoing basis to ensure that
the company’s policies and procedures
meet high standards. |
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In 2004,
Borax will be compliant with Section 404
of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, passed by the
United States Congress in 2002 to add rigor
to corporate reporting practices. The Act
requires management to assess internal control
over financial reporting, report on the assessment,
and subject that assessment to external audit. |
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Borax did not subject its 2003 Sustainability
Report to independent auditing. |
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| Click here for Global Reporting Initiative 2002 Sustainability
Reporting Guidlines |
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| Click here for the Rio
tinto's statement of business practices |
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