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ASX ANNOUNCEMENT

26 August 2021

2021 Sustainability Report

Attached is Whitehaven Coal Limited’s 2021 Sustainability Report.

Yours Faithfully, Timothy Burt General Counsel & Company Secretary

The 2021 Sustainability Report is authorised for release by the Board of Whitehaven Coal Limited

Investor contact

Sarah McNally +61 2 8222 1155, +61 477 999 238 [email protected]

Media contact

Michael van Maanen +61 2 8222 1171, +61 412 500 351 [email protected]

Whitehaven Coal Limited ABN 68 124 425 396 Level 28, 259 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000 | 02 8222 1100 | [email protected] | www.whitehavencoal.com.au

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Unlocking future value Sustainability Report 2021

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|||||
|---|---|---|---|
|CONTENTS|
|Contents|
|Introduction|3|Supporting our communities|32|
|Sustainability highlights FY21|3|Community contribution|33|
|Chairman and Managing Director’s message|4|Community engagement|34|
|How we operate|5|Contributing to local prosperity and sustainability|35|
|Where we operate|6|Economic contribution to North West NSW in FY21|36|
|How we create value|7|Empowering Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people 37|
|Our approach to sustainability|8|Community partnerships|40|
|Sustainability governance|9|
|Identifying our material issues|10|
|Engaging with our stakeholders|11|Minimising environmental impacts|42|
|Our material issues|12|
|Water stewardship|43|
|Waste and recycling|46|
|Our business|13|Air quality|47|
|Noise management|47|
|Our business model and markets|14|Land use and biodiversity|48|
|Business improvement|17|Rehabilitation|49|
|Ethical business conduct|17|Compliance|50|
|Regulation and policy|18|
|Responsible supply chain|18|
|Continuity during COVID-19|19|Health & safety|51|
|Privacy and cybersecurity|19|
|Tax transparency|20|Safety of our workforce|53|
|Health, wellbeing and resilience|54|
|Climate|22|
|Climate-related risks and opportunities|25|Talent & diversity|55|
|Business resilience and climate change|27|
|Attraction, retention and development|57|
|Monitoring and reporting|30|
|Employee relations|58|
|Emissions|31|
|Diversity and inclusion|59|
|Appendix|60|
|Whitehaven Coal Sustainability Report 2021 ||2|

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Introduction 3

Our business 13

Climate 22

INTRODUCTION

Sustainability highlights FY21

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~75%
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of 2,500-strong workforce
based in regional areas
$344.7 million
spent with local suppliers
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12.4%
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female participation
in our workforce
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$5.15 million
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spent with 14 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses

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9%
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of workforce identifies
as Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander
267ha
of land rehabilitated
$392,300
in community partnerships
and donations
Business resilience tested
against TCFD framework
since FY19
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INTRODUCTION

CONTENTS

Message to stakeholders

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We are pleased to present Whitehaven Coal’s Sustainability Report 2021.

This year’s report reflects the additional investment we are making to address changing expectations among our stakeholders in relation to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting, and to ensure closer alignment with internationally-recognised sustainability reporting approaches.

If you’re a regular reader of our reporting suite, you’ll notice some new features and themes that provide improved disclosure around our material sustainability issues and stronger governance frameworks to support our work in this area. Overall, we hope you’ll find the document more accessible and user-friendly.

For us, sustainability is about how good assets and good operational practices combine to create enduring value for our stakeholders, underpinned by our STRIVE principles. Whether it’s a local business supplying our operations, a long-term customer accessing high quality raw materials or an apprentice learning new skills on which an entire career can be built, sustainability has always been at the heart of our company.

It’s a story we’re proud to communicate and one that people want to know more about. Since we launched our first standalone sustainability report for FY19, we have noticed the appetite for ESG information has steadily increased. In that time, we’ve also received and addressed plenty of feedback about what we’re doing well in this space, and where we might be able to improve.

This year’s report is a product of the path we’ve already travelled, but it also signals some changes for the future. During the course of the year, the Board endorsed the company’s first Sustainability Reporting Roadmap, which will guide our approach in the coming years. Among other things, we will look to adopt targets in certain areas, seek external assurance of key data and undertake independent materiality reviews on a periodic basis. This is a multi-year journey but one we are committed to.

As we look ahead, how the world responds to the challenges posed by climate change will continue to dominate discussions in an ESG context. This report makes a number of observations about the relationship between energy use and the population growth driving economic development in our near region. Many of our stakeholders acknowledge the journey to a lower-carbon future is an incredibly complex one and are receptive on the need for a multi-faceted response of which high-quality Australian coal can be a part.

There continues to be interest in how we identify and evaluate the risks and opportunities of climate change. As with previous years we have again responded to the voluntary recommendations of the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, making us the only Australian pure-play coal company to do so. Understandably, how we assess our resilience in a more carbon-constrained world is an area of continuing focus and one we will look to refine in the coming years. We invite you to read more in the Climate chapter of this report.

The past year has also seen more scrutiny of corporate behaviour, whether around supply chain responsibility, respect in the workplace, or working with host communities including Traditional Owners. These topics are all addressed in the following pages. And of course, while the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to pose major challenges for governments and businesses, it has also reinforced the vital role of the coal industry – Australia’s second largest commodity export – in sustaining and supporting regional economies through the period of ongoing economic recovery.

This backdrop of increasing interest in, and public discussion of, the sustainability of our industry underscores the importance of continuing to engage with stakeholders transparently and proactively. To support our ongoing efforts in this area, we invite you to share your feedback at [email protected]

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The Hon. Mark Vaile, AO Chairman

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Paul Flynn Managing Director and CEO

Whitehaven Coal Sustainability Report 2021 | 4

INTRODUCTION

CONTENTS

How we operate

Whitehaven Coal produces premium-quality coal for customers in Asia.

The company commenced operating in 2001 and was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in 2008 (ASX Code: WHC). We employ 2,500 Australians, with 75% located in regional areas.

Demand for our coal is strong due to its unique properties, notably its ability to deliver among the lowest carbon emissions per tonne of coal consumed. It is used in high-efficiency, low-emissions coal-fired power stations. Our customer base, by coal type, is shown in the map to the right.

In exporting high-quality thermal and metallurgical coal from Australia to the world, we fulfil our purpose of supporting and sustaining regional communities at home. We do so through employment, contracting suppliers, infrastructure investment and community sponsorships and programs.

We understand the running of our business raises material sustainability issues from the safety of our workforce to impacts on the natural environment. This Sustainability Report outlines the steps we are taking to address those issues where we operate.

Sustainability reporting

The contents of this report have been informed by:

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standard
The Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
The AccountAbility AA1000 Principles Standard
The ASX Corporate Governance Council Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations.

Our customer base by coal type

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2 14 Japan
1 6 Korea
2 Taiwan
India 2
1 Vietnam
1 Philippines
Malaysia 1
Indonesia 1
Key:
2 New Caledonia
Number of metallurgical coal customers
Number of thermal coal customers
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India 2
Malaysia
Indonesia
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INTRODUCTION

CONTENTS

Where we operate

We operate at the following sites in the Gunnedah Coal Basin of New South Wales (NSW):

Maules Creek, open-cut coal mining and rehabilitation
Narrabri, underground coal mining and rehabilitation
Tarrawonga, open-cut coal mining and rehabilitation
Werris Creek, open-cut coal mining and rehabilitation
Gunnedah Coal Handling and Preparation Plant, processing, treatment and transportation of coal.

Our planned future projects include:

In the Gunnedah basin in North West NSW, the Vickery Extension Project, carrying out open-cut coal mining and rehabilitation.
In the Bowen Basin in Central Queensland, the Winchester South Project, carrying out open-cut coal mining and rehabilitation.

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Our locations Port of Abbot Point
Bowen
QLD Moranbah
AUSTRALIA
Mackay
Port of Hay Point NSW Gunnedah
Sydney
Moranbah
Winchester South Project
Rockhampton
Blackwater
QUEENSLAND
Port of Gladstone
Gladstone
Maules Creek Mine
Narrabri Mine Narrabri Tarrawonga Mine
Boggabri Vickery Extension Project
PACIFIC OCEAN Gunnedah CHPP Tamworth
Gunnedah
Werris Creek Mine
Gunnedah
Coal Basin Gloucester
Whitehaven Coal
Muswellbrook
0 50 100 shipped to premium
km Singleton Asian markets
NEW SOUTH Newcastle
Key: Sydney
WALES (PWCS and NCIG
Projects Coal Terminals)
Current operations
Railway
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Whitehaven Coal Sustainability Report 2021 | 6

INTRODUCTION

CONTENTS

How we create value

We identify, develop and operate high-quality, cost-efficient, long-life coal assets and distribute the financial and non-financial returns to shareholders, employees, customers and the communities where we work and live.

Purpose

To support and sustain regional communities by exporting high-quality thermal and metallurgical coal from Australia to the world.

Investors

Investors Value created FY21 We aim to provide strong and consistent 27.8% $204.5 million returns to shareholders and joint venture Total shareholder return in underlying earnings before interest, tax, partners from our existing portfolio of mines depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) with upside potential from key growth assets.

Vision

To be the benchmark coal investment on the ASX.

Principles

Our STRIVE principles guide our interactions internally and with external stakeholders.

Safety

The safety of our people, workplaces and the communities around us comes first. We are committed to Zero Harm.

Teamwork

We work collaboratively and support one another.

Value chain ~~Develop Operate responsibly Logistics~~ Customers We identify, develop and We are responsible stewards We have supply agreements We form long-term operate high-quality, of the natural environment with Australian businesses relationships with our cost-efficient, long-life coal and maintain strong focused on the efficient customers to provide assets. sustainability practices movement of our product, high-quality raw materials through each stage of the contributing to shared for efficient industrial assets, mining process, from sustainability goals through including coal-fired power development to operations, our value chain. plants and steel blast rehabilitation and closure. furnaces, and to contribute to economic and social development in the Asian region.

Respect

We foster a diverse and inclusive culture and deal with all stakeholders respectfully.

Integrity

We are honest and do the right thing.

Our people underpin our success

Our people

Our people Value created FY21 Approx. 75% $210.5 million 9% We provide skills development pathways of our 2,500-strong in wages paid of workforce identifies as and stable regional employment in a safe workforce based in Aboriginal and/or Torres and rewarding work environment. regional areas Strait Islander

Value

We create value for shareholders, customers and local communities.

Excellence

We deliver on our commitments.

Communities

We support local communities through direct investment, job creation, partnerships with local suppliers and by working with community groups.

Value created FY21 $344.7 million $5.15 million Supported spent with local suppliers spent with 14 the Narrabri Clontarf Indigenous Academy and Westpac businesses Rescue Helicopter Service

Whitehaven Coal Sustainability Report 2021 | 7

INTRODUCTION

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CONTENTS
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Our approach to sustainability

Whitehaven’s vision is to be the benchmark coal investment on the ASX. We strive for excellence in operations, production and market share, and also in environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) criteria.

