OREANDA-NEWS. Data from the 2013 Sustainability Report published on Tuesday (April 29), gives some idea of the scale of the company's social actions, which involved an investment of USD 265 million in social initiatives. Among the programs featured in the publication were those of the Vale Foundation, which benefitted 107 Brazilian municipalities last year, contributing to Vale's commitment to leave a positive legacy to the communities surrounding its operations and projects by means of open dialogue and mutual respect.

The Vale Foundation, which celebrated its 45th anniversary in 2013, operates from the perspective of territorial development through voluntary social investment in accordance with local demands. According to the Sustainability Report, approximately twenty-three thousand people benefitted from our basic healthcare initiatives alone, counting children, expectant mothers and community leaders. In the education sector, approximately two thousand teachers and school managers underwent training, while work and income-generating initiatives benefitted 205 family farms and provided training for a further thousand young people.

Based upon the premise that sustainable development is not a task that can be achieved in isolated form by a single entity, Vale Foundation is always keen to establish strategic intersectoral alliances based on the Public Private Social Partnership (PPSP) concept, which presupposes the pooling of efforts, resources and knowledge of civil society, government agencies and companies towards a common agenda.

Environment

The report also highlights the fact that Vale protects, or helps protect, 12.4 thousand square kilometres of natural areas, almost 2.5 times greater than the 4.9 thousand square kilometres occupied by its operational units.

Furthermore, the Vale Foundation, a non-profit institution created by Vale, contributed to the protection and/or development of more than two hundred and thirty thousand square kilometres of natural areas in conservation units, settlements and indigenous lands through its various partnerships, thus helping to promote the integrated management of Amazonia's protected areas.

Last year, the water reuse rate among company operations stood at 75%. This represented a saving of one billion cubic metres that Vale would otherwise have drawn from natural resources. The company also achieved reductions of 8.1% in mining residues generated, 10.1% in tailings and a further 6.6% in waste rock. A total of USD 128 million of the overall USD 1.015 billion environmental initiatives budget was invested in residue management.

Emissions reductions remain a priority on the company's sustainability agenda. Vale is committed to achieving a 5% reduction in its projected global Greenhouse Gas Emissions for 2020. In 2013 the company was rated highest in the transparency category amongst Latin American companies by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).

People

In relation to operational safety, Vale continues to strive to achieve a zero injury rate. Total injury figures fell by 7.15% in relation to 2012, to a rate of 2.6 (injuries per man-hour worked x one million). This figure demonstrates the company commitment to our “Life Matters Most” ethos.

Vale continues to make every effort to become one of the best companies in which to work. The Global Employee Survey, which involved more than sixty-four thousand of our employees, found that 79% of them displayed a high degree of sustainable engagement - four points above the global mining industry average - according to the benchmark study conducted by consultants Towers Watson. The social engagement concept comprises the sum of three factors: engagement (connection with the company and a desire to give one's best), organizational support (resulting in productivity and high performance) and wellbeing (physical, emotional and inter-personal).

The survey shows that Vale is on the right track in relation to disseminating gender equality: 85% of employees believe that management recognizes values and supports diversity in the workplace and 89% agree that the company provides a working environment that accepts the differences between men and women.

Transparency

For the fifth consecutive year, the 2013 Sustainability Report saw Vale maintain it s A+ application rating, the highest in the transparency category, presenting its performance from an economic, environmental and social perspective, in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative methodology. The company reported 86 indicators in 2013, reporting all profile items, information on management approach and core performance indicators as well as indicators from the Mining and Metals Sector supplement. The document was subject to independent external scrutiny, in accordance with the principles of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM). The report also demonstrates the correlation with the principles of the United Nations Global Compact.