Managing Responsibility

Accountability

Our Executive Committee, chaired by the Chief Executive, sets health, safety, social, ethical and environmental policies and standards for Corus. It also monitors their implementation. Each of our Divisions is responsible for implementing Corus’ health, safety, social, ethical and environmental policies. They have the responsibility of putting systems in place that identify, assess, monitor and control hazards and minimise all relevant risks. Further review of our business safeguards is carried out by our Board Audit Committee.

The Corus Board Health, Safety & Environment Committee provides overall governance, and its members are drawn from the directors of Corus. This Committee reviews operational performance, anticipates potential future issues and provides support in setting direction and considering strategic options for improvement. Group Centre, Joint Committees and Group Lead Roles ensure commonality of approach in the two entities, Corus and Tata Steel, with a view to achieving common objectives.

In the end, no matter how effective our systems may be, individual accountability is critical if we are to achieve the very high standards we set ourselves. It is a key priority within the Company to develop a positive attitude to health, safety and the environment among all our employees. We achieve this through our recruitment policies, by ensuring that all our employees receive appropriate levels of training and by fostering a culture where responsibilities are delegated to the point in the organisation at which they can be implemented most effectively.

Management systems

We have established management systems to cover the quality, health, safety and environmental aspects of our operations. These systems allow us to manage our operations effectively. Our systems are largely certified in accordance with international quality, environmental and, increasingly, health and safety, management standards.

Management and measurement

We manage our corporate responsibility performance against clear and objective criteria. We set targets for improvement and then monitor, review and report against these targets and other key performance indicators.

Development of these indicators has been informed by our policies, our commercial, social and environmental objectives, risk identification and assessment, emerging best practice and internal/external consultation.

An integrated approach

We believe that the integration of environmental, social and economic factors within our business processes adds to the sustainability of our operations. We aim to provide products and services that contribute positively to society and improve the quality of life for our employees and the communities in which we operate.