Rio Tinto WA Future Fund Working Together For A Sustainable Future Public Relations Institute of Australia 2006 Golden Target Awards & State Awards for Excellence
Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 Situation Analysis 1 Goals and Objectives 1 Research 2 Target Publics 2 Communication Strategy 3 Implementation 3 Budget 5 Results 5 Evaluation 6 Appendix A: Supporting Material Appendix B: Digital Version of Entry Appendix C: Awards Presentation Requirements
Executive Summary The Rio Tinto WA Future Fund ( Future Fund ) was launched in August 2001 to develop partnerships that contribute to a more sustainable and secure future for Western Australia. The Future Fund is a $2 million per annum initiative, which joins forces with public, private and community sectors to support community, environmental, social and economic programs. Global mining company Rio Tinto established the Future Fund to reflect that a large proportion of its operations (now 37 per cent), particularly iron ore, are based in Western Australia. The partnership model of community investment involves mutual contributions by both Rio Tinto and its partners to achieve greater benefits for the community. The Future Fund s goals include assisting Rio Tinto and its partners to build a stronger community by delivering social, environmental and economic benefits, share skills, knowledge and resources. Since 2001, the Future Fund has signed 34 partnership agreements and committed nearly $11 million to programs. In addition Rio Tinto has provided staffing management, communications and capacity building services in excess of $3.3 million during this time. With contributions from other sources, the total value of these programs has been leveraged into $31 million. Situation Analysis Rio Tinto s extensive operations in Western Australia make the company one of the largest contributors to economic activity in the State. The 2001 decision to establish the Future Fund reflected the company s desire to contribute to the long-term future of the community beyond providing jobs, infrastructure and support for neighbouring communities where the company operates. In establishing a community investment structure, Rio Tinto recognised a need to progress beyond traditional sponsorship schemes by developing joint venture projects so Rio Tinto and its non-government and Government partner organisations could achieve greater outcomes for the community. With this innovation, the Future Fund was arguably the first true partnership program established in Western Australia. Goals and Objectives In establishing the Future Fund, Rio Tinto had the following stated goals: To assist in facilitating a stronger and more sustainable Western Australian community. To enable Rio Tinto to share business success, skills, knowledge and resources. To achieve reputational benefits for Rio Tinto in Western Australia. To assist Rio Tinto to engage with stakeholders outside of the usual channels of communications. The following objectives were set to help achieve the overall goals: Provide $2 million per annum to partnership programs contributing to the future development of Western Australia. Facilitate the establishment of pilot programs by funding more than 20 partnerships in the first year of the Future Fund s operation. Make application processes, policies and guidelines publicly available and establish an ongoing information source for stakeholders through a dedicated Future Fund website. Appoint a Board of Directors, including independent Directors, to guide and provide governance for the Future Fund. Ensure transparency of the Future Fund, including expenditure, through a public annual report. Increase skill levels and knowledge of partnerships among community organisations by providing training, access to expertise and workshops. Establish a regular communications infrastructure including a quarterly newsletter. See Appendix A for 2005 annual report, website and Future Matters newsletter. 1
Research To establish the Future Fund s goals and objectives in 2001, Rio Tinto conducted extensive consultation with 50 key opinion leaders in Western Australia to obtain their views on priority issues facing the State. The group identified issues and initiatives capable of shaping Western Australia s future in five main areas: overall vision, community, economic and industry, environment and regional development. A selection of these opinions can be found in the Sharing the Views publication at Appendix A. The opinions provided insight into challenges faced by the community and ways to respond using people, money and ideas, as well as guiding the key areas for program development. Ongoing research and input from opinion leaders and stakeholders, including the Fund s independent Directors, has further shaped and refined program areas. The Future Fund undertakes regular independent surveys, reviews and health checks to ensure its funding and partnerships meet community needs and deliver real benefits. Target Publics The Future Fund has many primary and secondary publics that are engaged through regular communication. Primary: Federal and State Government relations are crucial to Rio Tinto s operations in Western Australia. Communicating Rio Tinto s community investment activity helps build strong Government relationships important for issues