Structure and Responsibilities
Our organisation for sustainable development is characterised by the following key features:
- The Sustainability Committee of the Board provides assurance on HSEC matters across the Group.
- Line management has primary responsibility and accountability for HSEC performance.
- The HSEC function provides advice and guidance directly, and through a series of networks across the business.
- Clear links between remuneration and HSEC performance.
- The HSEC function advocates best practices and commercially effective global solutions.
At every level of the organisation, our line managers are responsible for HSEC matters. Although they are supported by functional personnel who provide specialist advice and support in managing all aspects of HSEC, ultimate responsibility rests with the general and senior management teams. Executive remuneration is directly linked to the financial and non-financial performance of the Company. Non-financial performance indicators include health, safety, environment and community targets.
The diagram below illustrates this organisational structure.
See below for further details on the following responsibilities:
- Sustainability Committee of the Board (formerly HSE Committee)
- Risk Management and Audit Committee
- Global Ethics Panel
- Executive Management
- HSEC Forum
- Corporate HSEC
- HSEC Networks
Sustainable Development Organisational Structure
Sustainability Committee of the Board (formerly HSE Committee)
The Company's peak HSEC governance body during the reporting period was the HSE Committee, a subcommittee of the Board. Membership comprised two executive Directors; a non-executive Director (Committee Chair); the Vice President Health, Safety and Environment (HSE); and recognised international experts in the fields of health, safety and the environment. For profiles of HSE Committee members see HSE Committee of the Board Membership.
The Committee had two key purposes:
- to advise the Group Boards of the effectiveness of the HSE management systems and strategies in place for delivering the BHP Billiton objective of Zero Harm
- to provide independent HSE advice to BHP Billiton on specific issues and exposures.
Towards the end of the reporting period the structure and role of the HSE Committee of the Board was reviewed resulting in a recommendation to restructure the Committee to the Sustainability Committee of the Board. The role of the Sustainability Committee will be to assist the Board in gaining assurance that the appropriate systems are in place to deal with the health, safety, environmental and community risks faced by the Group. In so doing, the Committee will focus on:
- evaluating the effectiveness of the Group's policies and systems for identifying and managing the health, safety, environment and community risks that are material to the achievement of the Corporate Objective
- assessing the policies and systems within the Group for ensuring compliance with health, safety, environment and community regulatory requirements
- assessing the performance of the Group having regard to the impact of health, safety, environment and community decisions and actions on employees, communities and third parties, and on the reputation of BHP Billiton
- evaluation and oversight on behalf of the Board of the quality and integrity of sustainability reporting to external stakeholders.
Executive members and external advisors will no longer sit as members of the Committee but may participate in Committee work at the discretion of the non-executive Director members. At the time of release of this Report, the new members of the Committee had not been appointed. We look forward to reporting on the outcomes of this new structure in the coming year.
While not a governance body, the Forum on Corporate Responsibility brings together representatives of our senior management team, the leaders of several key non-government organisations and community opinion leaders to discuss and debate social and environmental matters relevant to the Company.
Risk Management and Audit Committee
The purpose of the Committee is to assist the Board to fulfil their corporate governance and oversight responsibilities in relation to financial reporting, internal control structure, risk management systems and the internal and external audit functions. In this role they oversee the Global Ethics Panel.
Global Ethics Panel
The Global Ethics Panel promotes the effective implementation of our Guide to Business Conduct. Further detail on the function of the Global Ethics Panel is discussed in Business Conduct.
Executive Management
Executive management comprises of the BHP Billiton Office of the Chief Executive, Executive Committee and the Operating Committee.
The Office of the Chief Executive includes the heads of Non-Ferrous Materials, Carbon Steel Materials, Energy, legal, marketing and finance. The Office of the Chief Executive is responsible for sustainability policy across the Group.
The Executive Committee includes the heads of the Customer Sector Groups (CSGs), legal, marketing and finance. The Executive Committee have a communication and influencing role across the Group.
The Operating Committee comprises of the heads of our key operating divisions, marketing, finance and human resources. The Operating Committee are responsible for ensuring the implementation of the HSEC Management Standards across our operations. HSEC issues are included in the agenda for each meeting.
HSEC Forum
The HSEC Forum is the peak functional group and includes Corporate representatives and HSEC functional heads from each CSG. The Forum is chaired by the Vice President HSE and sets the direction for the HSEC function, identifies priority issues, measures HSEC performance and builds consensus for the way forward.
Corporate HSEC
Core HSEC governance functions are provided from the Corporate Centre, with the majority of staff embedded in the Customer Sector Groups. A critical component of the HSEC governance function provided by Corporate is the HSEC audit program, specifically designed to ensure our Charter, Sustainable Development Policy and HSEC Management Standards are effectively implemented across the Group.
HSEC Networks
Across the Company, various specialist networks have been formed to foster the sharing of knowledge. Each network consists of people from across the business who apply what they know around topics of common interest. Five specialist HSEC Networks have been established to manage the development of HSEC practices and the response to issues of Company-wide significance. The networks include:
- Community Relations Network
- Environment Network
- Occupational Hygiene Network
- Safety Network
- Fatal Risk Control Protocol Network.
