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MESSAGE FROM PAUL O’MALLEY

MESSAGE FROM PAUL O’MALLEY

Steel is fundamental to our world today. Every one of us comes into contact with steel every day, from modes of transport such as cars, trains, aeroplanes, and highways to office buildings and medical equipment.  Steel has many essential elements that contribute to its sustainability. It is lightweight, flexible, durable and recyclable, making it an ideal material for a variety of uses. Steel is also integral to the economies of both the developed and developing countries with its use increasing significantly over the last decade.

Steel-making has an effect on the environment primarily by consuming finite raw materials and water, and creating CO2 emissions. Our communities rightly demand that steel producers are environmentally responsible.

At BlueScope Steel, our philosophy is ‘where we can, we do.’  We work continuously to improve our environmental footprint and help others to do likewise through our sustainable products and solutions. We have five core environmental beliefs:

  • Reducing greenhouse gas emissions
  • Reducing pollution to land, air, and water
  • Reducing waste to landfill
  • Optimising material reuse
  • Recycling and conserving energy and fresh water
We are making good progress in improving our environmental footprint. Port Kembla Steelworks is now an Australian leader in water conservation and water management. Our award winning primary schools’ education program, ‘Tank A Day Challenge’ is now in its second year. Tank A Day has been introduced to one third of all Australian primary schools and is helping more than half a million school children understand the value of water in Australia.

While we are proud of our achievements, we recognise more must be done. The Company is also contributing to international and domestic research efforts, in partnership with other steelmakers and the World Steel Association, to find a new, low carbon iron-making technology. However, a commercial breakthrough is expected to be many years away.

Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS)

During the year, the Australian Government proposed a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS). While we support the government's policy objective in seeking to cut greenhouse gas emissions, we think some of the policy detail needs to be refined.

In particular, we believe the government needs to ensure assistance is set at a level that adequately addresses concerns about competitiveness, and it must continue until there is effective and enforceable international action to cut emissions. That includes major competitors such as China.

And the government needs to make sure Australia does not get too far ahead of the rest of the world, which could cost the economy dearly for little or no environmental gain. 

We will continue to engage with the government on the design of the scheme.  The government will be releasing draft legislation early in 2009. It has said it intends to seek passage of the legislation through the Parliament by mid-2009. At that time, we are likely to have a clearer picture about the likely financial and operational impact of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme in BlueScope’s business in Australia.

Results

As we have each year since BlueScope Steel's inception, we have included our annual results for our water use, material efficiency, steel recycling, air quality and greenhouse gas emissions. This year, we are also outlining our potential energy savings at our major manufacturing sites which is in keeping with the Federal government’s Energy Efficiencies Opportunities (EEO) Act.

Safety

Safety at BlueScope Steel is vitally important. It’s our number one priority. Our goal is Zero Harm. We believe this can be achieved and we work every single day to reach our goal.

This year, our Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) was less than 1 injury for every million hours worked. Our Medically Treaded Injury Frequency Rate (MTIFR) improved, dropping by 29 per cent to 4.0 incidents per million hours worked.

But this is not enough. Tragically, in May 2008, a contractor was fatally injured while operating high-pressure water jetting equipment at the Port Kembla Steelworks. Following this, Stop for Safety sessions were held across the entire organisation to determine what we could do to prevent such a tragedy from recurring. It is our firm belief that we can create a workplace in which no one is injured in the course of their job. We can only achieve this through a constant focus on safety.

Community

For us at BlueScope Steel, our communities are our homes. This is a key value in Our Bond and one we live through our Tank A Day Challenge and SmartRoads program, to cite just two examples.  

In January, the ‘Tank A Day Challenge’ moves into its second year and an extension program called ‘Tankover’ will be launched. Tankover involves providing rainwater harvesting systems to community organisations.

Another significant community initiative commenced during the year was the SmartRoads pilot program in Indonesia designed to improve road safety. This program follows on from our Fit to Drive program on the Mornington Peninsula where our Western Port operation is located.

Road safety is a serious problem, particularly in some Asian countries such as Indonesia where motorcycle usage predominates and increased car use is expected to cause a rise in fatalities. Through the pilot program, 16 program ambassadors selected from our Indonesian operations are being trained in road safety. Once trained, they will address community groups to help improve road safety conditions in areas where we operate.

These are only a few of the community programs we have underway. We work closely with the communities in which we operate with a focus on nurturing youth, assisting the disadvantaged, enhancing community facilities and supporting the arts and cultural activities.

We are issuing an online CSE newsletter in February 2009 featuring our latest stories and case studies on our community, safety and environment initiatives. Until then, I hope this compliance report is of interest to you and invite you to write us with your comments. You can send an email to: questions@bluescopesteel.com

Sincerely,


Paul O’Malley
Managing Director & CEO


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