For Whitehaven, sustainability is about how our financial, physical and human capital combine to deliver positive outcomes through our entire value chain to our diverse stakeholders at home and abroad. We deliver value to customers, our workforce, shareholders, local communities and suppliers by developing and safely and responsibly operating high-quality, cost-efficient, long-life coal assets.

We acknowledge that the production and consumption of coal contributes to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We also acknowledge the challenge of integrating international emissions reduction efforts with the legitimate economic and social development aspirations of people, communities and countries.

In transitioning to a lower-carbon future, we are committed to:

Supplying our customers with high-quality coal for use in high-efficiency, low-emissions coal-fired power stations.
Finding and implementing measures at each point of our value chain to reduce emissions.
Supporting relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals, including universal access to affordable energy.

Whitehaven Coal Sustainability Report 2021 | 8

INTRODUCTION

CONTENTS

Sustainability governance

Overall responsibility for our sustainability strategy and approach lies with Whitehaven’s Board.

In its strategic decision making, the Board is supported by the advice given by the Health, Safety, Environment & Community (HSEC) Committee, a Board standing committee. The Audit & Risk Committee monitors the risks involved in our sustainability approach and practices, including climate-related matters and reports to the Board. The Board receives regular updates from these Committees. Other Board standing committees include the Remuneration Committee and the Governance & Nomination Committee.

The strategic approach set by the Board is implemented by management, led by the Executive General Manager (EGM) – Corporate, Government & Community Affairs who also chairs the Sustainability Working Group (SWG). The SWG is composed of EGM and General Manager-level leaders from the HSE, Finance, Legal and People & Culture functions, with leaders from other areas including operations and procurement periodically presenting to the SWG. The SWG reports to the HSEC Committee of the Board.

Over the last twelve months, there has been greater linkage between health, safety and environmental targets and executive remuneration. Specific targets in these areas now comprise 40% of each executive’s at risk/short-term incentive opportunity as detailed in the Remuneration Report. The Board annually reviews how we can better align remuneration to our broader sustainability performance.

As global standards on sustainability have evolved, Whitehaven has endeavoured to keep pace. In FY21 we reviewed our approach to sustainability. The Board has endorsed our first Sustainability Roadmap, with delivery to be led by Whitehaven’s recently-appointed Sustainability Manager, and overseen by the EGM – Corporate, Government & Community Affairs. The fouryear plan is a significant investment in our sustainability strategy and reporting approach and includes establishing targets in key areas, external assurance of key data, and a full, independent materiality review aligned with the AccountAbility AA1000AP Standard.

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Board
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Audit & Risk
Management
Committee
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Health, Safety,
Environment &
Community
Committee
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Remuneration
Committee
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Governance &
Nomination
Committee
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Sustainability
Working Group
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Reconciliation Action
Plan Working Group
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Guiding our approach

Managing risk

Driving action

Code of Conduct
Risk management framework
Environment strategy
Health and Safety strategy
Governance and reporting framework
Community consultation
Environmental management, monitoring & compliance
Reconciliation Action Plan
Materiality assessment
Community Engagement
— Crisis management team Strategy (COVID response) — Modern Slavery Statement
Stakeholder Engagement Framework
Community Consultative Committees

Memberships

Taskforce of Climate-related — Low Emission Technology Financial Disclosures Australia projects — MCA’s Climate Action Plan
International Energy Agency
Minerals Council of Australia
World Coal Association
Queensland Resources Council
NSW Minerals Council
Low Emission Technology Australia

Annual and sustainability reporting

Whitehaven Coal Sustainability Report 2021 | 9

CONTENTS

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INTRODUCTION
Identifying our
material issues
In FY21 we undertook a desktop
materiality assessment to define our
material sustainability issues and the
stakeholders impacted.
This assessment was aligned to the AccountAbility
AA1000AP Standard and informed by our regular
engagement with stakeholders.
Through this process we have distilled our approach
to material issues and how we address them into
three themes.
At our foundation, we seek to implement practices
that strengthen our business. Next is our focus on
implementing sustainable practices that ensure we
operate responsibly. Finally, and of major importance,
is our work on sustainable practices that support our
community and its future.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,
adopted by all United Nations Member States in
2015, provides a blueprint for peace and prosperity
for people and the planet. At its heart are the
17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which
aim to address issues related to poverty, justice and
prosperity worldwide. While many of the 17 SDGs
relate to our operations and impact, we have identified
the following SDGs of most relevance to our business.
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Material themes

UN Sustainable Development Goals

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Supporting
regional growth
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Responsible operations
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A strong, long-life business
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Whitehaven Coal Sustainability Report 2021 | 10

INTRODUCTION

CONTENTS

Engaging with our stakeholders

We regularly engage with a range of stakeholders to understand the environmental, social and governance aspects of our operations that matter to them. We seek to educate our stakeholders on our credentials in their priority areas or, where relevant, work together to improve how we share information and perform.

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Stakeholder group Interest areas Stakeholder group Interest areas
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Employees and	–	Health and safety at work	Suppliers	–	Local procurement
contractors	–	Job security		–	Ongoing partnerships
	–	Remuneration and working conditions		–	Management of suppliers
	– – –	Learning and development opportunities Diversity and inclusion Business model	Traditional owners	– –	Cultural heritage Land access and management
				–	Employment, education and procurement opportunities
Customers	–	Product quality		–	Local investment
	– –	Reliability of supply, including future supply Price	Industry groups and peers	– –	Policy and regulatory environment Industry reputation
Local communities	– – – – –	Environmental, social and cultural heritage impacts Local employment and procurement Community investment, including training and education Sustainable, local economic diversifcation Transparency and communication	Non-government organisations	– – – –	Environmental, social and cultural heritage impacts Compliance Community engagement Transparency
Joint Venture Partners, investors and industry analysts	– – –	Business strategy and growth Share price Financial returns	Banks and fnanciers	– – –	Financial performance Business strategy and growth Operational performance, including compliance
	–	Operational performance		–	Governance and risk management, including climate- related risks and opportunities
	–	Governance and risk management		–	Ethical business conduct
	–	Ethical business conduct
	–	ESG performance	Unions	–	Health and safety at work
				–	Job security
Governments	–	Regulation and compliance		–	Remuneration and working conditions
including regulators	–	Mine extensions and approvals
	–	Mine closure planning	Rail and infrastructure	–	Business strategy and growth
	–	Royalties and taxes	providers	–	Governance and risk management, including climate-
	–	Balancing economic, social and environmental objectives			related risks and opportunities

Whitehaven Coal Sustainability Report 2021 | 11

INTRODUCTION

CONTENTS

Our material issues

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Material theme Issue Definition Chapter
Business model and How we assess and manage our business structure, portfolio and future pipeline, including evaluation of future Our business
markets markets for our coal. This includes how we continually strive to improve operational efficiency and adaptability.
Climate
Climate-related risks and How we assess and manage climate-related risk and opportunities, including those arising from the physical and Climate
opportunities transitional impacts associated with climate change, consistent with the reporting framework of the Task Force on
Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). This also includes access to capital and climate change adaptation.
Regulation and policy How we seek consistent and balanced policy settings that support competitiveness, flexibility and performance. Our business
Responsible supply chain How we manage our supply chain, including identifying and addressing risks of modern slavery, as well as our Our business
compliance with the Payment Times Reporting Scheme.
A strong,
Talent attraction, How we ensure Whitehaven is an enjoyable and rewarding place to work, and how we attract, retain and develop Talent & diversity
long-life
development and our people. This includes promoting a diverse and inclusive workplace and effectively managing our relationship
business
retention with employees through applicable industrial relations instruments.
Continuity during Our approach to mitigating the impacts of COVID-19 on our people, communities and operations. Our business
COVID-19
Privacy and How we manage data privacy and the security of our systems. Our business
cybersecurity
Safety and wellbeing of How we seek to prevent workplace injuries and fatalities and ensure our employees and contractors observe robust Health & safety
our workforce safety practices. This also includes how we help support the mental and physical health and wellbeing of our people.
Minimising environmental How we respect and care for our natural environment, minimise and/or mitigate the environmental impacts of our Minimising
impact of operations operations and work to improve environmental performance and compliance. This includes how we responsibly environmental
manage water use, operational emissions, air quality, noise and waste. This also includes how we manage land to impacts
protect biodiversity.
Ethical business conduct How we conduct our business ethically and with integrity, including through strong governance frameworks, policies Our business
Responsible and transparency around our approach to taxation.
operations
Community engagement How we meaningfully engage with the local community, seek feedback to inform decision making and form Supporting our
sustainable partnerships. This includes how we respect Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander cultures and invest communities
in initiatives with a view to empowering local Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities.
Talent & diversity
Rehabilitating land to How we progressively rehabilitate mined land, working with the local community and government towards a final Minimising
beneficial land use land use that benefits all stakeholders. environmental
impact
Contributing to How we contribute to local prosperity and quality of life, including through employment, procurement, community Supporting our
local prosperity and investment and supporting economic diversification. communities
Supporting
sustainability
regional growth Talent & diversity
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Whitehaven Coal Sustainability Report 2021 | 12

OUR BUSINESS

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Our business

Whitehaven is leveraged to strong and continuing demand for high-quality thermal and metallurgical coal in the Asian region.

OUR BUSINESS

Our business model and markets

We proactively assess the opportunities and resilience of our business model in a world energy market transitioning to a lower-carbon future.

As part of our strategic planning, we continuously analyse the global energy market, the cyclical nature of market demand for coal and the opportunities to sell our high-quality coal.

All risks to the resilience of our business are assessed and ranked, with mitigation strategies in place for major risks. This work is conducted by management and reviewed by the Board’s Audit and Risk Management Committee. The Committee monitors the company’s risk management framework, receives updates from management and provides advice and recommendations to the Board.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) provides comprehensive global analysis of energy use as well as a number of forward-looking scenarios in its World Energy Outlook (WEO) series. The two enduring scenarios considered by the IEA are:

The Stated Policies Scenario (STEPS), which reflects the impact of existing policy frameworks – including Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement – and today’s announced policy intentions out to 2040
The Sustainable Development Scenario (SDS), which outlines a major transformation of the global energy system, showing how the world can change course to deliver on a Paris-aligned decarbonisation objective.

Analysis of these scenarios and their impacts on our business as well as climate-related specific risks and opportunities are addressed in Chapter 2. We note other scenarios covering a range of possible outcomes beyond those considered in this report exist. Some of these entail more rapid decarbonisation arising from a more precipitous decrease in the use of coal and other fossil fuels, including the IEA’s Sustainable Development Scenario and Net Zero Emissions 2050 scenario. In addition to IEA data, we also use bespoke data from independent resource industry consultants, as well as open-source reporting and analysis on policy and market developments relating to carbon, climate change, coal and other relevant topics.

