ESG performance reporting for leaders
There are many areas of ESG we can look to when assessing progress in the resources sector. In part one of this series, Gemma Tognini, Executive Director at GT Communications spoke to the Honourable Fred Chaney, abut the succession of engagements with First Nations people since the Mabo judgement. In part two, Alison Terry, Non Executive Board Member at Bannerman Energy, shared a corporate perspective.
“I joined Fortescue about seven years ago,” Terry said, as a panel member at the AusIMM Thought Leadership Series 2021, while serving as Director Sustainability and Corporate Affairs at Fortescue Metals Group. “We’re in reporting season at the moment. Life was pretty easy [in the past], we did an annual report. There was some sustainability content, some corporate social responsibility.”
Alison joined Fortescue in 2014 as Group Manager Corporate Affairs and also served as Joint Company Secretary, before stepping down from her executive roles in 2022. Prior to joining Fortescue, she held senior executive roles in corporate affairs, legal, company secretarial and general management across a number of sectors including automotive, telecommunications and electric vehicle infrastructure. She is also a board member for UN Women Australia.
“Fast forward seven years and next week, we’ll lodge our annual report, our sustainability report, our climate change statement and our corporate governance statement,” Terry said. “And at the end of the year we’ll update and reissue our modern slavery statement, so there’s a big demand for this kind of information and this level of transparency from companies like Fortescue.”
On a practical level, Terry offers another example: “If we think about our engagement with our investors - even going back two years - investor round tables, investor briefings were really all about corporate performance. Now our CEO, Elizabeth, will often host and address investor meetings or round tables, solely on our ESG.
It might be on climate change; it might be on our heritage commitments. It’s almost as if the corporate performance is the given and what investors want to know is “what are you doing in these really important areas?”.
Enjoyed Alison Terry's insights?
If you're a leader with ESG reporting or deliverable repsonsibilities, explore AusIMM's upcoming Operationalising ESG online short course, commencing on 27 March.
Learn about Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles, standards, analytical methods including ESG risk assessment, workforce skill requirements and management applicable at minerals projects and operations.
This article was adapted from the AusIMM Thought Leadership Series 2021 webinar.