Caring for the Environment

When compared with steel operations around the world, our major production facilities – at Port Kembla in New South Wales, Western Port in Victoria and Glenbrook in New Zealand – are located in both visually appealing and environmentally sensitive areas. It is not surprising therefore, that environmental management is an imperative for our company.

In our first 12 months as a publicly listed company, our people laid the foundations for a significant improvement in our environmental performance.

Consultation with our host communities through surveys, community consultative committees and public forums confirmed that continuous improvement in our environmental performance is regarded as a key measure of our success.

ISO 14001 certification

Through the year we have focused on establishing improved environmental systems, building on the strong legacy of our systems of the past.

By the end of June 2003, we had achieved ISO14001 certification at all of our steel operating sites throughout Australia, New Zealand and Asia. Our Transport and Logistics operations are scheduled to achieve this certification by December 2003.

ISO 14001 is an internationally recognised standard that specifies the requirements for an environmental management system.

Other major developments

BlueScope Steel Western Port recently concluded an agreement with the Victorian Environment Protection Authority (EPA) for a new five-year Environmental Improvement Plan at our operations at Hastings in Victoria. Port Kembla Steelworks also agreed to a five year plan with the NSW EPA.

Also at Port Kembla, as outlined earlier in this report, a $1.5 million Site Improvement Program has been announced and significant water management improvements have been achieved. An independent committee investigating naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORMS) in the Illawarra region released a report in February 2003 which concluded there are no significant risks associated with NORMS from the Port Kembla Steelworks sinter plant operations.

An issue of increasing importance to our business is greenhouse gas emissions. We have put in place a Greenhouse Standing Committee to advise on the management of greenhouse gas emissions as a basis for defining clear and attainable directions and targets. We are also working closely with other stakeholders in the Australian steel industry to address this issue. Over the last decade, overall emissions by the Australian steel industry have reduced.

Environmental incidents

There were no incidents during the year that resulted in environmental harm; however there were five incidents of concern. Although no environmental harm resulted from these events, they remind us of the critical importance of focussing our attention on risk management actions.

There was an oil spill from the Iron Monarch into Port Kembla Harbour.

At New Zealand Steel, an acid tank wall split, resulting in a release of 9000 litres of acid.

At the Port Kembla Steelworks, a discharge of gas main condensate entered Allans Creek following the washing of a gas main.

Also at the Steelworks, an electrical failure led to the coke ovens flaring raw coke ovens gas. There was no environmental harm, however a further power loss resulted in a similar incident with emissions to the air from the coke ovens. BlueScope Steel is cooperating with the NSW EPA in the investigation of this incident.

Ten fines were received during the year, totalling A$13,612.

The NSW EPA advised of prosecutions to be made regarding a coke ovens incident that occurred on 22 October 2001.

Environmental performance

Generally, there was continued improvement across all measures of our environmental performance. These include waste, greenhouse emissions, energy, freshwater consumption, oxides of sulphur and nitrogen.

More information on BlueScope Steel’s environmental performance will be contained in the company’s Annual Report, available in October.

The future

Going forward, our care for the environment will particularly focus on:
• reliable management of environmental risks;
• continuous reduction of waste, emissions and resource use; and
• demonstrating the environmental benefits of our steel products.

For more information about BlueScope Steel:

visit: www.bluescopesteel.com
www.bluescopesteelasia.com
Email: steeldirect@bluescopesteel.com