Communities

Supporting strong, thriving communities.

Material Topic Information

Why it matters

Fortescue is guided by the imperative of being welcomed by the communities that host our business activities.

Ambition

We aim to maintain a social license to operate by supporting community wellbeing, delivering strategic social and community investment, and upholding our values, commitments, and best practice social performance standards.

Contributing to SDG's

Salient Human Rights Issues

Materiality

Communities at Fortescue

Fortescue is deeply committed to building strong, sustainable, and mutually beneficial relationships with the communities in which we operate. We recognise that our success depends on the trust and collaboration of local communities, and we strive to create enduring social, economic, and environmental benefits in partnership with them. Our approach is guided by a commitment to respect human rights, support economic development, and ensure that communities are empowered to shape their futures.

FY25 Highlights

In FY25, Fortescue achieved significant progress in community engagement and social investment.
We contributed $90 million to social investment initiatives, including partnerships with MADALAH Limited and the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Our landmark partnership with Hedland Senior High School supported STEM education and cultural programs, while our support of the Pilbara Safe Spaces program will provide essential services for at-risk youth.

To date, we have resolved 17 of the 19 community-related grievances we received in FY25, demonstrating our commitment to addressing stakeholder concerns.

These outcomes demonstrate Fortescue’s dedication to creating positive social and economic impacts while addressing potential risks and challenges.

In FY26, Fortescue will continue our community investment programs and build on our partnerships with communities through social impact assessments and proactive and regular engagement.

$ 90.1m

Total Social Investment

Our total contribution initiatives includes partnerships with MADALAH Limited and the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

17

Resolved community-related grievances

This demonstrates our commitment to addressing stakeholder concerns.

FY25 Performance

A full breakdown of our FY25 Communities data is provided in our FY25 ESG Databook located in our Document Library.

Read our FY25 ESG Databook

Impacts, dependencies, risks and opportunities

Fortescue’s activities positively impact local communities through economic benefits and social investment, but may pose risks like environmental disruption. Our success depends on community collaboration, and proactive engagement helps to mitigate risks while unlocking opportunities for shared value and sustainable partnerships.

Fortescue’s operations have the potential for both positive and negative impacts on local communities.

On the positive side, our activities generate significant economic benefits through local procurement, employment, and social investment. Initiatives such as the Vocational Training and Employment Centre (VTEC) and partnerships with organisations like MADALAH Limited provide education, training, and career opportunities for First Nations Australians. Our social investments also contribute to the long-term social and economic resilience of the communities we serve.

Significant negative impacts to local communities as a result of our Pilbara operations are limited, partly due to the nature of these operations and the way they were developed to complement existing local communities, rather than establish new towns or communities to support mining operations.

However, mining and energy projects can also have potential negative impacts if not managed responsibly. These include disruptions to cultural heritage, environmental degradation, and the displacement of local economic activities. To address these, Fortescue conducts rigorous social impact assessments and implements comprehensive mitigation measures, ensuring that communities are consulted and engaged throughout the project lifecycle.

Fortescue’s ability to operate successfully is closely tied to the support and collaboration of local communities. We depend on their participation in approvals processes, their acceptance of our activities, and their trust in our commitment to respect their rights and values.

Strong relationships with communities also enhance our social license to operate, enabling us to build long-term partnerships that drive mutual benefits. This includes access to local knowledge, cultural insights, and workforce capabilities, which are critical for the success of our projects and the sustainability of our operations.

Community-related risks to Fortescue include approval delays, legal challenges, and reputational harm. Insufficient or ineffective engagement with local communities can hinder the achievement of business objectives, leading to project delays or cancellations. For example, failure to address community concerns about environmental or cultural impacts could result in regulatory non-compliance or loss of trust among stakeholders.

Additionally, there is a risk of negative social impacts if Fortescue’s activities disrupt local livelihoods or fail to deliver expected benefits. These risks underscore the importance of proactive engagement, transparent communication, and the implementation of appropriate mitigation measures.

Fortescue mitigates these risks through early and continuous engagement with stakeholders, robust impact assessments, and adherence to international best practices.

For more information, please see the Corporate Governance Statement, located in our FY25 Annual Report, in our Document Library.

Fortescue’s engagement with communities presents significant opportunities to create shared value and strengthen relationships. For example, our partnership with Hedland Senior High School supports STEM education and cultural programs that empower local youth, build regional capability, and inspire the next generation to consider future careers with Fortescue.

