Governance and Transparency Starts with Us
May 5, 2022 · START
START Responsible Aluminium plays a key role in efforts to achieve a more sustainable future. By telling the entire story of sustainable aluminium orders, we’re setting a new standard built on supplying transparent insights into key environmental, social, and governance criteria (ESG criteria).
With these resources, our customers can ensure their aluminium products are responsibly and sustainably produced—from mine to market. The ESG criteria not only include supply chain visibility, but awareness into the treatment of our people, our communities, and the global environment in which we operate.
As part of Rio Tinto, we want to serve as an example for the entire aluminium value chain; operating with integrity is of utmost importance to us.
START has strong processes to ensure our business is in line with the law, local regulations, and our own core values. We follow Rio Tinto’s corporate code of conduct, The Way We Work. This code provides clear expectations for how we should conduct our business, no matter who we work with or where we are from.
We also provide clear rules regarding:
- Third-party benefits
- Managing conflicts of interest
- Facilitation payments: Sponsorships, donations, and community support
- Mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures
- Engaging third parties
Enabling Governance
We know that START’s integrity—and our reputation for strong governance—hangs on the actions and decisions we make each day across our business. We are committed to a culture of transparency and encourage our employees, contractors, and other partners (including community members) to speak up about their concerns. These concerns can be brought through management, Rio Tinto Human Resources or Ethics & Compliance, through our confidential whistle-blower programme, or through community complaints and grievance mechanisms.
We empower and equip our people to seek guidance when faced with a genuine business integrity dilemma—both to prevent incidents from occurring, and to protect them and others from harm. This includes providing training to build our employees’ awareness of issues, like bribery and corruption, and to help promote consistent instincts—and decisions—across the business.
Enhancing Transparency
With a mission to positively impact the entire aluminium value chain, START enhances governance and transparency beyond our own walls. Through the START platform, partners gain access to materials containing key ESG criteria. These include benchmarks related to social and governance categories so partners can recognize progress and identify opportunities for improvement.
These benchmarks include indices and ratings from:
- Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI)
- Responsible Mining Index (RMI)
- Corporate Human Rights Benchmark
- Workforce Disclosure Initiative
In addition, START customers are supported by our Sustainability Advisory Services. The consultancy services are available to our customers to assist them in making positive social impacts and achieving their sustainability goals.
It STARTs with Us
At START Responsible Aluminium, we understand that progress in governance and transparency starts with our own efforts. That’s why we are dedicated to operating with respect, safety, and integrity while empowering our customers to do the same.
Together, we can build a more sustainable and responsible future.
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