ranging from environmental approvals to smooth delivery of partnership programs. Opinion leaders are a source of strategic input and can be strong advocates for the Fund and its partnerships. Partners benefit directly from Future Fund activity through funding, skills sharing, workshops, training, events and other communication. Employees need a good understanding of Rio Tinto s community investment activity in the State and can become involved in partnerships at ground level. Media organisations are critical in helping inform the general public about the role of the Fund and its partnerships. Community organisations are potential partnership beneficiaries and benefit from improved economic, environmental and social conditions. Similarly, support from the wider community is needed in terms of Rio Tinto s license to operate in the State. Secondary: Rio Tinto s global and interstate operations must be kept informed of Future Fund activity for a coordinated approach to community investment across the wider company. Rio Tinto believes it is important to communicate information on community investment activity to other members of the resources industry to share successes and promote corporate social responsibility. 2
Communication Strategy As outlined, consultative research guided the Fund s focus on key partnership areas to help form a strategic plan for its initial five years of operations. A stand alone communications plan was developed to meet the needs for external and internal communications with stakeholders. Internal communication was important because the Fund was a new entity within Rio Tinto in Australia and its role had to be clearly communicated to business units and their employees. Within Western Australia, Rio Tinto has eight separate business units that operate across more than 20 sites, many in remote and regional areas. Externally the Fund addresses a broad group of stakeholders, requiring a clear communication strategy. This included a quarterly Future Matters newsletter commencing in mid-2002; an annual system of workshops commencing in the first year; an annual partnership review; annual functions for partners and stakeholders; an annual calendar to highlight the various partnerships to stakeholders; plus regular partnership launches and media events, frequently involving Government Ministers. Additional external and internal communications, built around individual partnerships and project milestones, have also been conducted with and by project partners. Implementation The first stages of Fund establishment included appointing Board members, creating application and selection processes, developing pilot partnership programs, agreeing funding levels, selecting partners and creating legal partnership agreements. Establishing a communications infrastructure helped educate stakeholders, including potential partners, about the Future Fund s work. See Appendix A for Future Fund promotional DVD. Educating stakeholders also involved briefing Government and non-government stakeholders so they clearly understood the role of the Future Fund and the types of partnerships that would be formed. Workshops were held with potential partners and stakeholders, with interstate and overseas experts brought to Perth to educate the group on developing and managing successful partnerships. A substantial investment was made in establishing a dedicated management team within Rio Tinto, including a full time manager and two assistants to provide advice about the suitability of new partnerships, support the Board and to work with the partners to establish, promote, evaluate, and enhance their programs. The Fund has now supported 34 different projects in areas relating to youth, education, Indigenous, environment, community, leadership and sustainability initiatives. Over time the partnership strategy has evolved to focus on a smaller number of larger partnerships allowing allows greater resources to be dedicated towards achieving results in key areas of importance to the State. 3
The Future Fund has supported the following partnerships. Organisation Partnership Active Period RTWAFF Funding Total Programme Value Australian Museum BioMaps 2002-2007 $560,000 $1,400,000 Australian Theatre for Young People Operation Pilbara 2002-2003 $20,000 $515,075 Carnarvon Youth Coordinating Network Carnarvon Youth Development Officer 2003-2005 $108,000 $308,000 Community Development Foundation Community Development Foundation 2002-2003 $150,000 n/a Conservation Volunteers Australia Future Volunteers 2002-2006 $411,000 $1,027,760 Department of Local Government and Regional Development State Community Leadership Plan 2002-2003 $30,000 $80,000 Department of Local Government and Regional Development Telecentre Support Unit 2002-2005 $72,000 $835,000 Department of Sport and Recreation Rio Tinto Volunteer Management Scheme 2002-2007 $580,000 $649,000 Disability in the Arts, Disadvantaged in the Arts (DADAA) Northern Exposure 2002-2007 $550,000 $550,000 Foodbank (WA) Foodbank (WA) 2002-2005 $75,000 $1,800,000 FORM Contemporary Craft and Design Garnduwa Designing Futures and Creative Capital Argyle Diamonds Young Women s Leadership Programme 2002-2006 $400,000 $1,675,000 2005-2008 $150,000 $457,500 Graham (Polly) Farmer Foundation Partnerships for Success 2004-2007 $450,000 $450,000 Greening WA Stepping