Collaboration with First Nations peoples is another key area of opportunity. Through programs like VTEC and Leadership Empowerment for Aboriginal People (LEAP), Fortescue supports the development of First Nations leaders and creates pathways to long-term employment. These initiatives not only enhance social outcomes but also strengthen our reputation as a responsible and inclusive employer.

Proactive community engagement is another significant opportunity for Fortescue. By actively involving local communities in our projects from the outset, we can build stronger relationships and enhance project outcomes. This approach not only fosters trust and transparency but also ensures that community concerns and insights are integrated into project planning and execution, leading to more efficient and mutually beneficial outcomes.

Our Communities Strategy

Fortescue’s Communities strategy is centred on building sustainable, thriving communities through meaningful engagement, inclusive economic development, and targeted social investment. This strategy is guided by our Human Rights Policy and Communities and Social Performance Standard, which provide a framework for managing social impacts and delivering positive outcomes.

Key components include:

Conducting social impact assessments to identify and manage risks and opportunities.
Implementing stakeholder engagement plans that reflect local needs and priorities.
Supporting local procurement and First Nations employment to drive economic development.
Investing in education, healthcare, and infrastructure to enhance community resilience.
Establishing effective grievance mechanisms to address community concerns transparently.

A Closer Look

Managing Communities

Fortescue manages its relationships with communities through a structured framework of policies, standards, and governance processes. The Communities and Social Performance Standard provides a global approach to managing social impacts throughout the lifecycle of our projects, ensuring alignment with international best practices.

Key elements of our approach

Conducting social impact assessments to identify and mitigate potential risks.
Developing stakeholder engagement plans based on detailed stakeholder mapping.
Implementing community grievance mechanisms to address concerns transparently and effectively.
Monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of our social investment programs to ensure alignment with community needs.

Day-to-day management of community engagement is led by Fortescue’s Communities teams, both in Australia and globally. These teams engage closely with local stakeholders to build trust and address concerns, delivering meaningful benefits and ensuring alignment across the business.

Governance

As a signatory to the UN Global Compact, we align with Principles 1 and 6:

Principle 1: Support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights
Principle 6: The elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

Fortescue also applies ICMM Principles 3, 9, and 10, which emphasise human rights, social performance, and meaningful stakeholder engagement. These principles form the foundation of our Communities strategy, which is implemented through a structured framework of policies, standards, and governance processes.

Governance of community-related matters is overseen by the Safety and Sustainability Committee (SSC), which reports directly to the Board. Operational responsibility lies with the CEO Metals and Operations for mining operations and CEO Global Growth and Energy for growth and energy activities, supported by the Director of Approvals, Communities, and Environment.

Policies and Standards

Our Human Rights Policy, sets our expectations for the way we meaningfully engage with local communities, respectfully manage and minimise potential impacts and deliver positive social and economic benefits to support sustainable and thriving communities.

Key commitments include:

Implementing social performance systems and undertaking social assessments to identify and manage risks and opportunities.
Ensuring that all communities where we operate are free to make decisions, are given sufficient time to engage and are fully informed about any projects and their potential impacts and benefits.
Avoiding or minimising resettlement or economic displacement.
Implementing effective grievance mechanisms that respect local laws.

To read our Human Rights Policy go to our Document Library.

The Communities and Social Performance Standard has been developed to support the management of our social activities as well as the implementation of our Human Rights Policy. The governance and management of our community affairs are framed in this standard. It sets out our global approach to managing social performance throughout the life cycle of our projects, applicable across all operations and infrastructure activities.

The Standard outlines our requirements and processes for:

1. Building & Maintaining Stakeholder Acceptance – know who our stakeholders are, and what they value and expect. Engage communities how they want to be engaged. When appropriate, adopt Informed Consultation and Participation approaches and apply the principles of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).

2. Managing Social Risks – identify early on what the potential social risks of a project may be, in particular material business risks, as set out in Fortescue’s Risk Management Standard.

3. Managing Social Impacts Effectively by preparing a fit for purpose Social Impact Assessment and Social Impact Management Plan, inclusive of human rights, as well as specialised studies and work programs, as required.

4. Supporting Thriving Communities, implementing effective local content strategies and designing and executing a strategic Community Investment Plan reflecting the project type, scale and community needs.

5. Addressing Community Complaints through establishing a well-managed local-level Community Grievance Mechanism.

6. Ensuring our Commitments are Effective – do what we say we will do, track our commitments and undertake regular monitoring and evaluation.

All Fortescue employees and contractors engaging (directly or indirectly) with host communities are expected to adhere to this Standard.

