OUR COMMUNITY
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Our Tank a Day Challenge, launched in the previous year, was concluded on 30 June 2008. The one million-dollar program involved the donation of a rainwater tank to an Australian primary school for each school day of the year, with the aim of demonstrating the importance of rainwater conservation to young Australians. Participation rates were very high, with around 2,200 schools and 600,000 students involved - almost a third of Australia's primary schools. The program has been approved to continue in the coming financial year. We are also launching an extension of Tank a Day, called ‘Tankover’, which involves the provision of rainwater harvesting systems to community organisations.
Another important community initiative during 2007/08 was the SmartRoads program, designed to improve road safety. This is a particularly serious problem in some Asian countries such as Indonesia, where increased car use is expected to cause a significant rise in fatalities. During the year, we commenced a SmartRoads pilot program in Jakarta, Indonesia, selecting 16 program ambassadors from our Indonesian operations. Once trained, these ambassadors will address community groups, working to improve road safety.
A formal launch of SmartRoads is due in September, with plans in place to implement the program in other Asian countries.
In May 2008, both Burma and China were struck by natural disaster. The cyclone that struck Burma and the earthquake that occurred in Sichuan, China affected millions of people. BlueScope Steel and our employees supported the work of Red Cross in these areas with donations totalling around a quarter of a million dollars.
During the year, we were involved in a successful regional youth program in the Illawarra area of New South Wales, the home of Port Kembla Steelworks. The Illawarra Mercury BlueScope Youth Band Competition attracted a strong following in the region, meeting our local objectives of supporting youth, art, education and culture. We also launched a pilot maths education program in the Illawarra region, in conjunction with the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute and the University of Melbourne. This program involves 23 schools, and includes the provision of textbooks, teaching resources and professional development for teachers. In Victoria, we launched a partnership with Arena Theatre, a national theatre for schools program, at Western Port Secondary College.
Above: Arena Theatre produces performances for children and young people. As Principal Partner to Arena, we meet our objectives of supporting the arts and education in our communities.
Right: Wattle Park, Victoria. Students at Wattle Park Primary School, one of the 200 schools that received a rainwater tank in the Tank a Day Challenge.
In North America, through the Butler Manufacturing Company Foundation, a non-profit organisation, we support community, education, youth and the arts. The Foundation works towards creating positive solutions to public concerns such as the education of our youth, the workforce of the future, and the health and prosperity of our communities.
In 2007/08, the Foundation developed a new community based scholarship program at secondary institutions located in our communities. The scholarship is designed to provide educational opportunities for youth and to meet the growing need for skilled trades people.
The Foundation also supported the United Way campaign at all participating locations by matching employee contributions, to bring the combined donation to nearly US$400,000.