Stones 2002-2005 $340,000 $400,000 Jigalong Community Jigalong Community 2003-2004 $25,000 $827,000 Kojonup Working Working Communities 2003-2006 $100,000 $218,000 Leadership Western Australia Leadership Western Australia 2003-2009 $626,000 $2,228,000 Men of the Trees Carnaby s Cockatoo 2002-2004 $28,000 n/a Mining Hall of Fame Mining Hall of Fame 2002-2005 $300,000 n/a Murdoch University (STAR Programme) Today s Science for Your Tomorrow 2004-2006 $37,500 $37,500 North Eastern Wheatbelt Region Organisation of Councils NEWROC Salinity 2002-2004 $50,000 $1,160,000 Rockingham Regional Environment Centre Naragebup 2003-2006 $100,000 $840,000 Scitech Kids Science State 2002-2008 $1,612,000 $3,657,000 Shire of Roebourne Roebourne Youth Development Officer 2002-2006 $68,000 n/a The Smith Family Learning for Life 2002-2006 $555,000 $655,000 Sports Challenge Sports Challenge 2002-2004 $100,000 $600,000 State Library of Western Australia Better Beginnings 2005-2009 $510,000 $1,882,909 Telethon Institute for Child Health Research Kulunga Child Health Research Network 2002-2003 $70,000 $3,244,000 Telethon Institute for Child Health Research Rio Tinto Child Health Partnership 2003-2009 $1,500,000 $5,200,000 Western Australian Community Foundation WACF Community Development 2004-2006 $200,000 $200,000 WA Government Sustainability Unit Case Studies in Sustainability 2002-2003 $140,000 n/a Western Australian Museum Operation Leo and Operation Bigfoot 2002-2007 $359,000 $414,000 TOTAL $10,276,500 $31,310,744 4
Budget Total Expenditure Future Commitments 2001-2005 2006 2007 Partnership grants $7,339,350 $2,107,000 $1,351,780 Management $1,500,000 $300,000 Admin, Communications & Board $1,190,610 $275,000 *Financials do not include in-kind support, which has not been captured in monetary terms. This includes provision of time by the Board, management and Rio Tinto employees towards attending partner events, providing advice, volunteering on partnership projects and committees and contributing expertise in terms of drafting legal agreements, financial contracts and media training. Results Since 2001 the Future Fund has been involved in 34 partnership agreements and has committed $10.6 million, leveraging partnerships with funding from other sources. This has resulted in $31 million of community programs being delivered throughout the State. The Fund s contribution towards a stronger, more sustainable community can be seen in the varied achievements of the individual programs, including: The BioMaps program with the Australian Museum to map the biodiversity of the Pilbara region has collected 95,000 specimens of which 80 per cent are new to science. The Better Beginnings program with the State Library of Western Australia provides a literacy toolkit to the parents of every newborn in Western Australia and promotes literacy in children aged from birth to three years. The $1.6 million contribution to the Scitech s Kids Science State program promotes scientific statewide learning to children. From January 2005 to July 2006, Kids Science State visited 120 regional towns and 120,000 Western Australians, including 35,000 students and teachers. The program also led 120 professional development sessions for 1026 teachers. The $1.5 million contribution towards the Rio Tinto Child Health Partnership into Indigenous health which was launched by the Prime Minister John Howard in 2004 and supported and part-funded by the Western Australian, Queensland, Northern Territory and Commonwealth Governments. Project one (modeling the WA Aboriginal Child Health Survey in the Northern Territory) has been so successful that the Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council has agreed to consider implementing the model nationally. 5 Where possible, the Fund also introduces individual Rio Tinto business units into partnerships relevant to their operations. The Learning for Life partnership with The Smith Family in Kwinana involves Rio Tinto s local HIsmelt operation. Pilbara Iron s involvement in BioMaps with the Australian Museum and Future Volunteers with Conservation Volunteers Australia provides additional support for partnerships in the Pilbara region. Close partnership arrangements between Rio Tinto and its partners have encouraged shared competencies, access to resources, transfer of skills and proficiencies and improved and new networking opportunities. The Board of Directors, which includes Western Australian business leaders and Rio Tinto s senior managers, brings increased expertise and professionalism and enables further engagement with stakeholders. The Fund and its partnerships have also increased links with Government. Since 2001 the Fund has held 16 Ministerial launches and had close involvement with a number of State and Federal Government Departments and Ministers. Communications activities and events for the various partnership programs have led to recognition of the Fund and its work in media coverage. Programs have been recognised in five awards including a special commendation in the 2005 Western Australian Environment Awards for the company s commitment to caring for the environment. The Fund s work has been promoted via the Future Matters newsletter (distributed to 1,000 stakeholders) and the website, which has now received a total 1.12 million hits, averaging 1,400 per day.