Our Processes and Procedures

Our Grievance Procedure guides how Fortescue records, manages, remediates and closes out grievances related to our activities. Our Grievance Procedure is aligned with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and requires that wherever Fortescue has an active presence, a local-level grievance mechanism is established. This provides a formal process for the community to raise concerns and ensures transparency in grievance management. Grievances relating to any of Fortescue's operations or developments can be communicated through two processes: Fortescue's global feedback channel and project-level grievance processes.

For more information on our policy, procedure and remediation processes, please refer to Human Rights.

Global Feedback Channel

Our global feedback channel provides an independent, confidential and anonymous mechanism for any members of the community to raise concerns or grievances at the corporate level. This grievance mechanism can be accessed via multiple channels, including toll-free phone, WhatsApp, web form and traditional post.

Project-Level Grievance Processes

Project-level grievance processes are typically developed in collaboration with local communities to reflect local and cultural norms. The process is then shared with the community, with the primary feedback channels being in person through our Community Liaison Officers, or via local contact numbers.

Ensuring we identify, assess and manage our community impacts is a requirement of our Communities and Social Performance Standard. For our Pilbara operations, social impacts have been assessed as part of project approvals completed and maintained under the Environmental Protection Act 1986.

We conduct assessments of environmental and social impacts for all significant growth activities. In FY25, Fortescue completed a Social Impact Assessment of our Pilbara Decarbonisation Program and established the plan framework for ongoing measurement and assessment of associated mitigations and benefits. Globally, we are currently initiating an environment and social impact assessment for the Belinga Project in Gabon. We aim to meet good practice guidelines such as the International Finance Corporation Performance Standards.

We perform country risk assessments, including completion of thorough due diligence.

Our evaluation of community-related risks and opportunities is integrated into multidisciplinary, company-wide risk management processes and is considered as part of our overall business strategy.

For more information about our risk management process please see the Corporate Governance Statement, located in our FY25 Annual Report, in our Document Library.

Compliance

In Western Australia, the Environmental Protection Act 1986 incorporates requirements for environmental and social impact assessment for all significant developments. Each of Fortescue's Pilbara mining operations have undergone assessment under this Act, and records of impact assessment and consultation (including community engagement, public submissions and Fortescue responses) are maintained on the website of the regulator; the Environmental Protection Authority of Western Australia.

In other jurisdictions, Fortescue adheres to local regulatory requirements and conducts due diligence to ensure compliance. These efforts reflect our commitment to maintaining high standards of social responsibility and ethical conduct.

Reporting

We disclose our community-related data in accordance with GRI Standards 203 'Indirect economic impacts 2016', 204 'Procurement practices 2016' and 413 ‘Local communities 2016’.

Our Actions

Working with Communities

Fortescue’s interactions with communities are guided by a commitment to respect, transparency, and collaboration. In the Pilbara, we partner with First Nations peoples and local communities to support employment, procurement, and cultural heritage protection. Programs like the Pilbara Safe Spaces initiative and the Hedland Senior High School partnership reflect our focus on enhancing community resilience and capacity.

Globally, Fortescue conducts social impact assessments and develops tailored community engagement plans for all significant growth activities. For example, the Belinga Project in Gabon includes an environment and social impact assessment aligned with international best practices. These efforts ensure that our interactions with communities are informed by local needs and priorities, fostering trust and shared value.

Measuring Success

The effectiveness of Fortescue's communities strategy is measured through various metrics, performance outcomes and feedback mechanisms, including:

Local procurement – our procurement spend with local communities as a proportion of our total spend. We aim to reach 10 per cent spend with local suppliers.
Grievances – the number of grievances raised with Fortescue relating to the local community or their interests and how they have been addressed.
Social investment – the social investment we make in philanthropic, community and commercial initiatives.

Local Procurement

We remain committed to ensuring the ongoing support and use of local businesses that in turn employ local people. Our Pilbara mining operations represent Fortescue's most significant location of operation.

90.8%

Fortescue’s total procurement spend was with Australian businesses

59.4%

Procurement spend was with Western Australian entities

2%

Procurement spend was with local Pilbara suppliers (head office in the Pilbara Region, by post code)

Community-related Grievances

Most grievances received in FY25 related to our Pilbara operations, with common themes including road quality, environmental impacts, and remediation works. All concerns were managed through Fortescue’s formal grievance procedure and investigated by the relevant local teams.

