Rio Tinto raised its spending with Australian suppliers to over A$15.3 billion in 2022 as part of its continuous commitment to supporting communities where it operates.
This represented a nearly 9% increase over the previous year and was spent with over 6,200 enterprises, including Australian-owned and run businesses and locally owned and controlled offices of global corporations. The expenditure supported tens of thousands of Australian employment and made a significant economic contribution to communities throughout the country.
Rio Tinto reported that over A$565 million was spent with Indigenous enterprises across Australia as part of this budget, a 40% increase over the previous year.
Chief Executive Australia Kellie Parker stated that Rio Tinto highly values supporting local businesses in the communities where it operates.
“We strive to employ local people, buy local products and engage local services – especially from Indigenous, small and regional businesses. We are working hard to improve our approach to Indigenous business development and engagement in Australia, and while there is still more work to do, last year we significantly increased our spend with Indigenous suppliers,” Parker said.
Parker added, “We couldn’t do what we do without our local supplier partners and having good relationships with them helps us find better ways to provide the materials the world needs and innovate to decarbonise our operations.”