Evaluation Evaluation of the Fund s effectiveness involves comparison of the goals and objectives against the outcomes. The original goals were: Assist in facilitating a stronger and more sustainable Western Australian community: $10.6 million has been committed to 34 partnerships with a total program value of $31 million. Programs help the community build capacity to tackle important issues including economic, social and environmental concerns (see partnership list). Enable Rio Tinto to share business success, skills, knowledge and resources: Annual partnership workshops, networking and training events have been hosted increasing understanding of partnerships among partners and Government. Close collaboration with partners has enabled sharing of skills, expertise, in kind and other resources. Achieve reputational benefits for Rio Tinto in Western Australia: Partnerships have been recognised in five awards, hundreds of media articles and other communications. The latest BRW East Coles Most Admired Companies Survey ranked Rio Tinto as the most socially responsible ASX 100 company. See Appendix A for media articles. Rio Tinto has achieved transparency in community investment further enhancing its reputation. Assist Rio Tinto to engage with stakeholders outside of the usual channels of communications: Partnerships are aligned with the interests of Rio Tinto s community, industry and Government stakeholders. The diversity of partners has given Rio Tinto access to new networks in the community, business and industry. The following objectives were also achieved: Contribute $2 million per annum to partnership programs contributing to the future development of Western Australia: Partnerships were selected based on their ability to contribute to the community. Many partnership successes have been achieved including those outlined. Facilitate the establishment of pilot programs by funding more than 20 partnerships in the first year of the Future Fund s operation: 29 partnerships were established in the first year and many received vital seed funding to become successful long term programs. Make application process, policies and guidelines publicly available and establish an ongoing information source for stakeholders through a dedicated Future Fund website: The website contains information about the Future Fund, its partnerships, the application process and features current news and publications. Appoint a Board of Directors to guide and provide governance for the Future Fund: Thirteen members have served on the Board over the past six years, including five high profile independent business leaders and a senior Indigenous community leader. See annual report in Appendix A for current Board members. Ensure transparency of the Future Fund and its partnership activity, including expenditure, through a public annual report: Three annual reports have been produced since 2003, providing a clear account of expenditure for each partnership and a summary of Future Fund activity for the year. See latest report in Appendix A. Increase skill levels and knowledge of partnerships among community organisations by providing training, access to expertise and workshops: Rio Tinto management and employees provide expertise, business knowledge and involvement to partners. Partners have professional development opportunities that include attending a course at Cambridge University or gaining formal qualifications in partnership brokering. Establish a regular communications infrastructure including a quarterly newsletter: Twelve issues of Future Matters have been distributed to more than 1,000 stakeholders. In-depth survey work has continued and in May 2005 a review was commissioned into the Fund s profile among stakeholders and opinion leaders in Western Australia. Results showed stakeholders wanted greater engagement with Rio Tinto and the Fund; supported Rio Tinto continuing to assist communities and contributing to community involvement at the State level; and advocated funding fewer, but larger projects. This has shaped the future direction for the Fund, particularly in further refining partnership areas and engaging stakeholders. Having spearheaded Rio Tinto s approach to corporate social responsibility for the past six years, the Future Fund is now one part of increasingly broader community investment activity by Rio Tinto. 6
June Appendix A: Supporting Material
Appendix B: Digital Version of Entry
Appendix C: Awards Presentation Requirements