The one serious grievance related to our energy investigation area in Holmaneset, Norway. In December 2024, a community complaint was received by the local Mayor and communicated to Fortescue. A community member had visited land managed by Fortescue, and raised concerns about perceived land damage due to tree removal and construction of access tracks and whether appropriate approvals were in place for the disturbance.

Fortescue responded to the complainant’s concerns via the Mayor to advise that Fortescue and contractors had conducted an environmental assessment prior to conducting the ground investigation work at the site, disturbance to trees had been avoided where possible in the planning stages and appropriate approvals were in place with relevant authorities for the works that had occurred.

Following this investigation and the clarification provided to the complainant, the grievance has been closed.

19

Number of community-related grievances

17

Number of resolved grievances

2

Number of open grievances

Social Investment

Fortescue’s social investment aims to build sustainable communities through philanthropic, community and commercial initiatives.

We focus on:

health and wellness
education and regional development
environmental responsibility
arts and culture
employment and training for local and First Nations peoples
specific programs that support and build capabilities of vulnerable community groups.

Our social investment programs are guided by our Social Investment Framework and Project-Based Community Investment Guideline, ensuring investments are purposeful, ethical and aligned with community needs and our sustainability goals.

Spotlight Sponsorships

MADALAH Limited
Royal Flying Doctor Service WA
Hedland SHS
Safe Spaces

Sponsorships

We support organisations that share a strong alignment with our values. In FY25, we contributed more than $6 million to long term strategic partners.

$ 1.8m

Safe Spaces

$ 1.4m

Royal Flying Doctor Service WA (RFDS)

$ 698.3k

West Coast Fever / Netball WA

$ 570.4k

Western Force

$ 500k

Black Swan State Theatre Company

$ 285k

The Salvation Army

$ 265k

Lifeline WA

$ 265k

Ronald McDonald House Charities' WA

$ 265.6k

MADALAH Limited (MADALAH)

$ 223.6k

Rugby WA

$ 200k

Clontarf Foundation

$ 125k

Shooting Stars (Glass Jar Australia)

Pilbara Safe Spaces Program

See how Fortescue is investing to provide essential services for at-risk youth.

Community grants

In FY25, Fortescue contributed over $380,000 in community grants, in Australia and Norway. These grants supported a wide range of grassroots initiatives that build stronger, more resilient communities, with a focus on education, environment, health, and First Nations engagement. Through programs such as the Pilbara Community Grants and the newly introduced Fortescue Innovation Grants, we continue to partner with local organisations to deliver lasting social impact in the regions where we operate.

Spotlight: Pegs Creek Primary School

Through our Pilbara Community Grants Program in FY25, Fortescue supported Pegs Creek Primary School in Karratha, providing funding via the Dymocks Children's Charities Library Regeneration Program.

The funding enabled the school to significantly upgrade its library, creating a welcoming space that promotes reading for enjoyment and learning. In addition to revitalising the library’s collection, the grant also supported the complete update of classroom reading kits across all year levels. These kits are a critical resource for teachers, allowing them to deliver reading programs that cater to a wide range of reading abilities and interests.

Staff at Pegs Creek Primary have noted an immediate increase in student engagement with reading, with children more motivated to borrow books, participate in class reading activities, and explore new genres.

This project highlights the power of grassroots initiatives supported through Fortescue’s Community Grants Program and reinforces our commitment to supporting education in the Pilbara.

Spotlight: Tom Price Community Garden Project

In FY25, Fortescue launched the Innovation Grants Program, a new initiative designed to support community-led projects that deliver practical and sustainable outcomes across the Pilbara. One of the first recipients was the Tom Price Community Garden Project, which received funding to help revitalise an underutilised public space into a shared garden for the community. The grant contributed to early infrastructure including raised beds, tools, irrigation, solar lighting, signage and seating.

The garden has already become a site of community connection and activity. A Community Open Day was held recently, featuring a visit and workshop by Hannah Moloney from Gardening Australia. The day included a hands-on 'food forest' workshop, where local families came together to plant a banana circle and begin Stage 2 of the garden’s development. The Tom Price Community Garden is an example of the impact of Fortescue’s Innovation Grants—supporting community-driven projects that deliver real benefits. Through this program, Fortescue is continuing to invest in a stronger, more connected Pilbara.

Supporting regional living and working

We support a regional FIFO workforce for our Pilbara iron ore operations, with employees based in Port Hedland, Broome, Fitzroy Crossing, Kununurra and Karratha. FIFO flights are provided from these regional centres to our sites. In FY25, we invested $4.3 million in providing regional flights. This allows our employees to access our sites while living in regional communities with their families, supporting local economies. Our regional flights also support our First Nations employees to live on Country and stay connected to the land in our northern communities. As at 30 June 2025, we provided housing support to 506 Pilbara-based employees.