OUR BUSINESS

CONTENTS

Thermal coal

Thermal coal remains the largest source of electricity production globally, providing 35% of supply in 2020[1] – with Australia providing 363 of the 1,115 mtce in the seaborne market in 2019[2] – underpinning continued demand for Whitehaven products. The IEA’s STEPS envisages coal remaining the single largest source of electricity generation worldwide during the period to 2040.[3]

While the COVID-19 pandemic has clouded the demand outlook and reduced global electricity demand in 2020, the IEA’s STEPS outlines that the decline in demand in developed economies will be offset by increased demand among developing economies, many of which are in Asia. Population growth, increasing economic activity and rising standards of living all contribute to the need for accessible, reliable and affordable energy. GDP and growth is also strongly correlated with increased energy use.

According to the STEPS, India has the fastest growing electricity demand by 2030.[4] While India has sources of domestic production to meet electricity demand, it will likely draw increasingly on the seaborne market which will tighten supply overall and keep prices well supported.

Asia accounts for approximately 90% of coal-fired generation capacity younger than 20 years old,[5] further reinforcing one of the underlying drivers of long-term coal demand in Asia. Australia is ideally positioned to capitalise on Asian thermal coal demand on account of the high-quality properties of Australian coal, which generates fewer greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per megawatt hour (MWh) of electricity generated compared to lower-CV coal.

WEO 2020, p 223. 2. WEO 2020, p 213. 3. WEO 2020, p 223.
WEO 2020, pp 196-198. 5. WEO 2019, p 284.
WEO 2020, pp 19, 35.
WEO 2020, pp 104-105. 8. WEO 2020, pp 254, 282-283. 9. WEO 2020, p 284.

Furthermore, Australia’s relative proximity to key markets will ensure it remains one of the most cost-competitive sources of highquality thermal coal for Asia.

Under STEPS, Australia’s market share of the world seaborne coal market grows to 2040, underpinned by demand for high-quality coal. Given Gunnedah Basin coal is at the upper end of the national CV range, and has lower ash and sulphur content, we are well positioned to continue to supply this market.

In the SDS, the WEO 2020 projects that the share of coal in the global power generation mix falls from 37% in 2019 to 15% by 2030 and 10% by 2040.[6] Demand for coal in the SDS is projected to decline by more than 75% in advanced economies and by around 40% worldwide by 2030, with more than 80% of the decline in coal use coming from reductions in the power sector.[7]

Although in the IEA’s Sustainable Development Scenario coal demand declines more drastically than under STEPS, in a more carbon-constrained world we expect higher quality coals to exit the market last. Therefore, consistent with the WEO 2020’s projection that Australia and Russia fare better than other exporters in the STEPS,[8] we also expect Australia to perform better compared to other producers of seaborne coal in the SDS. In this regard the WEO 2020 states that in the SDS, all exporting countries are heavily affected, but those serving the emerging Asian markets see a lesser decline and Australia remains the largest exporter of coal.[9]

Thermal coal quality

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80
High-calorific value
60 Low sulphur
Low ash
40
20
0
NCV Total Ash Volatile Total
(kcal/kg Sulphur (% ad) Matter Moisture
/ 100) (x10 % ad) (% ad) (% ar)
Global Range NEWC Benchmark Maules Creek WHC portfolio average
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Source: CRU, Whitehaven

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The role of high-quality coal in reducing emissions
In a world where carbon emissions reduction efforts are a focus for policy-makers as
well as major energy generators and consumers, high quality coal, particularly high-CV
and low ash coal, has a clear role to play.
Carbon emission improvement by coal type
1,000
Lignite
980
960
940
Indo, sub-bit
920 4000 net calorific value
900
880 Korea/China
5500 net calorific value
860 standard Newcastle
840 thermal coal Maules Creek
Vickery
820 0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000
Net calorific value (kcal/kg)
Source: Whitehaven, Wood Mackenzie and
Australian Coal Review World Database Whitehaven Coal Sustainability Report 2021 | 15
/MWh) intensity (kgCOCO22
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OUR BUSINESS

Metallurgical coal

Our NSW mines supply semi-soft coking coal and high volatile matter pulverised coal (PCI) coal. These coals are low in impurities – specifically ash, sulphur and phosphorous. Our customers use low-impurity Whitehaven products in their coke blends to offset impurities in the hard coking coals they purchase. The trend of increasing impurities in hard coking coal, specifically sulphur and ash, is expected to continue, suggesting demand for our product will remain strong.

(EAF) based steel production grows. Indian BOF-based steel production is expected to quadruple by 2040, while Indian EAF production is expected to more than double, highlighting the regional variance in expected demand.

Australia is the world’s largest exporter of metallurgical coal and, despite China’s informal import restrictions, Australia still accounted for nearly 60% of the seaborne metallurgical coal trade in 2020.[2] Australia’s geographic proximity to key Asian steelmaking markets reinforces its status as one of the most reliable and cost-competitive suppliers to steel-making customers. Many customers of metallurgical coal also purchase thermal coal, allowing Whitehaven to further deepen connections with our Asian customer base.

Global demand for metallurgical coal, a critical component in steel-making, correlates to industrialisation and urbanisation. Developing nations, particularly in Southeast Asia, are expected to undergo major processes of urbanisation, requiring significant increases in the capacity and sophistication of domestic steel-making industries. Urbanisation is a significant driver of metallurgical coal demand. Resource consultancy CRU predicts Indian steel demand will grow at 5% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to 2040.[1]

Our quality assets and strong customer relationships in the key export markets within our region, as well as our development pipeline, including the Vickery Extension and Winchester South Projects, place Whitehaven in good stead to continue to meet the ongoing demand for our products.

CRU expects global basic oxygen furnace (BOF) based steel production to decline modestly to 2040 while electric arc furnace Semi-soft coking coal

20 15 10 5 0 Total Phosphorous Ash CSN Sulphur (x100 ad) (�2, % ad) (x10 ad)

Low sulphur Low phosphorous Low ash Volatile Total Matter Moisture (�5 ad) (% ar)

Global Range NSW SSCC Range Maules Creek Source: CRU, Whitehaven

WHC portfolio average

CRU Metallurgical Long Term Market Outlook 2021, p50. 2. Resources and Energy Quarterly March 2021.

OUR BUSINESS

CONTENTS

Business improvement

Through our strategic planning process, we identified the opportunity to materially improve our operational efficiency and workplace culture.

In early FY21, we launched Project STRIVE, the name reflecting the underlying principles guiding our work each day. This business improvement program is being introduced in two phases.

The first phase was completed in FY21. It involved a comprehensive, ground-up review of our operations. The review was facilitated by an external consultant and led internally. It resulted in a business improvement roadmap to deliver more efficient, innovative and sustainable production. Short, medium and long-term deliverables were defined.

The second phase involves implementing the roadmap. It commenced with the appointment of a General Manager of Business Improvement in FY21 to oversee a business improvement project team and dedicated business improvement specialists at each mine site.

Work on the short to medium-term deliverables started with the team focused on achieving 25 initial cost-saving initiatives identified through the process. The longer term piece of work of creating a continuous improvement culture, capturing ideas from employees on the ground and up, is being developed.

Continued investment in automation

We also look to employ technology to improve safety and efficiency. Since 2018 we have been trialling and deploying an autonomous haulage system (AHS) at Maules Creek, our largest and newest mine. Throughout FY21 we test, evaluate, refine and expand the autonomous haulage program at Maules Creek. This has included building a team, including upskilling members of the existing workforce, to manage the fleet.

Ethical business conduct

Increasingly, whether stakeholders are skilled employees, banks and insurers, customers or suppliers, they consider corporate reputation when deciding to do business.

All stakeholders can be assured of Whitehaven’s strong commitment to conducting business with honesty and integrity.

On employment, all employees sign up to our company Code of Conduct and are regularly reminded of our principles of safety, teamwork, respect, integrity, value and excellence. A range of policies guide employees on how to apply the principles of the code. The policies cover “Speaking Up”, diversity, workplace behaviour, anti-corruption, continuous disclosure, securities trading and political donations, among others.

In governing the company, the Board is committed to achieving the highest standards of corporate governance. Annually, the Board publishes a Corporate Governance Statement detailing its corporate governance framework and how the framework achieved the highest standards of governance during the reporting year. The FY21 Statement will confirm the Board’s compliance with the Australian Securities Exchange Corporate Governance Council’s ‘Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations (4th edition)’ in all material respects throughout the 2021 financial year and will be available on our website.

OUR BUSINESS

CONTENTS

Regulation and policy

To ensure a competitive and sustainable mining sector, we participate in policy advocacy on a range of issues impacting our business and the coal mining sector as a whole.

Some of the topics advocated or raised by Whitehaven in FY21 include:

This advocacy involves discussions with both elected and non-elected representatives at all levels of government. It may take place bilaterally or through our industry association representatives.

Supporting the implementation of the COVID-19 National Protocols for the minerals sector
Eliminating duplication across state and federal approvals frameworks

Whitehaven is an active member of the Minerals Council of Australia, NSW Minerals Council, Queensland Resources Council, World Coal Association and the IEA’s Coal Industry Advisory Board.

Streamlining approvals processes in NSW, in particular seeking reforms to the NSW Independent Planning Commission

We believe industry associations play an important role in public policy discourse and in helping to ensure Australia’s minerals sector sustainably delivers benefits to our communities and the economy. Industry associations are a forum for the exchange of ideas and information and to seek consensus on key policy matters that either affect, or have the potential to affect, our sector. They are also the primary vehicle through which we contribute to the development of industry standards and regulation. Whitehaven considers that differences of opinion on some matters are an inevitable and healthy part of any memberbased organisation, though we always seek to work constructively towards consensus outcomes.

Increasing investment in carbon emissions reduction technology
Coordinating industry responses to the recommendations of the independent review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999 (Cth)
Supporting more apprenticeships and traineeships in the mining sector.

Whitehaven periodically makes formal contributions to parliamentary reviews. Political donations are recorded and disclosed in accordance with applicable legislation.

During the year, Whitehaven became a signatory to the World Coal Association’s Responsible Coal Principles. This move further confirms our intent to make a positive contribution to society and sustainability in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

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Responsible supply chain
We seek to support sustainable practices throughout
our supply chain, and in doing so contribute to social
and economic development.
Social development Economic development
Our commitment to human rights, Small and medium-sized enterprises face
embodied in our Code of Conduct, cash flow challenges when invoices are
extended to suppliers in FY21 with the not paid on time. Cash flow challenges
introduction of an assessment and can be more pronounced in the mining
reporting process to guard against sector and associated service businesses
modern slavery in our supply chains. in regional communities, which is why we
offer 21-day payment terms to our small
Activities undertaken are outlined in our
and medium-sized local suppliers in the
first Modern Slavery Statement, released
areas around our operations. In FY22 we
in March 2021, in accordance with the
will commence formal reporting on our
Modern Slavery Act 1988 (Cth) . The
payment times in accordance with the
statement is available on our website.
Payment Times Reporting Act 2020 (Cth) .
The due diligence undertaken in FY21
found no evidence of modern slavery
practices in our supply chain.
Our Modern Slavery
Statement is available
on our website
Whitehaven Coal Sustainability Report 2021 | 18
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OUR BUSINESS

CONTENTS

Continuity during COVID-19

By developing and implementing an early response plan, continued careful planning, and advocacy at industry and government level, the impacts of COVID-19 on our business operations have been limited.

