Building thriving communities

Social Investment is our commitment to investment in philanthropic, community and commercial initiatives. This investment aims to build sustainable communities, focusing on areas of health, wellness, education, regional development, environmental responsibility, arts and culture, and providing employment and training opportunities to Indigenous people.

Our programs are guided by our Social Investment Framework which is based on the following principles:

• Purposeful – Clear objectives, evaluated programs and effective outcomes for the community
• Accountable – Monitor progress and effectiveness of programs, and communicate outcomes
• Respectful - Developed and guided by communities, supporting local customs, views and priorities
• Ethical – Sound legal and moral investment in accordance with relevant laws and standards

Guided by our Social Investment Framework, Fortescue has multi-year commitments in place with a number of not-for-profit partners. This approach provides these organisations with the confidence and security to plan and deliver their services most effectively.

Our partners include:

• Royal Flying Doctor Service WA
• Lifeline WA
• MADALAH Ltd.
• Ronald McDonald House Charities WA
• The Salvation Army
• Black Swan State Theatre Company
• Shooting Stars
• Clontarf Foundation
• Netball WA and the West Coast Fever
• Rugby WA
• Western Force

By partnering with organisations that create deep, positive impact within an area of community need, Fortescue seeks to ensure the wellbeing of our host communities while delivering value through strategic social investment.

We aim to activate our support for local communities through investment that is tailored to reflect specific projects circumstances and community needs. We partner with credible, local organisations and prioritise locally appropriate capacity building initiatives that foster sustainable community development.

We have multi-year commitments in place with a number of not-for-profit partners and support a broad range of community charities and groups, as well as sporting, educational and arts organisations both in Australia and internationally.

As the Principal Partner of the West Coast Fever, Fortescue brought this elite group of female athletes to Port Hedland in FY24 to ignite the passion of more than 400 netball fans who flocked to Wanangkura Stadium. While on this trip, West Coast Fever embraced the opportunity to inspire the next generation of young talent with Fever players leading coaching clinics for local children.

BIG hART is an Australian not-for-profit that uses art and artistic practices to drive social change. Fortescue has proudly supported BIG hART since 2018, through their Digital Lab presence in Roebourne, WA. The Digital Lab delivers digital inclusion workshops to enable ‘digital catch up’ for local young people and support digital literacy with Aboriginal Elders. To date, activities have included youth and Elders’ on-country workshops, the Songs for Freedom, Punkaliyarra (Sister-in-Law Dreaming), Tjabi performances and workshops.

The first deliveries of Ivindo Iron’s community investment program ‘Resources for Schools’ were made to nine primary schools at a successful ceremony that took place at Makokou’s Central Local School. This initiative represents the largest community investment undertaken by Fortescue outside of Australia and aims to address the pressing need for educational resources in Gabon.

Throughout the program, members of the Ivindo Iron Communities team will deliver school supplies to 53 schools within the province of Ogooué-Ivindo, where our Belinga project is situated. Over a dozen primary and secondary schools are located in the regional capital of Makokou where our teams currently fly in to as they go to the Belinga site.

The school supplies donated include textbooks, writing materials, cleaning supplies, and locally crafted desks and chairs to ensure students and teachers have access to the tools necessary for a conducive learning environment.