For us, sustainability is about how good assets and good operational practices combine to create enduring value for our stakeholders, underpinned by our STRIVE principles. Whether it’s a local business supplying our operations, a long-term customer accessing high quality raw materials or an apprentice learning new skills on which an entire career can be built, sustainability has always been at the heart of our company.

It’s a story we’re proud to communicate and one that people want to know more about. Since we launched our first standalone sustainability report for FY19, we have noticed the appetite for ESG information has steadily increased. In that time, we’ve also received and addressed plenty of feedback about what we’re doing well in this space, and where we might be able to improve.

This year’s report is a product of the path we’ve already travelled, but it also signals some changes for the future. During the course of the year, the Board endorsed the company’s first Sustainability Reporting Roadmap, which will guide our approach in the coming years. Among other things, we will look to adopt targets in certain areas, seek external assurance of key data and undertake independent materiality reviews on a periodic basis. This is a multi-year journey but one we are committed to.

As we look ahead, how the world responds to the challenges posed by climate change will continue to dominate discussions in an ESG context. This report makes a number of observations about the relationship between energy use and the population growth driving economic development in our near region. Many of our stakeholders acknowledge the journey to a lower-carbon future is an incredibly complex one and are receptive on the need for a multi-faceted response of which high-quality Australian coal can be a part.

There continues to be interest in how we identify and evaluate the risks and opportunities of climate change. As with previous years we have again responded to the voluntary recommendations of the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, making us the only Australian pure-play coal company to do so. Understandably, how we assess our resilience in a more carbon-constrained world is an area of continuing focus and one we will look to refine in the coming years. We invite you to read more in the Climate chapter of this report.

The past year has also seen more scrutiny of corporate behaviour, whether around supply chain responsibility, respect in the workplace, or working with host communities including Traditional Owners. These topics are all addressed in the following pages. And of course, while the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to pose major challenges for governments and businesses, it has also reinforced the vital role of the coal industry – Australia’s second largest commodity export – in sustaining and supporting regional economies through the period of ongoing economic recovery.

This backdrop of increasing interest in, and public discussion of, the sustainability of our industry underscores the importance of continuing to engage with stakeholders transparently and proactively. To support our ongoing efforts in this area, we invite you to share your feedback at sustainability@whitehavencoal.com.au

The Hon. Mark Vaile, AO
Chairman

Paul Flynn
Managing Director and CEO