We have kept our people safe and employed, and maintained production and supply. No cases of COVID-19 in our workforce were recorded in FY21. We remained close to our suppliers, particularly those in labour services hire and transport, as they were impacted by travel restrictions. We continue to work as normally as possible while planning for a range of possible scenarios.

Privacy and cybersecurity

The security of our confidential data and computer technology is maintained through adherence to our Information Management and Security Policies and monitored by the Board’s Audit and Risk Committee.

Whitehaven remains vigilant of cyber threats and operates a continuous improvement process in relation to cybersecurity. This involves adoption of the Australian Signals Directorate’s Essential Eight mitigation strategies and other recognised frameworks to improve security and responsiveness to changes in the threat landscape. An external security operations centre continuously monitors the security of our systems.

The pandemic has driven enormous change in the global energy marketplace. Short-term demand for both metallurgical and thermal coal contracted in CY20 as a result of measures employed in many countries to slow the spread of the virus.

Despite uncertainties surrounding the economic outlook, the fundamentals of our business model remain robust. Throughout the pandemic, our portfolio of coal products has remained sought after and well sold under long term contracts to the cornerstone high-energy, low-impurity coal markets of Japan, Korea and Taiwan, as well as emerging markets in developing South East Asian nations.

We expect our customer nations will capitalise on their installed and planned coal-fired power generation as this will underpin their economic recoveries when the threat of the pandemic is either eliminated or can be sustainably managed.

Whitehaven Coal Sustainability Report 2021 | 19

CONTENTS

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OUR BUSINESS
Tax transparency
Whitehaven Coal is listed on the ASX.
Our mining operations are located only
in Australia and we have no foreign
subsidiary companies, which means
transfer pricing is not a tax issue for
the Group.
Whitehaven prides itself on being a responsible
operator and socially responsible corporate citizen.
We pay various taxes to federal, state and local
governments, and collect various tax payments on
behalf of federal and state governments.
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Our approach to taxation

In relation to tax, we adopt a conservative approach. Our culture of compliance and transparency is apparent in our policies, strategies, resources, procedures and controls, and in our constructive relationships with tax authorities including the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), state revenue offices and local governments.

There is comprehensive Board oversight of tax via the Audit and Risk Committee. A tax governance and tax risk management framework sets out the management and resourcing of our tax functions across the business in respect of all taxes payable and collected. The framework has been prepared referencing the ATO’s public guidance, which seeks higher levels of tax transparency, governance and accountability across all taxes for Australian taxpayers, and formalises and captures our prudent approach to taxation matters.

We maintain management systems and resources to:

Actively monitor, identify and manage tax risk
Comply with Australian taxation laws and reporting standards
Lodge all taxation returns and documentation on time
Collect and pay the calculated amounts of federal, state and local taxes, royalties, levies, duties, rates and imposts when they fall due
Maintain, with each revenue authority, Whitehaven’s standing as an organisation of integrity.

Whitehaven strives to maintain open, honest, transparent and cooperative relationships with all taxation authorities.

Taxes paid

In FY21 Whitehaven contributed $189.2 million to the federal, state and local governments in the form of income tax, royalties, payroll tax and council rates. Coal royalties to the NSW Government represent the largest component of taxes paid. The royalties are ad valorem, calculated on gross sales less limited deductions. They are payable via monthly instalments throughout the financial year, with a balancing payment made in July to reflect the final royalty liability for that financial year. The key drivers of the decrease in taxes paid between FY20 and FY21 were: a reduction in the average realised coal price, which resulted in lower royalty payments; and a refund received for the FY20 corporate income tax return during FY21.

Taxes collected

The largest component of taxes we collect on behalf of the Australian Government is in respect of employees. This includes pay as you go (PAYG) withholding tax from employees’ salaries and wages. In FY21 the Group collected and remitted $55.9 million to the federal government.

Taxes collected and paid by the Whitehaven Group and its JV partners in FY21

Taxes collected and paid by the Whitehaven Group and its JV partners in FY21
Royalties	131.4
Corporate income tax	–12.21
Payroll tax	10.5
Stamp duty	0.6
Employee payroll taxes (PAYG)	55.9
Fringe benefts tax	0.7
Other taxes	2.3
Total	189.2

Reflects refund received for the FY20 corporate income tax return during FY21.

Whitehaven Coal Sustainability Report 2021 | 20

OUR BUSINESS

Income tax

The following information has been derived from the audited financial statements prepared for FY21 available on our website.

Effective income tax rate

The effective tax rate is the income tax expense for the income year divided by the accounting profit before tax, set out below. Whitehaven’s effective tax rate for FY21 of 29% is less than the 30% Australian corporate tax rate. This is primarily due to the permanent component of payments by the tax consolidated group for shares acquired on-market by the Group’s employee share scheme trust, which is not a member of the tax consolidated group.

Reconciliation of accounting profit to income tax expense

Reconciliation of accounting proft to income tax expense
FY21	FY20
Statutory (loss)/proft before tax ($m) (768.2)	42.3
Income tax expense using the Company’s domestic tax rate of 30% ($m) 230.5	(12.7)
Non-deductible expenses: Share-based payments ($m) (2.1)	(1.9)
Other non-deductible expenses ($m) (2.8)	2.0
On-market share purchases by employee share scheme trust reimbursed by the Group ($m) 0.0	1.0
Adjustments for tax of prior periods ($m) (1.3)	(0.7)
Total income tax beneft/(expense) ($m)1 224.3	(12.3)
Whitehaven’s effective income tax rate
FY21	FY20
Statutory (loss)/proft before tax ($m) (768.2)	42.3
Income tax beneft/(expense) ($m) 224.3	(12.3)
Effective tax rate (%) 29	29
1. Calculated as the accounting proft before tax multiplied by the 30% corporate tax rate, adjusted for
non-temporary (permanent) differences.		21 Whitehaven CoalSustainability Report 2021

CLIMATE

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CONTENTS

Climate

Whitehaven recognises and supports the long-term goal of the Paris Agreement to limit global average temperature increases to below 2 degrees celsius compared to pre-industrial levels, consistent with Australia’s national commitments under the accord.

CLIMATE

As stated in our approach to sustainability and previous Sustainability Reports, we acknowledge that production and consumption of coal generates GHG emissions.

We note that fossil fuels account for more than 80% of the world’s primary energy consumption[1] and the energy sector accounts for over 70% of global emissions annually.[2] While coal’s role in the global energy mix is decreasing, it remains the largest source of power generation, accounting for over 35% of global power supply.[3]

Providing access to reliable and affordable energy is essential to facilitating economic growth and human progress, particularly in the emerging economies of South and South East Asia. A key policy challenge for governments is to reduce global carbon emissions without disrupting energy availability and undermining development goals.

International frameworks such as the Paris Agreement exist to coordinate sovereign national responses to addressing climate change. Global issues such as emissions reduction are most appropriately addressed through these mechanisms and any associated legislative changes enacted by sovereign national governments.

Our customer countries are all signatories to the Paris Agreement or, in the case of Taiwan (ROC), have domestic energy policies consistent with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. As such, they have set GHG emission targets in relation to energy generation and industrial processes.

In the past year, the world has witnessed increased momentum from governments on emissions reduction targets, with some committing to more ambitious interim national targets as well as net zero emissions by 2050 or earlier. We note the critical role that technology, particularly carbon capture and storage, will need to play to ensure emissions reductions targets can be met while economies and populations continue to expand.

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Whitehaven Coal
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BP Statistical Review 2020, p 4.
https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/data-browser?country WORLD&fuel=CO2%20emissions&indicator=CO2BySector. 3. WEO 2020, p 223.

CLIMATE

CONTENTS

Coal remains a key energy source

Coal remains a major component of global fuel supplies. It is an abundant, affordable and reliable energy source. It remains the key source of electricity globally and plays a fundamental role in iron and steel production.

During 2021, the International Energy Agency expects global coal demand to begin to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and return to levels above those in 2019. Shifts in energy use, driven by increased use of natural gas for power generation in both the United States and Europe have led to reduced coal use in these markets. However, these declines in coal demand are expected to be offset by growth in India and other Asian countries.[1]

In Asian economies – our customer base – coal remains a vital source of reliable and affordable energy. Almost 60% of existing coal plants globally are around 20 years old or younger, while in developing Asian economies coal plants average 12 years (the estimated lifespan for a coal-fired plant is 50 years).[2]

Over the past two decades, Asia accounted for 90 per cent of all new coal-fired power stations built worldwide (this involved 880GW being built in China, 173GW in India, 63GW in South East Asia, 28GW in Korea and 20.5GW in Japan). Outside of Asia, Europe added 45GW of coal-fired capacity and the US added 25GW in that same period.[3]

Under the IEA STEPS scenario China continues to install an average of 17GW of coal-fired capacity annually to 2025.[4] In comparison, Australia has 23GW of installed coal capacity[5] powering 68% of National Electricity Market generation in FY21.[6]

Growth in low emission, energy efficient coal-fired plants

To reduce GHG emissions and meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, many coal-reliant countries have committed to retiring old and inefficient coal-fired plants and moving towards newer, lower emission, more energy efficient generation technologies.

The coal produced and exported by Whitehaven is highquality coal. It delivers among the lowest carbon emissions per tonne of coal consumed when combined with high technology, low emission, energy efficient coal-fired plants.

Innovation and technology are central to emissions reductions

While high quality coal reduces emissions, Whitehaven acknowledges that addressing the challenges of climate change will require a multifaceted, economy-wide approach. We believe that innovation and technology are essential for reducing emissions on the scale required and in ways that support access to energy and electricity for economic development.

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has identified carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) as a key strategy for mitigating emissions.[7] Additionally, the International Energy Agency in its World Energy Outlook 2020 notes that under the Sustainable Development Scenario CCUS plays a substantial role in emissions reduction with 850MtCO2 captured globally in 2030 and 5,000MtCO2 by 2050.

In September 2020, the Australian Government released its Technology Investment Roadmap. The roadmap is a technology-led approach to meeting Australia’s 2030 emissions target. Along with four other technologies, it identifies CCUS as a technology for development and commercialisation to reduce emissions and support economic growth.

Whitehaven has invested in carbon capture technologies through its funding for Low Emission Technology Australia. The organisation identifies, researches and develops technologies that capture and permanently store carbon dioxide or reuse carbon dioxide in other applications.

We support an industry-wide approach to mitigating emissions. Whitehaven is a signatory to the Minerals Council of Australia’s “Climate Action Plan” released in June 2020. The plan details the mineral industry’s commitment to the goal of net zero emissions and its actions, among others, on renewable energy investments at mine sites and collaborations with partners on low-emissions technologies and processes.

Reducing our emissions

Whitehaven is undertaking an assessment of carbon abatement opportunities for its Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions, including options to generate and purchase carbon offsets, as well as the associated costs and any related business risks or opportunities.

