Rio Tinto is a leading global mining group, combining Rio Tinto plc, a public company listed on the London Stock Exchange, and Rio Tinto Limited, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Rio Tinto is involved in every stage of the mining business. Products include aluminium, copper, iron ore, coal, and uranium. Activities span the world but are concentrated in Australia and North America. Rio Tinto made a public commitment, in 2004, to biodiversity conservation and a goal of having a “net positive impact” on biodiversity.

The overall purpose of the proposed IUCN – Rio Tinto relationship is to build a business focused collaboration that enables Rio Tinto to improve its delivery of conservation outcomes, strengthen IUCN and Rio Tinto capacities for market-based approaches to conservation, and contribute to industry-wide improvements in the mining and associated sectors.

In 2004, IUCN’s Council endorsed a “Strategy for Enhancing IUCN Interaction with the Private Sector”. The strategy envisions a sustainable global economy in which businesses are committed and effective partners in achieving a just world which values and conserves nature.

The role of IUCN – in line with its general mandate – is then to influence, encourage, and assist businesses to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable, efficient, and ecologically sustainable.

On these premises, IUCN engages, as a priority, private sectors where change is most important and urgent due to the scale of their impact on the environment and social equity, or where change is most likely based on commitment of the company and its leadership, or where greatest potential exists for a company to positively contribute to environmental conservation.

Specifically, engaging with Rio Tinto in a relationship agreement holds value for IUCN as a result of:

  • the large footprint of the mining industry on biodiversity and the perceived role of Rio Tinto in leading change in the industry as a whole;
  • partnering with Rio Tinto, due to its size, stature, and geography of work, will present specific examples whereby IUCN can engage in extractive industry issues;
  • Rio Tinto is signatory to the UN Global Compact Principles, is among the top three in the sector (according to the 2006 survey of Corporate Sustainability Reporting), and has certified environmental management systems; and
  • the opportunity to engage with Rio Tinto on: the verification of their pledge of having a “net positive impact” on biodiversity; environmental economics and ecosystem service markets; protected areas; and water policies.

In addition, the relationship may undertake any other projects or activities, as the parties agree.

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