Training for local communities

In FY25, Fortescue invested $44 million in community based training and development with our apprenticeships and traineeships, VTEC, LEAP and We Train Gabon programs.

Supporting local infrastructure and services

In FY25, Fortescue contributed $90,000 to the construction of the Volunteer Marine Rescue (VMR) facility in Port Hedland. VMR Port Hedland's purpose is to preserve life at sea, and the group is a volunteer organisation with professionally trained personnel.

Fortescue's use of Port Hedland as an iron ore port facility benefits from the dedication of VMR volunteers. This new facility will enhance their ability to respond to hundreds of incidents annually.

Additional Resources

Digital Library

Date
Title
Category
18 Jan 2024
Human Rights Policy 2024
Download document(1.14 kb)
26 Aug 2025
FY25 Annual Report and Appendix 4E
ASX Announcements, Reports and Results, FY25 Full Year, FY25 Sustainability Report, Sustainability Report
Download document(13.90 mb)

Communities

Material Topic Information

Why it matters

Ambition

Contributing to SDG's

Salient Human Rights Issues

Materiality

Communities at Fortescue

FY25 Highlights

In FY25, Fortescue achieved significant progress in community engagement and social investment. We contributed $90 million to social investment initiatives, including partnerships with MADALAH Limited and the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Our landmark partnership with Hedland Senior High School supported STEM education and cultural programs, while our support of the Pilbara Safe Spaces program will provide essential services for at-risk youth.

To date, we have resolved 17 of the 19 community-related grievances we received in FY25, demonstrating our commitment to addressing stakeholder concerns.

These outcomes demonstrate Fortescue’s dedication to creating positive social and economic impacts while addressing potential risks and challenges.

In FY26, Fortescue will continue our community investment programs and build on our partnerships with communities through social impact assessments and proactive and regular engagement.

$ 90.1m

17

FY25 Performance

Impacts, dependencies, risks and opportunities

Impacts

Dependencies

Risks

Opportunities

Our Communities Strategy

A Closer Look

Managing Communities

Key elements of our approach

Governance

As a signatory to the UN Global Compact, we align with Principles 1 and 6:

Principle 1: Support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights

Principle 6: The elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

Policies and Standards

Human Rights Policy

Communities and Social Performance Standard

Our Processes and Procedures

Grievance Procedure

Community impact procedures

Compliance

In other jurisdictions, Fortescue adheres to local regulatory requirements and conducts due diligence to ensure compliance. These efforts reflect our commitment to maintaining high standards of social responsibility and ethical conduct.

Reporting

We disclose our community-related data in accordance with GRI Standards 203 'Indirect economic impacts 2016', 204 'Procurement practices 2016' and 413 ‘Local communities 2016’.

Our Actions

Working with Communities

Measuring Success

Local Procurement

We remain committed to ensuring the ongoing support and use of local businesses that in turn employ local people. Our Pilbara mining operations represent Fortescue's most significant location of operation.

90.8%

59.4%

2%

Community-related Grievances

Most grievances received in FY25 related to our Pilbara operations, with common themes including road quality, environmental impacts, and remediation works. All concerns were managed through Fortescue’s formal grievance procedure and investigated by the relevant local teams.

Following this investigation and the clarification provided to the complainant, the grievance has been closed.

19

17

2

Social Investment

Fortescue’s social investment aims to build sustainable communities through philanthropic, community and commercial initiatives.

We focus on:

health and wellness

education and regional development

environmental responsibility

arts and culture

employment and training for local and First Nations peoples

specific programs that support and build capabilities of vulnerable community groups.

Our social investment programs are guided by our Social Investment Framework and Project-Based Community Investment Guideline, ensuring investments are purposeful, ethical and aligned with community needs and our sustainability goals.

Spotlight Sponsorships

MADALAH Limited

Royal Flying Doctor Service WA

Hedland SHS

Safe Spaces

Sponsorships

We support organisations that share a strong alignment with our values. In FY25, we contributed more than $6 million to long term strategic partners.

$ 1.8m

$ 1.4m

$ 698.3k

$ 570.4k

$ 500k

$ 285k

$ 265k

$ 265k

$ 265.6k

In FY25, Fortescue achieved significant progress in community engagement and social investment.
We contributed $90 million to social investment initiatives, including partnerships with MADALAH Limited and the Royal Flying Doctor Service.