Sustainable development is central to the way we operate our business and develop new opportunities in an economically, environmentally and socially responsible way. We are guided by our values and Business Principles, with governance provided by our Woodside Management System.
Each year Woodside produces a Sustainable Development Report, which summarises our aspirations, activities and performance in the areas of economic performance, environmental excellence and social contribution.
We aim to provide a balanced report, highlighting our successes, as well as areas where we have not achieved the standards that we set ourselves.
Since 2009 we have engaged a Sustainable Development Advisory Panel to provide external feedback on our sustainability reporting, including input on issues that were ‘material’ to our business during the reporting period.
Towards the end of 2010, we undertook a materiality assessment to identify our material issues for reporting purposes in 2010. In our view, issues are material if they have the potential to impact our ability to achieve our business strategy or are of concern to our stakeholders.
With respect to this report, we have determined that our top five material issues are:
- Opportunities, impacts and site selection of the Browse LNG Development (page 14);
- Woodside’s contribution to the regional development of the Pilbara and Kimberley regions of Western Australia(page 20);
- Climate Change (page 26);
- The implications for Woodside and Western Australia of the Montara and Macondo oil spills (page 33);
- Woodside’s delivery on its Reconciliation Action Plan commitments (page 42).
These issues have been addressed specifically in our report.
To ensure that these areas are materially correct and complete, we instructed Ernst & Young to conduct limited assurance on text and data provided on these issues in the report
Our report has also been prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Guidelines Version 3.0.
Our 2010 Sustainable Development Report is published on line. Hard copies can be ordered through our contact us page,and we welcome your feedback on this report.