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ArcelorMittal South Africa
Sustainability Report for 2008
Corporate responsibility is at the core of how we do business
worldwide. Simply put, this means that we care about how
we do what we do, namely producing safe, sustainable steel.
By adopting a long-term corporate responsibility plan and
measuring our performance, we are bringing this focus to
every facet of our operations across the globe.
Message from Nonkululeko
Nyembezi-Heita
Chief Executive Officer
”To achieve long-term
sustainability, we have to
strike a fine balance between
our corporate responsibility
and the company’s business
performance.”
Within the pages of this sustainability report,
we describe our impact on society and the
environment and detail our successes and
shortcomings. To achieve long-term sustainability,
we have to strike a fine balance between our
corporate responsibility and the company’s
business performance.
In these difficult circumstances, the monetary
investment in corporate responsibility projects
will inevitably have to be curtailed as efforts and
financial resources are focused on preserving
long-term value.
How we interpret sustainability
Sustainability is one of our three core brand
values. We think of sustainability in terms of
three dimensions:
•
Health and safety
•
Environmental responsibility
•
Engagement with stakeholders
The worldwide economic crisis has developed
beyond the direst of forecasts, affecting every
nation. Though South Africa and other emerging
economies have not fallen as far as developed
economies yet, we can expect the already
significant contraction in demand for our products
to continue for at least the greater part of 2009.
Health and safety
We are committed to producing safe and
sustainable steel. Our goal is to achieve zero
fatalities and injuries among our employees
and contractors involved in the business, a
performance we managed for 14 months during
the 2007/2008 year with respect to the
former. Tragically, a fatal incident at Saldanha
Works on 22 September 2008 led to the loss
of an employee and a contractor, who died from
exposure to carbon monoxide gas. A project team
In this environment, our focus has turned to
the conservation of cash, cost containment
and retaining our customers through consistent
service, quality and dependable leadership. As
always, revenue and cash flow will dictate the
level of investments we can make. All aspects
of our business are affected, from expansion
plans and maintenance schedules to social and
environmental programmes.
