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Introduction
The elaboration of our 2007 sustainability report according to the GRI G3 guidelines, has posed both challenges and opportunities for Vale. This report, which addresses the company's economic, environmental, and social performance, covers the period 2005-2007 – a time of intense internal transformation for our company.
This period was characterized by the rapid expansion of production and the development and implementation of a broad range of projects, as well as by the ongoing integration of companies recently acquired, including MBR – Minerações Brasileiras Reunidas, Inco Limited, and also AMCI Holdings Australia Pty. These changes represented a challenge to the scope and the standardization of the information on sustainability.
The report includes a complete data set for MBR, incorporated in 2006, while data from Vale Inco is reflected only in the numbers for 2007. References to Vale in this document mean Vale and our subsidiaries, including Vale Inco and its operations. The performance of AMCI Holdings Australia Pty, acquired in 2007, and now named Vale Australia, will be included in future reports, according to the progressive approach detailed in the GRI guidelines¹.
Given Vale Inco's long tradition of sustainability reporting and the relevance of its operations to Vale's performance, Vale Inco will be producing a supplementary report for 2007. This report is intended to address issues unique to the nickel business and will be of interest to stakeholders in the various countries where Vale Inco operates.
Additional challenges arise from the complexity and breadth of sustainability issues included in the GRI G3 guidelines. This report covers over 30 GRI aspects, from human rights issues to climate changes, thus creating the need to clearly define the report scope and boundaries. It would not be possible to report all practices, projects and actions which comprise the day-to-day handling of our businesses. These daily activities, in many cases, speak more of our position on sustainability than formal policies. The challenge associated with the description of business practices across such a broad range of issues is further increased when it comes to the description of policies and practices not only for one company, but for a group of companies performing globally, in different businesses and geographies, as it is Vale' case.
At the same time, however, we view the development of this report as a great opportunity for Vale, as it represents a detailed assessment of our policies, practices and performance in sustainability.
Throughout the reporting process, we have revisited our strategic vision on sustainability, identifying opportunities for improvement and the main courses of action to be adopted, keeping in mind the sustainability challenges placed before a company that holds a leading position in the mining industry.
We have also raised greater awareness concerning the issue of sustainability and its relevance to our businesses among a large number of managers and employees who have directly taken part in the reporting process or learned about it through structured communication activities. These activities have supported the establishment of an internal sustainability culture with the GRI principles being a permanent reference in our internal practices and management decisions.
In this first GRI G3 sustainability report, with a B+ application level, we have tried to portray the current status of our management practices and company performance. Our commitment to the future is to seek continuous improvement, using this assessment as a baseline to identify new and necessary policies, action plans and goals which promote excellence in sustainability.
¹ 1 Information reported for the last three years was collected and consolidated in in compliance with the GRI Boundary Protocol – that defines which companies should be included in the report. More details on our reporting approach are available in the "Reporting Process".