1 https://www.iea.org/reports/global-energy-review-2021/coal.
IEA World Energy Outlook, 2019, p 284.
IEA World Energy Outlook, 2019, p 284.
WEO 2020, p 231.
AEMO NEM Generation Information July 2021 data set.
https://www.aemo.com.au/energy-systems/electricity/national-electricity-market-nem/data-nem/data-dashboard-nem.

Whitehaven Coal Sustainability Report 2021 |

Global warming of 1.5°C: An IPCC Special report, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2019.

CLIMATE

Climate-related risks and opportunities

Climate change governance

Risks and opportunities

The Board Committee with the highest level of direct responsibility for climate-related matters is the Audit & Risk Management Committee, which operates under a formal charter and currently comprises three non-executive and independent directors. This Committee meets at least four times a year, and oversees climate-related risks. Management of climate-related matters rests with Whitehaven’s senior management and with the Sustainability Working Group monitoring and coordinating our handling of climaterelated matters. Further information is outlined on page 9.

Risks

Identifying and evaluating climaterelated risks are established features of our enterprise risk management framework, strategy and decision making processes and are prioritised according to magnitude and likelihood. Our most significant risks are reviewed annually, while material and emerging risks are continually and proactively identified, monitored and assessed.

We have undertaken detailed climate risk and scenario planning using the voluntary framework recommended by the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the outcomes of which are set out in this chapter.

The TCFD recommendations separate climate risks and opportunities into two general categories, transition and physical:

Transition risks and opportunities relate to technological innovations, policy changes, carbon pricing and other factors in the transition to a low-carbon future
Physical risks are associated with the direct impacts of climate change, being acute extreme weather events such as cyclones, hurricanes or floods or chronic changes to climate (e.g. drought or sustained higher temperatures) that could affect companies’ businesses.

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CONTENTS
Response to climate-related risks
Risk Type Risk Description Mitigation
----- End of picture text -----

Transition	Market	Supply and demand for	We continuously monitor
	changes	the coal we produce may	the global environment
Time horizon Long Term		be affected by various disruptions including policy, regulation and	and conduct detailed analyses on coal markets to ensure we are well-
		technology shifts.	positioned to respond
			to market changes that
			affect our business.
Transition	Policy and regulation	Future costs for our business and our	We continue to monitor global and domestic
Time horizon		customers’ businesses may be affected by	policy and regulation with a focus on changes
Medium –		changes in policy	or trends in policy in our
Long Term		impacting the cost	customer countries.
		of emissions and/or	We engage with domestic
		transport.	policymakers to advocate
			for positive policy outcomes.
Transition	Legal	Increasing litigation	We believe our climate-
		against companies in an	related risk management
Time horizon		effort to accelerate action on climate change.	framework, including scenario analysis,
Short – Long			stakeholder management
Term			and monitoring of
			legal developments
			assists in identifying
			potential climate-related
			litigation risks.
			In parallel, we will also
			seek legal advice on
			such developments
			when required.
Transition	Access to	Further changes to ESG	We advocate for the
	funding and	policies by funding and	central role of high-
Time horizon	insurance	insurance providers may lead to a smaller pool	quality Australian thermal coal in reducing
Medium –		of suppliers for these	global emissions.
Long Term		services which may result	We continue to advocate
		in higher costs.	for the importance of
			Australian metallurgical
			coal as a critical input for
			steel production.
			We are also exploring
			alternative sources of
			funding and insurance.
		Whitehaven Coal	Sustainability Report 2021

CONTENTS

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Response to climate-related risks continued
Risk Type Risk Description Mitigation
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Transition	Increased	The potential introduction	We identify and
	energy and	of regulatory pricing	implement energy
Time horizon	fuel costs	mechanisms and/or trading systems may	effciency initiatives.
Medium –		increase the cost of
Long Term		electricity and fuel, which
		are key inputs required
		for our mining operations.
Transition	Reputation	Changing stakeholder	We engage regularly
		expectations and	with our stakeholders
Time horizon		misunderstanding of the role of high-quality	in dialogue covering the full spectrum
Medium –		coal in supporting a	of environmental,
Long Term		lower-carbon future	sustainability and
		may present a risk to our	governance issues,
		reputation and impact our	including in relation
		social licence to operate	to climate change and
		and ability to obtain	the adoption of the
		project approvals.	recommendations of
			the TCFD.
Acute	Increased	Impact to operations due	Continue to design
Physical	frequency	to adverse and severe	infrastructure to better
	and severity	weather events resulting	withstand foods, storm
Time horizon	of extreme weather	in increased costs and disruption to supply.	deluge and other extreme weather conditions.
Medium –	events, such		We monitor contractual
Long Term	as tropical cyclones, foods and fres		arrangements to ensure appropriate mitigation measures are in place.
Chronic	Changes in	Production loss resulting	We monitor water
Physical	precipitation	from an over - or	balances at each site.
Time horizon Short – Long Term	patterns resulting in a material increase or decrease	undersupply of water.	We investigate opportunities to minimise water usage and secure alternate, reliable water sources to strengthen our
	in water balances		operations’ resilience to water availability risks.

Opportunities

We explore and take advantage of climate change opportunities. Central among these for Whitehaven is responding to growing market demand for highquality Australian coal in a more carbon-constrained world (as outlined in Our Business).

We also invest in low and negative emissions technologies through Low Emission Technology Australia and will continue to evaluate other ways we can contribute to the development of Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) globally.

We acknowledge climate change is a global challenge that requires collaboration among a wide range of stakeholder groups. We participate in domestic and international exchanges and forums where we advocate for the role higher-quality coal and CCUS technologies can play in contributing to meaningful carbon emissions reductions.

Whitehaven Coal Sustainability Report 2021 | 26

CLIMATE

Business resilience and climate change

Since FY19, Whitehaven has responded to the voluntary recommendations of the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The TCFD disclosure requirements are structured around four elements of business operations: governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets.

A central element of the TCFD’s recommendations is that companies use scenario analysis to:

understand the impact of changes to the operating environment under potential lower-carbon scenarios (including one that limits global warming to an average of 2°C above pre-industrial levels)
determine their financial and operating resilience under these scenarios
periodically monitor relevant external metrics and indicators to identify the scenario that is most likely to eventuate over time.

In undertaking this analysis, we stress-tested the resilience of our operating asset portfolio against the enduring IEA scenarios, STEPS and SDS.

Instead we have analysed our forecasts under both enduring scenarios to determine the possible impacts on our business. Our key conclusions are:

The future of the Australian coal sector and high-quality coal producers such as Whitehaven is expected to remain robust.
Whitehaven exhibits resilience and value generation in a range of de-carbonising scenarios, including under a 2°C scenario.
Under the 2°C scenario, all Whitehaven mines would continue to have positive valuations and economic lives, consistent with current life-of-mine planning.[1]
The risk of Whitehaven’s assets being ‘stranded’ in a more carbon-constrained world is assessed as low.

The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced considerable uncertainty in relation to outlook for future energy use. In the WEO 2020 the IEA introduced a Delayed Recovery Scenario (DRS) which assumes the global economic recovery from the pandemic is delayed beyond 2021. We note IEA thermal coal prices under this scenario represent an approximate midpoint of the STEPS and SDS pricing and as result we have not flexed our models under this scenario specifically.

Our “greenfields” projects will be tested for resilience as part of future investment decisions related to those projects.

CONTENTS

Stated Policies Scenario Sustainable (STEPS) Development Scenario Expected warming of (SDS) 2.7°C by 2100 Limiting warming to below 2°C by 2100 and achieving net zero emissions by 2070

Our scenarios

Given the well-documented, transparent and independent nature of scenarios produced by the IEA, we have evaluated our business resilience under the following scenarios:

– IEA Stated Policies Scenario (STEPS), which reflects the impact of existing policy frameworks – including Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement – and today’s announced policy intentions out to 2040

IEA Sustainable Development Scenario (SDS), which outlines a major transformation of the global energy system, showing how the world can change course to deliver on a Paris-aligned decarbonisation objective.

We note other scenarios covering a range of possible outcomes beyond those considered in this report exist. Some of these entail more rapid decarbonisation arising from a more precipitous decrease in the use of coal and other fossil fuels, including the IEA’s Sustainable Development Scenario and Net Zero Emissions 2050 scenario.

When assessing our resilience against a given scenario, we test the following against our corporate model:

Is market demand sufficient to sell our products, given their quality characteristics?
Can our products be marketed and sold at a price that generates a positive cash flow for our business?

Where both of these questions are answered in the affirmative, we conclude our business is resilient.

We note current market conditions differ materially from the assumptions underpinning the IEA SDS scenario and that the SDS entails a fundamental transformation of the global energy system. A comparison of the emissions reduction requirements in the WEO 2020 SDS model with that outlined in previous years’ reports indicates the expanding scope of the ambitious measures and behaviours required to achieve the goals of the pathway. The increase in emissions reduction requirements is accompanied by an increased reliance on negative emissions technologies required to achieve these goals.

Additionally, the new IEA net zero emissions by 2050 scenario (NZE 2050) envisages an even more ambitious emissions reduction trajectory leading to limiting warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. This represents a substantially more ambitious scenario than the SDS, requiring an additional 6.6Gt reduction in emissions by 2030.

Rapid decarbonisation scenarios of this type require globally coordinated effort on an almost unprecedented scale. Global cooperation and consumption patterns would need to materially shift, with outcomes such as a 17% reduction in primary energy use,[2] and a 75% reduction in business flights over 6 hours[3] required to meet the IEA NZE 2050 scenario outcomes. As the IEA notes, “an unparalleled transformation of the energy sector and major behaviour changes in the next ten years would be needed to achieve global net zero emissions by 2050.”

IEA (2020), World Energy Model, IEA, Paris https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-model. 2. IEA World Energy Outlook, 2020, p 123. 3. IEA World Energy Outlook, 2020, p 56. Whitehaven Coal Sustainability Report 2021 | 28

CLIMATE

Product resilience

Using the IEA’s WEO 2020 report, the latest in the IEA’s series, we analysed market demand for thermal coal in our core established and emerging markets in Asia. This is consistent with our understanding of the IEA’s demand trends that identify this region as the focus of future growth. Our analysis includes reviewing coal demand from the Australian production base and quality drivers embedded within that demand.

In the STEPS scenario, overall coal demand in Whitehaven’s key Asian markets increases over the period of the scenario, with decreasing demand in Japan being offset by increasing demand in India and Southeast Asia.

Resilience under STEPS

Resilience under SDS

Global thermal coal demand contracts by 0.7% CAGR to 2040. Given the relative scarcity of high CV Australian thermal coal, our long-life mines are well positioned to meet growing demand for high-quality Australian thermal coal.

Global thermal coal demand contracts by 7.3% CAGR until 2040. Given the sources of demand and the expectation of growing quality requirements within our region, we anticipate that Australia will outperform the global seaborne market. Furthermore, in a carbon-constrained world and given the quality of Gunnedah Basin coal and its lower CO2 emissions per unit of power produced, we expect demand for our coal to be better than the Australian average.

