Communities and society

FY24 ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION

¹ Includes wages, salaries, redundancies and employee share awards paid to our employees of our subsidiaries, operated joint ventures and non-operated joint ventures, at our ownership proportion, excluding Sierra Gorda.
² Taxes, licences, royalties and other payments paid to governments (including those accounted for under IFRS as an income tax) for all our subsidiaries, operated joint ventures and non-operated joint ventures, at our ownership proportion.
³ Fully-franked ordinary and special dividends paid in respect of H2 FY23 (US$145M), fully-franked ordinary dividends paid in respect of H1 FY24 (US$18M) and on-market share buy-back (US$35M).

SOCIAL INVESTMENT HIGHLIGHTS

Our FY24 social investment totalled US$23.6 million, distributed across our four focus areas as follows⁴:

• Education and leadership (22 per cent) - supporting learning and leadership development and promoting equal access to education, with a focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics:
  • Over 30,000 students across more than 500 schools and learning institutions in communities where we operate participated in education and leadership programs funded by South32.
• Good health and social wellbeing (20 per cent) - supporting community health, cultural and social wellbeing and promoting inclusion and participation:
  • More than 58,000 people participated in good health and social wellbeing programs funded by South32, reaching over 31,000 households across communities where we operate.
• Economic participation (45 per cent) - supporting local employment, sustainable livelihoods and diversified local economies:
  • More than 300 small, medium and micro enterprises participated in initiatives aimed at supporting local economic development and more than 2,200 jobs were supported across our social investment programs.
• Natural resource resilience (13 per cent) - supporting communities with conservation and restoration of the natural environment, and the use of natural resources in responsible and sustainable ways:
  • Ten regionally extinct mammal species reintroduced, and more than 90 native animals monitored through conservation projects funded by South32, and increased agricultural productivity by mitigating weed infestation across 4,300 hectares of farmland

Read more in the FY24 Sustainable Development Report (pages 29 to 31)

See the full data tables in the FY24 Sustainability Databook

PARTNERING WITH COMMUNITIES

We understand that mining has the potential to impact communities, including Indigenous, Traditional and Tribal Peoples.

Building meaningful community relationships based on trust is essential to the way we operate. This means understanding and working to address actual and potential impacts and participating in transparent two-way communication that is proactive, responsive and ongoing.

Through Our Approach to Indigenous, Traditional and Tribal Peoples Engagement, we seek to work collaboratively to preserve cultural heritage and advance opportunities for economic participation and social inclusion.

FY24 AT A GLANCE

• Developed our second Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan, launched in July 2024.
  
• Increased procurement from local suppliers by 14 per cent and from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses by 11 per cent, against FY23 levels.
• Established a dedicated Workforce Development Taskforce at Hermosa to champion local hiring within Santa Cruz County.

PERFORMANCE SNAPSHOT

Read more in the FY24 Sustainable Development Report (pages 25 to 28)

See the full data tables in the FY24 Sustainability Databook