ArcelorMittal Annual Report 2008

ArcelorMittal’s brand promise
is ‘transforming tomorrow’.
The Group understands that its
leadership position in the steel industry
brings unique responsibilities.
ArcelorMittal works towards building
the sustainability of its business as well
as the communities in which it operates
by investing in its people, making steel
more sustainable, enriching its
communities, and running its operations
in an open and transparent way.
It is ArcelorMittal’s conviction that
business growth, sustainable communities
and the creation of shareholder value
go hand-in-hand. Only by addressing
the global issues affecting its business,
its people and its communities can
ArcelorMittal help establish mutually
beneficial stakeholder relationships,
attract and retain top talent and maintain
its ‘license to operate’. While contributing
to the Group’s stated aim of becoming
one of the world’s most admired
companies and demonstrating clear
evidence of its commitment to
sustainability, an effective Corporate
Responsibility (‘CR’) program should
also bring significant returns.
ArcelorMittal aims to adhere to best
practice environmental, social and
governance disclosure guidelines in this
Annual Report, as well as in its CR Reports.
In 2008, the Group published its first full
CR report, providing an overview of
progress made since the merger of Arcelor
and Mittal Steel in addressing the key
economic, environmental and social
challenges that confront it. The next report
will be a comprehensive review of
ArcelorMittal’s CR performance including
a more detailed account of significant and
relevant CR risks and opportunities.
This report will be published during summer
of 2009 on www.arcelormittal.com
To help manage risk and enhance value
creation, ArcelorMittal has a clearly defined
strategy for Corporate Responsibility.
ArcelorMittal believes that the Corporate
Responsibility strategy will enhance growth
of shareholder value, improve the Group’s
capability to deal with local and global
issues affecting its operations and improve
its stakeholder relations.
Corporate Responsibility governance
During 2008 the CR governance structure
at ArcelorMittal was reviewed. The aim
was to make the business quicker to
respond and internalize the management
of issues that arise through stakeholder
engagement, specifically in reference
to social, environmental and ethical risks.
The new CR governance structure
at Group level provides regular reporting
to the Board of Directors and the GMB
by the CR GMB representative. Board
reports that include performance
monitoring are prepared by the corporate
CR team, with the support of the new
CR Coordination Group to ensure that
the management of the Company is given
adequate information for their decisionmaking.
The CR Coordination Group is
constituted by a minimum of four corporate
representatives and invited guests from
the corporation, operating units and
external experts. Each subsidiary is asked
to establish its own formal CR governance
structure, in adherence to the Group level
arrangement. The aim is to establish
a participatory CR governance structure
locally that would support effective
community relations and CR management.
To ensure effective, efficient and
strategic execution of CR across the
Group, the governance structure is
supported by roles and accountability
descriptions for CEOs/plant managers
and CR Coordinators at all levels.
To further improve the capacity of the
organization to deal with CR issues and
to drive and evaluate performance in line
with our business objectives, a set
of CR competencies have been developed
specifically for the appointed CR
Coordinators, in collaboration with
ArcelorMittal University.
The new CR governance principles are
also designed to aid the ongoing
commitment to improve transparency
in our operation and external reporting.
Corporate Responsibility strategy
In 2008, the Group embarked on a study
to analyze the financial impact of CR
on the business and to investigate ways
of embedding CR into mainstream
decision-making. The study highlighted
the potential significance of the CR agenda
to ArcelorMittal’s business and its role
in generating value by managing the
upsides of risks, operating efficiently and
supporting the core business strategy.
In support of this, ArcelorMittal has
a clearly defined strategy for CR.
The CR strategy is aimed at enhancing
growth of shareholder value, improving
the Group’s capability to deal with local
and global issues affecting its operations
and improving its stakeholder relations.
ArcelorMittal’s CR strategy
comprises four themes:
Investing in our people. ArcelorMittal’s
people are the key to its future. It is a
core tenet of its policy that each and every
one is made to feel valued, is treated
with dignity and respect, is provided with
a safe and healthy environment in which
to work, and is given every opportunity
for personal development.
Making steel more sustainable. The Group’s
efforts are focused on achieving a
continuous improvement in environmental
performance through increased efficiency,
the development of pioneering new
processes and acting with customers
and others to help them achieve their
environmental goals.
Enriching our communities. ArcelorMittal
seeks to contribute to the development
of strong and sustainable local communities
wherever it operates. It aims to achieve
this by being sensitive to local needs
and priorities, by engaging with local
communities in an open and straightforward
way and by working in active partnership
with local organizations.
The strategy is supported by
a commitment to transparent governance.
ArcelorMittal will take steps to understand
the true impact of its business, predict
future consequences and manage
risks consistently across its operations.
This is done through incorporating
environmental, social and governance
considerations into risk management
procedures, as well as other existing
systems and processes. It will engage
meaningfully with key stakeholders
and respond in a transparent manner.
To that end it will seek constantly
to improve the quality of disclosures
to investors and of CR reporting, treat
all shareholders equally and communicate
with them proactively, implement
governance policies and frameworks
though the business, and integrate
CR principles into all business and
management practices.
The progress made against the
CR strategy is carefully monitored
through 14 Key Performance Indicators
addressing material CR issues.
The indicators will be measured
locally through existing procedures,
where applicable, and monitored through
local CR committees.
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Corporate Responsibility
ArcelorMittal Annual Report 2008