The WEO 2020 states that in the SDS, all exporting countries are heavily affected, but those serving the emerging Asian markets with higher exposure to coking coal see a lesser decline and Australia remains the largest exporter of coal.[1]

Under STEPS, while global seaborne trade declines modestly to 2040, Australia’s exports are expected to grow at 0.37% CAGR, taking market share from other exporting nations.

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CONTENTS
Coal demand in key Asian markets under the IEA’s Stated Policies Scenario
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
2010 2018 2019 2025 2030 2040
India Japan Southeast Asia
CAGR 1.3% CAGR -2.0% CAGR 2.1%
Source: World Energy Outlook 2020
STEPS reflects the impact of existing policy frameworks – including Nationally Determined Contributions under
the Paris Agreement – and today’s announced policy intentions out to 2040. Refer to pages 14 and 28 for
further information on scenarios other than STEPS.
Australian coal exports under the IEA’s Stated Policies Scenario
1,200 1,115
1,000 968 932 961
800
600
363 382
400 323 339
200
0
2019 2025 2030 2040
Australia World
CAGR 0.37% CAGR -0.86%
Source: World Energy Outlook 2020
STEPS reflects the impact of existing policy frameworks – including Nationally Determined Contributions under
the Paris Agreement – and today’s announced policy intentions out to 2040. Refer to pages 14 and 28 for
further information on scenarios other than STEPS.
Whitehaven Coal Sustainability Report 2021 | 29
Mtce
Mtce
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WEO 2020, p 284.

CLIMATE

CONTENTS

Financial resilience

The WEO 2020 report contains delivered coal prices to Japan in 2025, 2030, 2035 and 2040 under the STEPS and in 2025 and 2040 under the SDS. Our resilience testing for each scenario is based on the IEA’s respective prices after rebasing to an FOB Newcastle basis. We calculated linear year-onyear prices between the IEA prices and model the cash flow generation of our business over 20 years, until 2041.

While the IEA does not explain how coal prices are determined in its scenarios, coal demand is curtailed by the introduction of carbon prices. This reduced demand leads to the lower underlying coal prices seen in the scenarios, while the cost of the end product is inflated by the carbon price.[1]

Resilience under STEPS Resilience under SDS

Modelling of WEO 2020 coal prices under this scenario projects strong EBITDA margins and positive cash flows for our business, with all mines returning positive and robust NPV outcomes.

WEO 2020 assumed prices for coal are lower under the SDS than the STEPS case. Modelling shows the company is cash flow positive throughout the outlook period, with all mines remaining NPV positive.

Monitoring and reporting

Consistent with the TCFD’s recommendations to monitor relevant external metrics to determine the most likely eventuating scenario over time, Whitehaven has identified signposts for each WEO scenario.

They encompass the leading indicators underpinning our assumptions as well as any changes in the external environment relevant to Whitehaven, our products and key markets. These are mainly IEA data points and include categories such as global power sector CO2 emissions, global thermal coal production and cumulative investments in fossil fuel and renewables generation, on a region-byregion basis.

Whitehaven’s signposts are a tool we use to monitor the changing energy landscape and to inform judgments about the probability of different IEA scenarios materialising over time. They are the ‘backward-looking’ component of our resilience testing framework as distinct to ‘forward-looking’ price analysis.

In addition to IEA data, we also use bespoke data from independent resource industry consultants and open-source reporting and analysis on policy and market developments relating to carbon, climate change, coal and other relevant topics.

We also participate in domestic and international discussion forums to deepen our understanding of issues. This information is synthesised by the Sustainability Working Group, which meets periodically to review signposts and form judgements on which scenarios are becoming more or less relevant to the physical market over time.

WEO 2020, p81.

CLIMATE

CONTENTS

Emissions

We are committed to ongoing efforts to reduce our operational emissions from energy use and haulage.

Our main sources of greenhouse gas emissions are:

Fuel consumption (diesel) during mining operations – Scope 1
Release of fugitive methane (CH4) through mining coal seams – Scope 1
Indirect emissions resulting from our consumption and use of purchased electricity – Scope 2.

Progress on our efforts is measured annually, in October, when Whitehaven reports to the Australian Government’s Clean Energy Regulator (CER) on its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy production and consumption. This reporting follows the requirements of the National Greenhouse and Reporting Scheme (NGER), created under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and related rules have been in place since 1992 and represent the foundation for the accountability of national governments to progress their international commitments.

The rules specify that all emissions associated with an activity within a nation’s borders count towards that nation’s emissions total. This means emissions associated with the production of goods imported into Australia (‘upstream’ Scope 3 emissions) are accounted for in producing countries’ greenhouse accounts, just as emissions associated with Australian exports (‘downstream’ Scope 3 emissions) are accounted for in importing countries’ greenhouse accounts. This approach avoids double-counting and promotes complete, global coverage of emissions, as well as transparency, accuracy and comparability across all countries.

With the adoption of the Paris Agreement almost all countries, including major developing countries, have for the first time committed to respond to climate change and track their progress over time. Nations are individually responsible and accountable for determining their contribution to the global response to climate change.

The NGER scheme is a single, national framework for reporting on energy production, consumption and emissions. It supports the Australian Government’s reporting obligations and so does not require reporting of Scope 3 emissions. The scheme is consistent with reporting systems in operation in the USA, the EU and South Korea.

In its recent review of the NGER scheme, the Australian Government’s Climate Change Authority considered a requirement to report Scope 3 emissions. The Authority concluded that the challenges and burden of reporting Scope 3 emissions outweigh any benefits, because an accurate estimation of Scope 3 emissions associated with a specific economic activity is inherently complex and uncertain, involving many value chains across multiple economies.

Our annual reporting since the launch of the scheme in 2008-09 is available on the regulator’s website and emissions from the past five years are set out below.

In FY21 we developed an internal emissions tracking system to complement existing systems and processes. The tailored software provides more frequent and granular information about emissions which further improves the accuracy of our emissions forecasting. This investment will allow us to improve our understanding of our emissions and energy use. We continue to work with commercial partners to analyse and evaluate opportunities to reduce operational emissions.

For the FY20 reporting period, the most recent reportable period under the NGER scheme, energy use increased (3%) on the previous year. This was related to increased haulage distances and the resultant increased diesel consumption. Over the same period total Scope 1 and 2 emissions decreased (1.2%) due to lower production across our mines resulting in lower fugitive emissions.


		FY201	FY19	FY18	FY17	FY16
Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions (kilotonnes CO2-e)2		1,593	1,6213	1,4413	1,3503	1,1623
Intensity – greenhouse gas emissions (tonnes CO2-e per tonne ROM coal)		0.077	0.0703	0.063	0.0583	0.057
ROM production (million tonnes)		20,580	23,223	22,925	23,137	20,504
Net energy consumed (terajoules)4		6,313	6,134	5,937	4,918	3,948
Intensity – net energy consumed
(gigajoules per tonne of run-of-mine		0.307	0.264	0.259	0.213	0.193
(ROM) coal)
1. Most recent reportable period.
2. CO2-e stands for ‘carbon dioxide equivalent.
3. As of FY20 WHC are reporting Scope 1 and 2 GHG	emissions in line with the rounding requirements of the CER
reporting system and publicly reported data.
4. Net energy consumed has been updated to refect	the CER publically reported data. This				has historically been
reported as total energy use.
		31 Whitehaven CoalSustainability Report 2021

SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITIES

CONTENTS

Supporting our communities

Being a responsible operator involves working with our neighbours, traditional landowners and other stakeholders with openness and transparency, and in a meaningful and respectful way. Their involvement and feedback informs our decision making, meeting our aim of working in partnership with local communities.

FY21 community contribution

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$392,300
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in community partnerships and donations

$5.15 million spent with 14 indigenous businesses

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$210.5 million
in wages paid
$189.2 million
contributed to federal, state and local
governments in taxes and royalties
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$344.7 million spent with local suppliers

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Investing in Australian communities
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Identify, develop and operate high-quality, long-life, lower-cost coal projects

Promote local economic growth and sustainability through permanent job creation and local procurement

Help build local community capacity and viability through direct and indirect intergenerational investment in education, health, skills and infrastructure

Instill community trust through responsible environmental stewardship and community partnerships

Leave an economic and social legacy that outlives mining operations

SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITIES

CONTENTS

Community engagement

Neighbouring landowners and local residents hold legitimate concerns about mining in their district. To work in partnership and instil trust, our approach is to try and engage with stakeholders early on and share information in a timely, meaningful and respectful way.

People have preferred ways of engaging and, recognising this, we offer a range of communication channels.

There are Community Consultative Committee meetings for each mine site, the minutes of which are published on our website, as well as newsletters, factsheets, environmental monitoring, assessments and audits, all of which are also available on our website.

Members of the public are invited to seek information or provide feedback online, by phone, or in person at our Gunnedah community shopfront, which is open Monday to Friday. Complaints are addressed through our dispute resolution process.

Presentations are made by our representatives to local councils, business chambers, other local forums and Whitehaven-hosted supplier briefings. Everyone is welcome to learn more about us by visiting our shopfront, attending our community drop-in sessions, mine open days and tours, or by visiting the Whitehaven Coal website.

While the opportunity to run mine site tours during FY21 was impeded by COVID-19, we still hosted around 120 guests to our operations – including from local Rotary, Probus and Lions Clubs, Calrossy Anglican School Tamworth, the Minerals Council of Australia and the Australian Energy Council.

In FY20, we strengthened our capacity to engage with stakeholders by creating a General Manager-level role based in Gunnedah. An experienced leader was appointed to the role that year. In FY21, we finalised our Stakeholder Engagement and Community Investment Strategy 2021-2023.

Modelled on the International Association for Public Participation framework, the strategy brings a new level of commitment to best practice community engagement and incorporates ideas and feedback raised by our stakeholders. It clearly defines our desired engagement outcomes and sets out the activities we need to undertake to achieve them.

While our current engagement channels are considered best practice, we acknowledge the information provided needs to improve community understanding of:

How we operate in harmony with a thriving agricultural industry
Our operations
The ways we invest in the community.

Improving community understanding in these areas will be our focus in the next three years. Our progress will be reviewed annually, with changes made as required.

To ensure community complaints are dealt with promptly and resolved consistently, in FY21 we centralised our community complaints process with an updated phone line, email options, and a set resolution process.

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SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITIES

CONTENTS

Contributing to local prosperity and sustainability

Through salaries and wages, locally-focused procurement, infrastructure investment, voluntary payments to councils, discretionary donations and sponsorships, we proudly support our local communities.

Alongside other local industries such as agriculture, the opportunities we provide through employment, development and procurement build a more diversified and skilled regional economy.

Leaving a legacy beyond mining

Investment in health services to support families and community wellbeing

Investing in local education, from preschool to tertiary level, forms a skills foundation for all local industries

Partnering with community organisations helps build their capacity and longevity

Stable employment and training opportunities builds the base of transferable skills, locally

Local skilled workforce staying in the region to take up skilled and professional jobs

Working with local suppliers, including to build capability, helps strengthen and diversify the regional economy

Investment in infrastructure such as roads, airports and other facilities benefits the community now and for decades to come

We are committed to:

Hiring local people wherever possible – around 75% of our people live in the areas surrounding our operations
Working closely with local businesses to offer new opportunities and help them grow
Investing in local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth, the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and related organisations to leave a lasting positive legacy.

