A Message from the Managing Director and CEO

A Message from Paul O'Malley

Every day, in a variety of ways, each of us has contact with steel.

From driving your car, taking a train, or sending parcels by ship; to working-out on exercise machines or using your domestic appliances - steel makes it all possible. We depend on steel in our everyday lives.

Steel is highly recyclable and by volume, the most recycled material in the world. Its strength, flexibility and durability make it an ideal sustainable material. Steel is a vital ingredient in an environmentally-friendly world. It provides lighter, more efficient cars; wind towers for renewable energy generation; rainwater harvesting, and it is used in energy-efficient homes and commercial buildings.

Safety – our number one priority

At BlueScope there is nothing more important than the safety of our people. Despite this, tragically an operator at our Phu My site in Vietnam was killed in March 2010 while working on the coating and painting lines. This tragedy reminds us all that we must remain diligent in ensuring our safety and the safety of our workmates.

In 2009/10, the Company’s injury metrics continued at world’s best standard with the Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) remaining below one for the sixth consecutive year. Our actual LTIFR performance of 0.8 compares with the average of 4.0 for the World Steel members’ who report their actual LTIFR. BlueScope’s Medically Treated Injury Frequency Rate (MTIFR) was below five. Our safety performance for the year can be reviewed under the Health and Safety section of this Report.

Our environmental commitment

BlueScope Steel’s Health, Safety and Environment Policy commits our Company to the efficient use of resources, reducing and preventing pollution and product stewardship. We are an environmentally responsible company and have invested more than $500 million over the past 15 years towards environmental projects that improve air quality, energy efficiency, waste management and reduce water consumption.

Recycled water projects

Water is vital in steelmaking, for cooling steel products and equipment. A major water recycling program at Port Kembla Steelworks has consumed 21 billion litres of recycled water since 2006, the year the program began. Today, 98 per cent of the water used at the facility is recycled or salt water. The Port Kembla facility is now one of the most water efficient integrated steelworks in the world.

A similar recycled water project is underway at our Western Port plant in Victoria. This project will cut freshwater consumption by up to 65 per cent.

Climate Change

At BlueScope, we strive to continually improve our environmental footprint. We are committed to reducing the greenhouse gas intensity of our operations. BlueScope Steel is also playing an active role in the global steel industry’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a global problem that requires a global solution. We are working with the world steel industry, and investing with the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Research Organisation (CSIRO), to find new, lower carbon steelmaking technologies.

In the current absence of a global approach to reducing carbon emissions, it is very important that Australia’s domestic climate change policy does not impair the competitiveness of the world-competitive Australian steel industry.

Australian greenhouse gas policy

Regulations of greenhouse gas emissions must not undermine the international competitiveness of BlueScope’s major operations. Carbon pricing in Australia must avoid creating carbon leakage and Australian policy must be aligned with policy amongst our major competitors. For the steel industry, our major competitors are mostly in the Asia-Pacific region and include India, China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan and the US. BlueScope's Greenhouse Gas Policy Principles focus on least-cost market mechanisms to reduce emissions and can be found in this CSE Report under the Energy and Greenhouse section.

Environment results

As we have each year since BlueScope Steel’s inception, we have included in this report the annual results of our water use, material efficiency, steel recycling, air quality and greenhouse gas emissions. We also outline potential energy savings at our major manufacturing sites, which complies with the Federal Government’s Energy Efficiencies Opportunities (EEO) Act.

Our communities are our homes

BlueScope Steel people around the globe share a commitment to our communities. We aim to make a positive impact on people’s lives and to build a sense of community. Our programs, delivered locally where our businesses operate, focus on shelter, water, safety, arts and culture and education.

We also support emergency services and provide assistance in times of crisis such as: the rebuilding of the Xingren Primary School following the earthquake in Sichuan Province, China; construction of the community centre in Marysville after the bushfire disaster in Victoria, Australia; providing shelters and water tanks to the International Red Cross in Haiti; and rebuilding assistance in New Zealand after the Canterbury earthquake.

BlueScope people around the world make a powerful contribution to the welfare and happiness of all the communities where we live and work. You can learn more about our community contributions by watching the video featured in the Community section of this Report or click here

We hope you enjoy this year’s Community, Safety and Environment Report.

Paul O’Malley
Managing Director & CEO