ABOUT THIS REPORT

In our first Sustainability Report, published in November 2004, we outlined why sustainability is core business for us. We also detailed the value we believe our business delivers in helping to reduce risk.

This report, covering IAG's performance for the 2005 financial year, is our second step in sustainability reporting and outlines the progress made to date. It also details some of the challenges experienced while working to create a sustainable organisation.

This year's report again goes to the heart of our purpose. We describe how sustainability is inextricably linked to our reasons for being - to pay claims, understand and price risk, manage costs and reduce risk.

As was the case in the 2004 financial year, this report covers IAG's Australian operations only. It does not include operations in New Zealand, China or Thailand. IAG New Zealand published its first Sustainability Report this year which is available at www.iag.co.nz/sustainability.

Input into our Sustainability Report

In June 2005, an internal Sustainability Report steering committee was established to guide the production of this year's report. The committee included key representatives from across IAG's business including the areas of Personal Insurance, Chief Financial Office and Culture & Reputation.

In compiling this report, IAG sought input from employees at all levels and various external stakeholders including community and environmental organisations and business partners. We also used industry benchmarking, feedback from Corporate Social Responsibility indices, stakeholder surveys and peer reviews to determine content.

This year, we have added new indicators to our reporting process. These are:

  • the number of employee volunteer hours;
  • number of employees who identify themselves as indigenous Australians; and
  • the IAG population aged 25-34 (inclusive) compared to the Australian Labour Force of the same age group.

Each of these indicators is a key measure for our community and people strategies.

We continue to measure our activities against the internationally recognised Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework for sustainability reporting. The 29 key indicators in this report have been externally verified by KPMG. Details of verified indicators can be found in the Assurance statement.

Assurance statement

In keeping with our commitment to reduce our CO2 emissions, we have made the decision to produce an online report this year, with a limited number of printed concise versions. While we acknowledge some people may prefer to read the complete report in print, we believe it is important to use as many opportunities as possible to reduce our CO2 emissions.