Vale 2012 Sustainability Report Message – by Vale CEO Murilo Ferreira (June 2013)

Vale Chief Executive Officer Murilo Ferreira

Click here for the Vale 2012 Sustainability Report: http://www.vale.com/EN/aboutvale/sustainability/links/LinksDownloadsDocuments/2012-sustainability-report.pdf

Message from the President: Commitment to people, life and the planet

The global economic context is now much more challenging than in the last ten years. It is expected that the global economy will grow at a slower pace in the new period we are living in. This requires greater effort and austerity in the management of a large company like Vale.

This is why we face the present difficulties and establish priorities, with transparency as a major element in our management approach. The focus of our investments is the development of world-class assets with long life, low cost, high quality production, with advanced technology, and expansion capacity. In 2012, we presented the third major result of our history.

I highlight the importance of taking into account value generation in close coordination to the commitments we have with life, with people in di erent locations where we operate, and with the planet as a whole.

Our pursuit of operational excellence is based on the preservation of the integrity of each one of us at Vale. Aligned to the pursuit of zero harm to people and the environment, we created “Golden Rules” and initiated the implementation of the Health and Safety Global Management System (SGSS, in Portuguese).

Despite our efforts in 2012, unfortunately 15 fatalities among employees and contractors were recorded, which reinforces the importance of our commitment and the hard work that remains to be done on that front.

To “Value our people”, we are concerned with the training and skills of our employees. We have no doubt that qualifying our professionals maximizes business results and contributes, at the same time, to raise the educational level of the population in areas where Vale operates.

In 2012, 97% of the Action Plan on Sustainability (PAS, in Portuguese) targets aimed at continuous improvement were achieved, with indicators related to energy and water, among others. The PAS enforcement, as well as the performance in Health and Safety, in uence the variable remuneration of our employees, and thus demonstrate the importance that everyone
should give to these indicators in our company.

Such results contribute to advance with the goal of delivering on our “Mission, Vision and Values“ reflecting these principles in the behavior of each one of us. It also helps to strengthen the pillars of our strategy, which are: Care for people; Incorporate sustainability into business; Manage the portfolio with rigor and discipline; Focus on iron ore; Grow through world-class assets.

The integration and deployment of the sustainability agenda in the strategy and practice of Vale’s business is a challenge. In this year, 2013, we are establishing long-term objectives for the topics identified as priorities. For us, there is only sustainability when we work with society, sharing the value generated with all stakeholders. For this, we open and maintain an ongoing dialogue with our stakeholders because we believe that only together we will be able to establish a positive trend and contribute e ectively to the achievement of our social license to operate in the long term.

For us, sustainable development is also capturing the numerous growth opportunities, taking into account the physical limits of the planet. Therefore, we focus on education and research in the use of technologies and the e cient use of natural resources for the responsible practice of sustainable mining.

We can mention water reuse initiatives – already 77% in our operations -, 25 energy efficiency projects implemented in 2012 and the management of greenhouse gas emissions.

We are also committed to continuous advances in the integrated management of the territories to leave a positive legacy in the regions in which we operate. We encourage our value chain on topics such as the management of carbon emissions and the respect for human rights. We advanced in environmental issues with licenses for projects that are vital for the company, such as those related to the S11D Carajás Iron Project – the largest in Vale’s history and the iron ore industry in the world. This represents a step ahead when it comes to conciliating mining and sustainability.

Vale is part of a select group of companies in the United Nations Global Compact Lead and is committed to promoting its principles on issues related to human rights, labor rights, fighting corruption and protecting the environment. We also participated in the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), an important exchange for continuous improvement in sustainability in our industry. This report reaffirms our alignment with the principles established by the Board.

Based on matters that are important to us and our stakeholders, we have invested resources and made efforts to advance in matters that concern our strategy, the people, the planet and the value we create and we wish to share with society.

I thank our employees and partners in general that, in carrying out their daily activities with recognized commitment, contributed to the results we seek to reflect in this report.

I invite you, the reader, to become familiar with these initiatives and maintain a constructive dialogue with us about the topics presented here, reinforcing our commitment to advance further in the mission “To transform natural resources into prosperity and sustainable development”.

I wish you all an excellent reading!

Murilo Ferreira
Chief Executive Officer