Industry Associations

Industry association memberships provide benefits to South32, including:

• Collaboration, within regulatory requirements, on issues impacting the sectors we operate in;

• Engagement with government, regulators and other stakeholder groups;

• Involvement in development and implementation of industry policy and standards such as safety, health, environment, tailings management and tax;

• Access to appropriate information, knowledge and support on policy, strategic and tactical issues that supports decision-making;

• Opportunities, within regulatory requirements, to network, exchange international best practice and discuss issues; and

• Contribution to industry leadership and development.

Our participation in industry associations is based on the following principles:

• Individual and company participation adheres to South32’s Code of Conduct, with particular reference to adherence to competition regulations;

• An industry association’s purpose and policy positions are aligned with our own;

• Participation reflects our responsibility and interest in contributing to industry development at local, provincial, national and international levels;

• Benefits received from participation are commensurate with resource commitment requirements e.g. fees, employee time commitment;

• Industry associations do not specifically represent South32. South32 can express its own views and advocate on issues separately as required;

• Industry associations have clear and transparent governance arrangements, including adherence to competition regulations; and

• Unless bound by regulatory requirements, membership is at our discretion.

We have procedures in place to guide membership of industry associations. This includes:

• A valid business case is required that demonstrates consistency with our principles for participation;

• Corporate Affairs and accountable leaders approve memberships based on information presented in the business case. Approval levels vary based on the size, location and scope of membership, and are outlined in our internal procedure;

• The business case must demonstrate that the industry association’s purpose and policy positions are materially aligned with our strategy and values;

• An internal current register of memberships is maintained with associated fees paid;

• Our membership register and any public issues associated with those memberships are reported regularly to our senior leaders; and

• When membership renewals are due, the original business case for joining is validated before renewal is undertaken.

Industry associations are by nature representative of similar member interests, but often from varied backgrounds and perspectives, so consensus on all issues is not possible. We support, and believe in, healthy debate and consideration of other viewpoints. We believe this leads to better understanding, cohesion and beneficial outcomes for members and industry.

As a member of an industry association, we retain the right to represent and advocate our own views. If a material policy difference or other misalignment exists within an industry association, we will take the following actions we consider appropriate:

• Inform the association’s leadership, explain our position and seek clarity on their position;

• Explore opportunities for alignment;

• If alignment is not possible, inform the industry association that we will advocate an alternative view; and

• Where the misalignment is material and outweighs the benefits of belonging, South32 will terminate its membership.

We consider the merits of seeking individual appointment or election to industry association boards or executive committees. These positions provide an additional avenue to derive membership benefits as highlighted.

Outside of director responsibilities applying to individual appointments, holding a board or executive committee position in an industry association does not imply a different South32 approach to that of being an ordinary member.

We maintain a register of industry association memberships and associated fees paid. Our material industry association memberships and associated fees are listed at the end of this page.

We undertake a comparison of material policy positions of industry associations of which we are a member to our own position on specific topics (e.g. climate change), which can be found in our Sustainable Development Report 2020.

We regularly review and update Our Approach to Industry Associations to reflect stakeholder feedback and industry developments.