During times of drought, we provide a valuable second income to many local farmers. In recent times, when local suppliers experienced a slowing of agricultural-client business due to drought, we stepped in to help keep their businesses strong. We are proud to play this part in sustaining a diversified regional economy for the longer term.

At some point our mines will reach their end-of-life and close (read information about rehabilitation here). Whitehaven has a pipeline of projects to offset these closures, ensuring our ongoing presence and contribution to local economies.

Plans for the Vickery Extension Project and the Narrabri Stage 3 Extension in North West NSW, and the Winchester South Project in the Bowen Basin, are proceeding through state and federal assessment and approval processes.

To collaborate on current and future opportunities for local businesses, we actively participate in the five local business chambers: Gunnedah, Narrabri, Boggabri, Liverpool Plains and Tamworth. Opportunities are also explored through hosting business groups at our mine sites and inviting business owners to our supplier briefings.

Working closely with local business

In FY21 we spent $344.7 million with local suppliers in North West NSW and regional QLD. Of this, $5.15 million was spent with 14 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander businesses for goods and services ranging from on-site training to office supplies. Total supplier spend contracted slightly compared to FY20, reflecting the lower coal price environment and the impacts of COVID-19. Despite this, we were able to keep growing our relationships with ATSI businesses.


	FY21	FY20	FY19	FY18	FY17
Taxes and royalties paid to governments ($m)	189.2	244.2	323.8	283	226.3
Payments to businesses and suppliers in North West NSW ($m)	344.1	365.4	333.9	293.2	237.7
Payments to businesses and suppliers in Central QLD ($m)	0.6
Payments made to all other suppliers ($m)	1,111.9	1,270.1	1,202.9	1,107.4	990.2
Number of suppliers in North West NSW	310	336	328	315	311
Number of suppliers in Central QLD	8
Payments made to Indigenous suppliers ($m)	5.15	3.15	1.83	2.27	1.90
Number of Indigenous suppliers	14	9	18	22	10
Voluntary planning agreement expenditure ($m)	0.71	0.61	0.73	1.75	4.13
Donations and sponsorships ($’000)	392.3	411.9	515.4	445.3	296.4

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Narrabri LGA
Wages and salaries $46.9m
Number of suppliers 81
Procurement spend $47.5m
Council rates $1.7m
& VPA payments
Gunnedah LGA
Wages and salaries $66.6m
Number of suppliers 139
Procurement spend $270.2m
Council rates $1.5m
& VPA payments
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Liverpool Plains LGA
Wages and salaries $9.2m
Number of suppliers 17
Procurement spend $2.6m
Council rates $0.5m
& VPA payments
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Narrabri Mine Gunnedah CHPP

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Maules Creek Mine
Tarrawonga Mine
Vickery Extension Project
Tamworth
LGA
W erris Creek Mine
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Tamworth LGA
Wages and salaries $19m
Number of suppliers 73
Procurement spend $23.8m
Council rates $0.02m
& VPA payments
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SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITIES

CONTENTS

Empowering Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people

Our operations in North West NSW take place on Gomeroi Country (also known as Kamilaroi, Gamilaroi or Gamilaraay), one of the four largest Aboriginal nations in Australia. In Queensland’s Bowen Basin, our proposed new Winchester South Project is located on Barada Barna Country (also known as Baranha or Barna).

We acknowledge Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) peoples as the First People of Australia. We recognise the Gomeroi People of North West NSW and the Barada Barna People of Central Queensland as the Traditional Owners of the land on which we operate and recognise their role as custodians of the land and water.

This journey involves the enterprise and input of our board, management team, employees, members of the local ATSI community, the Local Aboriginal Land Councils within our areas of operation and their peak representative bodies such as the NSW Aboriginal Land Council, elected representatives, business leaders, Reconciliation Australia and other stakeholders.

We also recognise the challenges they face in their communities, especially in relation to employment, health, education and protection of cultural heritage. We are committed to continuing to work with the Gomeroi People and Barada Barna People to overcome these challenges.

For example, as the largest private sector employer in North West NSW, we have a unique opportunity to meaningfully progress our vision for a more united and equitable Australia. We leverage this opportunity by working with Gomeroi elders and their community to offer stable, rewarding and long-term employment, provide cultural awareness programs to all Whitehaven employees, mark National Reconciliation Week and NAIDOC Week and purchase goods and services from ATSI-owned and run businesses.

Our vision is to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples stay connected to country, community and culture by obtaining economic independence through long-term and rewarding careers in our mining operations, which occur on the Traditional Lands of the Gomeroi and Barada Barna Nations.

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Working with suppliers to create employment opportunities

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Clontarf students tour the many roads to mining

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Supporting school engagement and completion
Since 2016, Whitehaven has been supporting the Clontarf Academies at Tamworth
and Quirindi High Schools. These Academies are run by the Clontarf Foundation,
which exists to improve the education, discipline, life skills, self-esteem and
employment prospects of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and by
doing so equips them to participate more meaningfully in society.
In 2019 we made a commitment to provide $120,000 over three years to help
establish an academy at Narrabri High School. The first year saw 56 students from
years 7 to 12 participate. This increased to 66 students in the second year and in
2021 75 students are taking part. School attendance amongst Clontarf students is
80% compared to 53% attendance amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
students at Narrabri High before the Clontarf Academy was established.
A program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls was run by the Girls
Academy. Gunnedah High School received financial support from Whitehaven
since 2017 to help run the academy. Each year, around 50 girls from years 7 to 12
benefited and school attendance rates increased from 72% to 85% over the years.
In December 2020, the federal government contract with the Girls Academy was
not renewed and a new provider was appointed. While Gunnedah High School
has decided to place its participation on hold in 2021, we continue to work
with the school and others to identify an alternative initiative to support young
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in our region.
Whitehaven Coal Sustainability Report 2021 | 37
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SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITIES

CONTENTS

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Supporting all generations, beyond our workforce

Whitehaven continues to provide intergenerational support by donating to and sponsoring local charities and organisations dedicated to:

Engaging local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth in education, from kindergarten through to tertiary education.
Strengthening Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and the health of family members.
Encouraging healthy lifestyles and building community through team sports.

Our support of the Winanga-Li Aboriginal Child and Family Centre in Gunnedah and Narrabri commenced in 2015 by way of providing leased premises and funding for buses.

In FY21, support expanded beyond infrastructure with Whitehaven introducing experts, providing advice on a pro bono basis, to help build the Centre’s skills in securing government support for its childhood education, foster care, strong families and cultural projects.

Third Reconciliation Action Plan

In 2021, we will release our latest threeyear Stretch Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), our second ‘Stretch’ RAP, further building on our suite of initiatives and investments across the areas of health, education and cultural heritage.

In 2015 we released our first three-year Innovate RAP. This inaugural plan set ambitious targets aimed at making positive and sustainable improvements to the lives of local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It will be replaced by the next three-year RAP, which sets more ambitious targets, in early FY22.

Whitehaven continues to be the major employer of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people in the North West NSW region.

Ongoing employment initiatives, some of which are outlined in the Talent & diversity chapter, reflect the goals outlined in our RAP, to:

Embed and strengthen our existing activities to make them ‘business as usual’.
Offer a wider range of roles to ATSI employees.
Provide professional development to ATSI employees to enable career progression into managerial roles.

To help ensure objectives are realised, in FY21 we created a new Aboriginal Community Relations Officer role. The role reports to our Aboriginal Community Relations Manager and, on filling the role this year, we increased our capacity to deliver on our aims.

Whitehaven Coal Sustainability Report 2021 | 38

SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITIES

Preserving cultural heritage

We recognise the significance of country to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, as well as our responsibility to protect and preserve our natural environment, especially as Australia is home to some of the oldest sites of human occupation in the world. In FY21 Whitehaven launched its first cultural heritage vision statement. The statement sets out our commitment to preserving cultural heritage and is available on our website. In FY21, we reviewed the significance of cultural heritage sites on our operations, confirming the status of and centralising our internal register of sites. We also conducted a training session about cultural heritage management for relevant environmental, planning and approvals teams.

Beyond our operations and immediate sphere of influence, we will continue to contribute to broader industry efforts to strengthen our partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities as outlined in the Minerals Council of Australia’s Indigenous Partnerships statement released in July 2021.

VIEW NOW

Cultural heritage vision statement

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SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITIES

Community partnerships

With 75% of our employees living in the regions surrounding our operations, we are committed to enriching their lives, the lives of their families and those of fellow residents by building strong local communities.

Among our initiatives in building strong communities is our program of discretionary community giving.

In FY21, our donations and sponsorships in our local communities came to around $392,300, slightly lower than that of FY20 ($411,900) as COVID-19 caused the cancellation of many community events. The most significant donation was to the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service. Since establishing its base in Tamworth in 2000, Whitehaven has donated more than $1 million to the service. The 24/7 emergency aeromedical team serves our local communities and we proudly support their tremendous work.

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Breaking new ground with the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service

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CONTENTS
Whitehaven welcomes locals to Kurrumbede
for historic Open Day event
In June 2021 we welcomed more than 1,000 members of the public to the grounds of the
historic Kurrumbede homestead. The day marked the first time the property with links to
the late Dorothea Mackellar OBE, author of the iconic Australian poem, ‘My Country’, was
open to the public in more than 100 years.
READ MORE
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Our giving during the year was focused on initiatives supporting community health, the engagement of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander youth in education, interest in engineering as a career, representative level Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander sport, and activities delivering benefits to local communities as a whole.

In addition to the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service, FY21 recipients included the Clontarf Foundation, Future EDU, Narrabri Rugby League Football Club, Wests Tigers National Rugby League Football Club, Narrabri Local Aboriginal Land Council, Barada Barna Aboriginal Corporation, and a range of community events hosted by local rotary clubs, show societies, shire councils, arts organisations and schools.

Whitehaven Coal Sustainability Report 2021 | 40

SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITIES

CONTENTS

Committed to education

We are heavily invested in supporting education in our local communities as part of our commitment to intergenerational skills and capability development.

To support local Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander youth we have invested in the establishment of a Clontarf Academy at Narrabri High School and the Girls Academy at Gunnedah High School to improve school attendance and graduation rates.

For all young people across North West NSW we have donated more than $100,000 to the Country Education Foundation since 2010. The Foundation provides direct financial assistance to help young people in regional areas pursue further education in or outside their district. The opportunities include apprenticeships, cadetships, degrees, diplomas and certificate-level studies. We are also proud to support the Country Universities Centre – North West, which helps people in our region pursue further education while continuing to help grow the thriving local community and economy.

