We regard integrity and reputation as key assets that must be preserved at all times, and aim to comply fully with our obligations as a listed company. Demonstrating responsibility and respect for our colleagues and all stakeholders, and actively listening and responding to their concerns, is central to our business. Our code of business conduct sets out the standards of behaviour we expect from our directors, officers, and employees, and anyone who acts on our behalf.

Compliance is becoming more demanding, and the voluntary codes driven by stakeholders or regulated by law are broadening the scope of what governance covers. For example, disclosure of how we implement human rights and environmental standards, and how we plan to align with the Paris agreement on climate change, are all now part of good corporate governance.  

So, while compliance with regulations is a core responsibility, this alone is not enough. Organisations today must strive to create a positive culture in which everyone wants and knows how to do the right thing. 

Sustainable development governance

We understand that fully integrating sustainable development (SD) into the business is essential to creating long-term value for our shareholders and other stakeholders, while maintaining a profitable market share.

Our  progress on the ground in our business units, at individual sites and on specific projects is overseen by management and the Board. 

The Board of Directors is ultimately accountable for our sustainable development performance and strategic direction.

The Sustainability Committee (SC) of the Board oversees sustainability issues under six management themes: i) product innovation, ii) health and safety, iii) environment, iv) climate change, v) customer reassurance and vi) community relations (see Our Sustainability Approach); and a quarterly summary of the SC discussions is sent to the full Board of Directors. 

The Board has nominated senior officers to take responsibility for each of the six themes, who report on progress against plans and targets and are supported by corporate functions covering strategy, technology, R&D, government affairs, corporate responsibility and communications. The Company also convenes a number of working groups on particular topics, tracks stakeholder expectations as well as long-term trends and considers their implications for the business.

SD is integrated into each business segment’s plan, in accordance with its own material SD issues, and quarterly dashboards and key performance indicators (KPIs); reports summarising the state of SD in the business are also discussed by the SC each quarter.

Climate governance

The company’s response to climate change is coordinated and progressed at senior management level by the Group Climate Change and Environment Committee (CCEC), chaired by one of the five executive officers of the group. Updates on segment plans are provided by the Group CO2 Technology Committee, and on stakeholder expectations and engagement by the group communications, corporate responsibility, strategy, commercial and government affairs teams.

When it comes to capital expenditure, all new major investment projects are approved by the Investment Allocations Committee (IAC). As part of this process, all investment proposals include an assessment of CO2 impacts and any other relevant project sustainability opportunities and risks alongside their commercial and technical value, allowing the IAC to consider how each project would align with the company’s sustainability strategy and in particular its 2050 net zero CO2 target and plan.  The IAC is chaired by the same executive officer as the CCEC, which ensures that strategic overview, progress and capex decisions are aligned.

Besides our steelmaking processes, we work to grow the alignment of our product portfolio and so our future revenues with our sustainability strategy. All new R&D projects are required to use our in-house Sustainable Innovation tool, which ensures that in future all new products will make a positive overall contribution to our 10 sustainable development outcomes.

Sustainable development risk management

We take into account risks that can affect our business and our stakeholders, including those arising from not achieving our environmental, social and ethical objectives. Short-term risks are assessed through a bottom-up process from site management, that is reported on a quarterly basis to the board, whilst longer-term social, environmental, technological, regulatory and stakeholder trends are assessed on a continuous basis by the corporate strategy, corporate responsibility, government affairs and R&D functions, and this analysis is used to inform our strategic outlook, led by the CEO Office.

Sustainable development reporting and disclosure

We articulate our forward-looking approach to sustainability, how it links to our financial objectives as well as our progress each year through our Integrated Annual Review. Key issues are addressed in our quarterly Sustainable development leadership review. In addition, we publish annual updates on a comprehensive list of sustainability metrics in our Factbook. Recently we have published our second Climate Action report (CAR2), given the particular importance of this topic to our ability to create value.