Community Support    

Rinker and the community

We strive to be responsible and ethical, providing good returns to our shareholder owners and safe and satisfying high performing workplaces for our employees. We are also committed to acting responsibly and working closely with our neighbours and local communities to make sure we are accepted as good citizens.

As with most companies, it is the communities in which we operate that provide us with the right to do business. With 731 operating sites across the US and Australia, we interact with many different communities.

Our Support

Supporting the local communities in which we live and operate is core to Rinker’s ethical and philanthropic principles.

Each year, the Rinker group donates hundreds of thousands of dollars to community projects, educational activities and charitable institutions. In addition, Rinker group businesses make numerous contributions to local communities and charitable organisations by supplying construction materials while our people contribute their time and labour.

Rinker employees in both the US and Australia also generously donate to victims in countries devastated by natural disasters. Through the Rinker Companies Foundation, Rinker Group Limited matches employee donations to these devastated regions.

Community based activities

Through open house days, site tours, community-based events like tree planting and educational/community partnerships, we aim to build strong relations with our communities.

For example, at the Gator sand mine in Florida, US, Rinker Materials also has a three-mile (five kilometres) nature trail located on approximately 80 acres (33 hectares) of land at the mine site. The trail is utilised by local schools for environmental education.

In Australia, Readymix also partners with the Beacon Foundation and Technical Aid to the Disabled (TAD).

The Beacon Foundation

Through Readymix, we support the Beacon Foundation, which develops innovative approaches to resolve the problem of youth unemployment. Beacon works closely with communities: organising career workshops, encouraging mentoring programs, demonstrating practical solutions and even creating new enterprises.

Communities are encouraged to see youth unemployment as their issue, to take responsibility and create solutions for young people, including long-lasting, sustainable jobs. Beacon is currently working with many schools around Australia. Readymix takes an active role in providing support for the students who take part in Beacon’s programs.

TAD

We are also a major supporter of Technical Aid to the Disabled (TAD). TAD aims to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities Australia-wide, including isolated and remote areas. Retired engineers or similarly skilled and experienced people give their time, skills, knowledge and tools to invent and build many one-off practical solutions to help make people’s lives easier. Many Readymix people have been involved in TAD over the years.

Quarrying and the community

The quarry industry provides basic materials for the community including raw material for essential construction products. These products help to build schools, hospitals, roads, bridges airports and other infrastructure as well as commercial buildings – all necessary for our communities to function.

Rinker focuses on community and environmental concerns both during and after its quarrying operations. We recognise that it is important to work in partnership with our neighbours. And good management requires that quarries must be operated in such a way that they may be effectively restored when quarrying is finished.

Rinker – like similar companies – is required by legislation to restore its land after quarrying and other use. We operate systems to ensure all our operations abide by all legal requirements including ensuring that the local ecosystem is protected, that nearby water supplies are not contaminated and that noise, dust and other pollutants are minimised. Community expectations often exceed these requirements and Rinker strives to meet this need.