Luzenac 20-pages - Rio Tinto

Fostering supplier and joint
venture relationships that are
in line with our HSEC standards
No man is an island. The saying could apply equally well to
businesses. What our partners are doing in the realm of HSEC is
rapidly becoming as important as what we do ourselves. Whether
with regard to the environment, quality, health or safety, Luzenac
seeks to implement the highest possible standards in everything it
does. In return, it expects its partners to pursue the same level of
excellence—our reputation depends on it.
Increasing profile in Japan
2003 was marked by the signature of an agreement with our
Japanese joint-venture partners, Toyota Tsusho Corporation and
Sobue, which gave us overall management control of Nihon
Mistron Company Ltd, a talc processing enterprise.
Nihon Mistron Co. has two processing plants: one at Tomokamai
on the Hokkaido island in the north of Japan, and the other in
Suzuka on the Honshu island. The plants produce around 30,000
tonnes of processed talc a year and employ 16 permanent staff and
a number of contractors.
Both have been in operation for several decades and when we
reviewed local HSEC practices in November last year we were
satisfied with what we found. We have decided to focus initial
efforts on bringing safety practices in line with Rio Tinto standards,
and will be following up progressively with occupational
health and environment. A detailed internal audit and insurance
risk survey looking at fire protection and maintenance programmes
is slated for February 2004, with a full safety audit by Rio Tinto
due at the end of this year.
Sharing best practices with Chinese suppliers
In our 2002 SD report, we stated that Luzenac had set up a
Supply Chain Responsibility programme with its Chinese
talc ore supplier partners. Following an initial visit to our
principal suppliers in the spring of 2002, Luzenac’s Chief
Buyer and our representative in Beijing paid a second visit
in November 2003 to pursue dialogue and continue to share
best practices in the realm of HSEC.
Some suppliers operate underground mines and were
very keen to hear our suggestions and recommendations,
particularly in the area of occupational safety, which, under
the impetus of the Chinese authorities, is now a key issue.
We were also pleased to see that a number of the suggestions
we made during our previous visit had been taken on
board.
In addition to respecting Chinese regulations related to
mining and industry, we are now satisfied that our crude
talc purchases comply with Luzenac and Rio Tinto ethical
requirements.
Promoting sustainable practices with
suppliers and contractors
Our operations continued promoting sustainable practices
with their supplier and contractor partners in 2003.
In June,Talc de Luzenac France invited fifty of its principal
suppliers and sub-contractors to an information session on
Total Quality Management.The aim was to share our values,
inform our partners about our requirements and let them
know how important these areas are to Luzenac so that
they, in turn, observe and apply our standards.We also took
this opportunity to disseminate Rio Tinto’s statement of
business practice, “The Way We Work”.
The presentation was followed by an informal lunch and a
tour of the Trimouns mine. Everybody welcomed the initiative.
In the words of one participant: “This was a good
opportunity to get to know the Luzenac Group better and
to find out more about its sustainable development policy.
We fully support your action plan, which will allow us, we
hope, to strengthen our business relations”.
In April 2003, our Austrian operation, Luzenac Naintsch,
invited contractors who regularly work for them to a safety
seminar held at their head offices in Graz. The aim of the
workshop was to familiarise our contractors with our
HSEC management system and to encourage them to
initiate such systems in their own businesses. ¬
talc for the world 17
In 2003, our French operation installed gantry and
lifeline systems to allow our contract drivers to access
their cargo dome areas safely during loading operations
on our premises. We also integrated general safety
regulations, governing such areas as the wearing of PPE
and safe driving, into all our haulage contracts.
2003
targets vs performance
> We integrated HSE provisions into
all our haulage supplier contracts
worldwide.
> We introduced a formal procedure for
evaluating HSEC aspects of all JV
opportunities.
2004 targets
suppliers & JVs
> Pre-approve all contractors by reviewing
historical performance, level of
training and HSE programme content.
> Assess effectiveness of procedure in
any JV opportunities in the year.