Our Approach to Sustainability

Our sustainability strategy

In September 2010 we agreed our sustainability strategy after a comprehensive development process, including internal employee interviews. Our sustainability strategy makes a commitment to `the creation of long term economic value whilst caring for our people, our communities and our environment'.

Our commitment to sustainability is reflected in IPL's Values and aligns with our Group strategy.

This year we published our third Sustainability Report and this report mark a step change in the level of our reporting, being the first to use the Global Reporting Initiative's Guidelines for sustainability reporting. You can download a copy of our report here , as well as view our previous reports and other public dislosures of our sustainability performance

Our sustainability agenda

To implement this strategy, we developed a three year agenda to focus our actions over the next three years.

This agenda consists of three key priorities:

We have structured our 2011 Sustainability Report around this agenda as well as reporting on our commitments to safety (Zero Harm) and people (Value People).

Implementing our plan

In addition to business as usual sustainability activities, five projects have been chosen as the keystone of the agenda. These projects have been elected from the risks and opportunities review conducted when developing the sustainability strategy. They are an important component of our strategy. The selected keystone projects will create long term value for the business, represent immediate opportunities, and align with our Group strategy and Company Values.

These projects are: 

1. Use less energy and water and produce less waste within our operations;
2. Develop and implement global community spend guidelines and reporting so that we can prioritise and measure our efforts in terms of investment in the communities in which we operate;
3. Develop and implement a global indigenous employment program ;
4. Research Enhanced Efficiency Fertilisers ('EEF'); and
5. Develop and implement processes to reuse customer waste oil to replace virgin oils used to manufacture explosives.

Read more about these keystone projects and progress by clicking on the links.

Determining the content of our Sustainability Report

Our reporting is based on the internationally recognised G3.1 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

Using the Guidelines, the social, environmental and economic topics associated with our current business plans, strategy, risks and opportunities were identified. Additionally, an analysis was conducted to determine the sustainability topics that our customers, competitors, industry groups and peers consider important.

The GRI indicators corresponding to topics were then identified. A materiality test was then applied to the GRI indicators, taking into account reasonably estimable sustainability impacts, risks, or opportunities (e.g., global warming, HIV-AIDS, poverty) identified through sound investigation by people with recognised expertise, or by expert bodies with recognised credentials in the field.

Significance to stakeholders, including:

• main sustainability interests/topics and Indicators raised by stakeholders (e.g., vulnerable groups within local communities, civil society); 
• the main topics and future challenges for the sector reported by peers and competitors; and 
• relevant laws, regulations, international agreements, or voluntary agreements with strategic significance to the organisation and its stakeholders.

Significance to the organisation, including:

• key organisational values, policies, strategies, operational management systems, goals and targets;
• the interests/expectations of stakeholders specifically invested in the success of the organisation (e.g., employees, shareholders, and suppliers); 
• significant risks to the organisation; 
• critical factors for enabling organisational success; and 
• the core competencies of the organisation and the manner in which we can or could contribute to sustainable development.

From these results we derived the structure for the Sustainability Report and the main contents.

Stakeholder engagement

Stakeholder views are important to us and influence our business decisions. We engage regularly with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, listening to their suggestions, and using their feedback to improve our business. Collaboration helps us to frame our sustainability agenda more effectively and appropriately.

Our stakeholders are those who have a direct relationship to, or are impacted by, our business. They include investors and suppliers of capital, employees, customers and suppliers, industry bodies, governments, the media and the communities in which we operate.