Materiality

This year, we supplemented our printed report with a more detailed web-based version. To ensure our alignment with the GRI principle of materiality for defining content, we conducted a materiality analysis.

Our definition of ‘material information’ in connection with our reporting on sustainability matters is: information that may impact or influence the company, and has the potential to influence the perception of stakeholders who intend to make decisions and assessments about Teck’s commitment to sustainability.

Subject matter and indicators in a GRI-compliant sustainability report should reflect a company’s most significant environmental, socioeconomic and social impacts, and should help stakeholders make informed assessments and decisions. Therefore, we used the results of our materiality analysis to set the content in this year’s report.

Our approach to Materiality Analysis comprised the following steps:

1. Review stakeholder groups and compile issues raised from engagement activities and various topics covered by the media
2. Collate issues raised from internal risk assessments and from our sustainability report working group
3. Review issues in sustainability reports produced by our peers and industry associations (e.g. ICMM, MAC)
4. List regulatory requirements, commitments to stakeholders, and requirements of voluntary initiatives
5. Rate the level of importance to Teck by applying the Five-Part Materiality Test to each issue and assign a score (see Table 1 below)
6. Rate the level of awareness and importance to each stakeholder group by (see Diagram 1 below)
   a. what we know
   b. what stakeholders tell us
   c. what we hear in the media
   and assign a score
7. Based on the assigned scores, situate the issue in a “Materiality Matrix” for internal planning purposes. (see Diagram 2 below)

Based on our assessment, the subjects of greatest importance to our stakeholders and/or to Teck in 2007 are listed in the below areas, in no particular order:

• Community engagement and development
• Environmental management and industry issues
• Climate change
• Safety and health
• Employee retention and attraction
  

Table 1
5-Part Materiality Test When testing each issue to rate the level of importance to Teck, we considered:
	Materiality Test	Relevant Sources of Information
A.	Does the issue have direct short-term financial impacts?	Issues relating to business strategy and plans, risk assessments, accidents and penalties/fines, areas of lobbying expenditure.
B.	Does Teck have a related (or strategic) policy?	Corporate policies and existing commitments to stakeholders.
C.	Are Teck’s competitors (industry peers) considering this issue to be material?	Sustainability reports, stated policies and practices of competitor organizations. Issues highlighted by industry associations and corporate responsibility organizations (i.e. International Business Leaders Forum, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development).
D.	Is this issue one that our stakeholders consider important enough to act on (now or in the future)?	(see also Stakeholders Perception of Issues, below).
E.	Is this issue considered a “social norm”?	Areas of regulation, proposed regulation and international agreement, voluntary codes and multi-stakeholder frameworks/initiatives. Emerging norms highlighted by governments, intergovernmental bodies and NG Os.

Diagram 1		Diagram 2
Stakeholders' Perception of Issues When assessing importance to stakeholders based on level of awareness, we considered: 0 not relevant 1 awareness amongst a few, but no real concern 2 broader awareness, but little concern 3 considerable concern amongst a minority 4 considerable concern amongst many 5 high level of widespread concern		Materiality Matrix