James Hardie releases FY2024 Sustainability Report highlighting Australian ESG successes

James Hardie is proud to release its latest annual sustainability report detailing progress across the four primary pillars of our environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy, which are Zero Harm, Planet, Innovation, and Communities.

The report, entitled “Building a Culture of Sustainability,” features employee-driven initiatives, key industry collaborations and innovations to advance our purpose of Building a Better Future for All™.

In Australia, we had some specific highlights included in the report that contributed to our ESG Goals:

Reducing our carbon footprint

We had a 22% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions at our Carole Park, Queensland facility in CY23 from CY19, due to the elimination of coal, lean initiatives and grid decarbonization. Building upon our success in transitioning from coal to natural gas in the manufacturing processes at our Carole Park, we are developing a renewable electricity roadmap in the Asia Pacific region. We are also investing in reducing our natural gas consumption at Carole Park by tracking daily use and intensity metrics, creating action plans, meeting weekly, and engaging our people at the plant level.

Raising the bar on water conservation

We are upgrading the technology in our plants to reduce water consumption. In Carole Park, Australia, we are investing millions of dollars to develop one of the most advanced water treatment plants across James Hardie to cut our wastewater discharge by at least half.

Our new system will treat wastewater to remove and neutralize harmful chemicals so that it can be reused multiple times, contributing significantly to our goal of recycling 20 million cubic feet of water per year by 2030. The work we are doing in Carole Park is a foundational first step toward creating a closed loop system for water use and meeting our water recycling goal and will be leveraged to improve operations across the company.

Creating a healthier work environment

In Rosehill, New South Wales, plant manager Hector Castro and his procurement team spearheaded efforts to incorporate three new electric forklifts into manufacturing and distribution. This eliminated worker exposure to forklift emissions, contributing to a healthier work environment for our employees.

Tracking safety performance

In APAC, where our sites achieved a DART (Days Away, Restricted or Transferred) rate of 0.47 against 2.48 million hours worked in FY24, we continued to double down on safety and held stop events to encourage conversations after experiencing an incident. We believe that every incident is preventable, and we address Zero Harm through a focus on safe people, safe places and safe systems.

Helping Habitat for Humanity® globally

Through our partnership with Habitat for Humanity Australia, we will provide fibre cement products for durable, low maintenance and beautiful home exteriors. In addition, our employees regularly volunteer with the Brush with Kindness program, refurbishing crisis housing for women and children escaping domestic violence. We also donated through Habitat to Studio Purpose to provide housing for homeless youth in South Australia.

“Every product in and around the home has an impact, and our company strives to lead the building products industry to ensure all homes are future ready,” said Aaron Erter, Chief Executive Officer with James Hardie. “Sustainability is a never-ending journey for James Hardie, and we will continue to actively integrate our goals into business operations, our governance structure and company culture.”

The report includes the following global highlights from fiscal year 2024:

Integration into Business Processes: Sustainability strategies were integrated into the Hardie™ Manufacturing Operating System (HMOS) to help prioritise the sustainability impact of plant operations, while delivering against future targets. Internal, near-term regional targets were established to drive local accountability and progress toward James Hardie’s global environmental goals.

Zero Harm: Significant global investment was made in safety infrastructure projects, including upgrading equipment used when working from heights, installing more than 1,200 machine guards to provide additional protection for employees and promoting risk awareness.

Diversity in Management: The number of women in management increased from 19 percent in fiscal year 2023 to 23 percent in fiscal year 2024 toward the fiscal year 2026 goal of 25 percent.

Human Rights: Completed risk mapping of global in-scope tier one suppliers through a modern slavery lens and internationally recognized responsible business frameworks, an important next step to expand the responsible sourcing program.

Stronger Communities: Contributed $1.66 billion in economic value in the communities in which we operate through capital expenditures at plants and by investing in employees, local ecosystems and across the supplier base. Continued support of Habitat for Humanity Australia as an Impact partner, supporting low-income families and vulnerable groups in accessing safe shelter.