Purpose and objectives of the Code

The Code is a set of principles and processes that provide a framework to enhance the industry's environmental management. The Code facilitates continual improvement and periodic performance reviews to meet changing government and community expectations, with the bottom line objective of improved environmental performance.

A key requirement is for signatory companies to prepare publicly available annual environmental reports that document their performance and implementation of the Code. These reports are vital in establishing credibility for the Code and for industry's commitment to community consultation.

Reports are expected to be used proactively to provide information on issues of concern to stakeholders, promote the reporting company's achievements, and provide a benchmark for demonstrating continual improvement towards excellence in environmental management.

The Code is complemented by a growing range of industry, company and government policy papers, handbooks, guidelines, training programs and other instruments also designed to facilitate improvement in environmental management.

The Code has several important features:

Adopting the Code will be voluntary. The Code will apply to all a signatory company's activities. Registration will be open to all mining and minerals companies.
The Code does not prescribe specific environmental practices at mining and mineral processing sites. Rather, it sets out key principles for environmental management that allow signatories to progressively improve their performance.
The Code does not set minimum conformance standards to be reached prior to becoming a signatory. The intention is for as many companies as possible to commit to the Code and its principle of continual improvement. Continuing registration depends on release of an annual public environmental report within two years of becoming a signatory. Conformance with Code principles will then be open for review by any stakeholder with an interest in the signatory's activities.