Corporate Social Responsibility

Recycling is one of the primary ways in which economies can reduce their energy output and carbon emissions. Recycling also preserves scarce natural resources, saves water, and reduces pollution and dependence on landfill.

Output from Sims Recycling Solutions centres contributed to Sims Metal Management handling of 13.3 million tonnes of ferrous and non ferrous metals and materials during fiscal year 2010. This saved more than 45 giga Joules of energy, when compared to the use of virgin materials. That is enough to power 6.3 million households for a year.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), using recycled steel instead of primary ore in steel production reduces:

• Energy consumption by 74%
• Air pollution by 86%
• Water consumption by 40%
• Water pollution by 76%

Sims Metal Management has a corporate commitment to measure and report our sustainability performance in the following areas.

During 2009 we achieved significant reductions in Europe and Asia Pacific. Due to the merger with Metal Management in North America increasing the number of sites, their figures have been mostly excluded from the comparisons shown.

These key performance indicators, together with our reporting on fiscal parameters and corporate governance, form the basis of our response under the benchmark guidelines as set out in the Global Reporting Initiative. During Fiscal Year 2009, Sims participated in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) for the fourth consecutive year, and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the second time. Since its formation in 2000, the CDP has become the gold standard for carbon disclosure methodology and process, providing primary climate change data to the global market place.