Working with schools across North West NSW, we host school visits to our mine sites to allow students to learn about the mining sector first-hand. We reveal the wide range of jobs available and their corresponding fields of study – from engineering and environmental management through to procurement and community relations. In doing so, we encourage young people to pursue further studies and return to North West NSW to apply their knowledge and skills.

New approach to community investment

Following community feedback, in FY21 we refined our approach to community investment.

In essence, the new approach is more structured and open. From FY21, applications for Whitehaven sponsorship and donations will be advertised four times a year, with community representatives involved in the funding allocation process. On an annual basis, we will publish the list of recipients with commentary on how their activities met the criteria. For the purposes of probity, the annual statement will be vetted by an independent community representative.

This new approach will continue our tradition of supporting longer term partnership funding and one-off donations. Further, it will not change our focus on providing financial support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community achievement, health and education, and regional sustainability. That focus continues.

$100,000+

donated to the Country Education Foundation since 2010 for all young people across North West NSW

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Supporting local STEM connections
through Future EDU
READ MORE
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Whitehaven Coal Sustainability Report 2021 | 41

MINIMISING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

Minimising environmental impacts

Our approach to environmental management is focused on avoiding environmental impacts where possible, mitigating unavoidable impacts, rehabilitating disturbed areas, and offsetting residual impacts that cannot be avoided, minimised or rehabilitated.

MINIMISING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

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Mining is a highly-regulated industry in Australia. Extensive stakeholder consultation, environmental assessments and environmental management plans are required by law for each stage of a project – from construction and operations to rehabilitation and closure.

Community Consultative Committee meetings, the minutes of which are published on our website, and our formal complaint process, which is available online, by phone, or in person at our Gunnedah community shopfront, offer the opportunity for two-way communication to discuss concerns held by members of the community.

We always look to strictly observe the environmental laws and regulations applying to our operational and development activity, and strive to continuously improve our performance.

Consultation, both formal and informal, further informs our decision making.

In FY21, our approach to environmental management and compliance was further enhanced by:

Environmental assessments are undertaken and plans are put in place for managing any potential impacts to surface water, groundwater, flora and fauna, Aboriginal cultural heritage, historic heritage, air quality, noise, agriculture and geochemistry.

The assessments, management plans, monitoring and audits for each of our sites are available on our website.

Developing our next Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) Strategy for FY22 to FY26. The strategy introduces a more comprehensive framework to deliver consistent and improved environmental performance and identifies specific initiatives.

Independent subject-matter experts are engaged to undertake the assessments and provide planning advice. Their advice informs our environmental management plans. Our adherence to those plans is monitored and independently audited every three years.

Introducing specific key leading and lagging performance indicators (KPIs) for all employees on environmental performance. Everyone at Whitehaven is responsible for ensuring proactive environmental compliance.

The assessments, management plans, monitoring and audits for each of our sites are available on our website.

The identification and verification of Critical Controls for environmental risks.

These documents evidence our commitment to planning carefully, mining responsibly in line with our approval conditions and monitoring and rehabilitating land progressively.

The addition of specific resources to support improved compliance, which will continue to be a focus for FY22.

CONTENTS

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MINIMISING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
Water stewardship
Water in the regions in which we
operate is shared with neighbouring
landholders, farmers, businesses
and residents.
The Gunnedah region has recently been subject to
considerable water scarcity, having only recently
emerged from a period of intense drought that placed
considerable pressure on water users right across the
region. To ensure responsible water management,
we have a water strategy in place for all operating
mine sites and future projects. Implementation of the
strategy is the responsibility of our Group Manager
Water and Property, supported by our newly appointed
Water Specialist.
Created in February 2021, the Water Specialist
role provides subject matter expertise to support
operations to meet their regulatory obligations and
helps ensure long-term water security and responsible
water management is front-of-mind at all times.
Among various responsibilities, the specialist works
with external stakeholders to improve our water
management practices, inspects and audits our
operational water management infrastructure, and
undertakes future needs assessments.
During the drought period, we focused on initiatives
that reduced our overall water consumption and
encouraged water recycling. While recent rainfall has
improved supply, we will continue our work in future
proofing our operations through the use of life-of-mine
water balance models to forecast future water needs.
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We look to recycle water wherever we can. The prime operational area for water recycling is the Coal Handling and Preparation Plants, where about 70% of water is recycled. Where possible, our water is also beneficially reused. The Werris Creek Mine has a 20 hectare pivot irrigation system used by a local farmer. In FY21, 21ML was used to irrigate crops.

Water use

In FY21, our operations used approximately 2,330 megalitres (ML) of their water allocation licenses. This represents around 20% of our total water allocation licenses.

We own 11,738ML of water allocation licenses, with allocations from groundwater (bore water and ‘passive take’) and the Namoi River.

We aim to minimise discharge of water off-site into surrounding water courses and use evaporation fans to manage excess water at our Tarrawonga and Werris Creek mines.

A system of drains and dams collect clean water from undisturbed areas and divert the water around the mining operations into existing water courses. Rainfall run-off from disturbed areas of our mining operations is collected within open pits and onsite dams. This water is used on site for dust suppression and in the Coal Handling and Preparation Plants.

When licensed water allocations are not used in our operations, we can trade the allocations locally for irrigation purposes. In FY21, about 5,000ML was sold to local farmers.

Water use in North West NSW

In FY21 253,247 megalitres of water from the Lower Namoi River was allocated or made available to licensed water users in the region.

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1.5%
of available water was
allocated to Whitehaven Coal
Whitehaven generates
$377,500
of revenue per megalitre
of water used
This is a significantly greater
economic return than other
industries.
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1.7%
of available water was
allocated to other water uses
96.8%
of available water was
allocated to irrigation
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Source: Water Sharing Plan for the Upper Namoi and Lower Namoi Regulated River Water Sources 2020

Whitehaven Coal Sustainability Report 2021 | 44

MINIMISING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

CONTENTS

Water stewardship continued

Water allocation and extraction

Water licence allocation (ML) River/bore water extraction (ML)	FY21 FY20 FY19 FY18 FY17 Upper Namoi Alluvial 1,572 1,810 – – – Gunnedah Oxley Basin 4,448 4,428 – – – Great Artesian Basin – Southern Recharge 248 322 – – – River water 5,440 3,873 – – – Other 30 30 – – – Total 11,738 10,4631 9,978 9,978 9,924 Bore extraction 479 1,651 – – – River extraction 541 427 – – – Passive take (groundwater) 1,310 1,281 – – – Total 2.330 3,359 4,183 3,034 1,456
Water used (ML) Water withdrawal by source (ML)	CHPP (gross) 3,511 3,428 – – – Dust suppression 2,648 2,370 – – – Other 423 467 – – – Total 6,582 6,265 6,826 5,316 3,649 Groundwater 1,789 2,932 – – – River water 541 427 – – – Surface water (mine water run-off) 5,050 1,255 – – – Total 7,380 4,072 – – –
Water exported for irrigation (ML) Water recycled (ML) Water recycled (%)	60 80 102 42 – CHPP recycled water 2,458 2,392 – – – 37 38 23 22 18

Water licence allocation (ML)
River/bore water extraction (ML)

FY21
FY20
FY19
FY18
FY17
Upper Namoi Alluvial
1,572
1,810
–
–
–
Gunnedah Oxley Basin
4,448
4,428
–
–
–
Great Artesian Basin –
Southern Recharge
248
322
–
–
–
River water
5,440
3,873
–
–
–
Other
30
30
–
–
–
Total
11,738
10,4631
9,978
9,978
9,924
Bore extraction
479
1,651
–
–
–
River extraction
541
427
–
–
–
Passive take (groundwater)
1,310
1,281
–
–
–
Total
2.330
3,359
4,183
3,034
1,456

Water used (ML)
Water withdrawal by source (ML)

CHPP (gross)
3,511
3,428
–
–
–
Dust suppression
2,648
2,370
–
–
–
Other
423
467
–
–
–
Total
6,582
6,265
6,826
5,316
3,649
Groundwater
1,789
2,932
–
–
–
River water
541
427
–
–
–
Surface water
(mine water run-off)
5,050
1,255
–
–
–
Total
7,380
4,072
–
–
–

Water exported for irrigation (ML)
Water recycled (ML)
Water recycled (%)

60
80
102
42
–
CHPP recycled water
2,458
2,392
–
–
–
37
38
23
22
18

The values presented in this table are a combination of metered, estimated and modelled data.

Total for FY20 amended to include ‘Other’.

MINIMISING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

Waste and recycling

We generate various types of waste during exploration, construction, operation and closure activities across our mine sites.

The main waste products are:

Overburden and interburden, the material that lies above and between coal seams
Coal-reject, the material generated from separating coal from other minerals.
Recyclable and non-recyclable general waste
Other waste from mining and workshop-related activities (e.g. used large equipment tyres and waste hydrocarbons).

We do not own or operate any active tailings dams.

Mineral waste

To manage mineral waste, such as overburden and coal-reject, we segregate and store the materials in waste emplacements on each mine site.

This waste is generally non-hazardous however, as a precaution, geochemical tests are conducted on these materials to determine if they present any risks as a source of pollution.

The waste emplacements are designed to be safe, stable and non-polluting; they are progressively shaped by dozers to enable land rehabilitation.

General waste

Hydrocarbon waste

Waste hydrocarbons, including oils, greases, degreasers and kerosene, are collected and stored in hydrocarbon storage tanks. They are periodically removed by licensed contractors.

Used heavy tyres

Alternative approaches to disposing of oversized off-road tyres remains an area under review. Our practice, as outlined in our Environmental Impact Statements for each site, is to dispose of such tyres in overburden emplacements as the open cut mine advances or in spoil emplacements. It is important to note that we recycle other light vehicle tyres.

Disposal takes place in a way that does not compromise the stability of final landforms or pose unacceptable environmental risks. This practice of onsite disposal is permissible in NSW and other Australian jurisdictions and observed by industry peers.

We acknowledge the interest in, and importance of, good tyre stewardship. It is an area the mining industry is looking at more closely. We are committed to reviewing our approach regularly to assess the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of alternative approaches.

For general waste, recyclable materials are segregated. Licensed waste contractors collect and process the recyclable waste and dispose of the non-recyclable waste at municipal waste disposal facilities (such as the Narrabri or Gunnedah waste management facilities). We maintain a register of waste collected by contractors.

MINIMISING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

CONTENTS

Air quality

We employ a range of methods to minimise our impact on air quality.

These include using:

Water carts on mine roads
Dust suppressants on mine roads and stockpiles
Sprays on stockpiles
Dust suppression on drills
Measures to generally limit air quality disturbances.

In adverse weather conditions, such as excessive winds or dust storms, we modify our on-site activities to minimise the generation of dust. We also rehabilitate mined land progressively to minimise areas exposed to dust generation.

All our operational sites monitor air quality in real-time. These systems set trigger levels for air quality, below approved criteria, to allow operations to respond in advance and to ensure criteria levels are not exceeded.

Noise management

The Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 governs noise

emissions in NSW. Compliance is supported through Noise Management Plans for each operating site.

We minimise our noise impacts through a range of measures, including using:

Predictive meteorological systems to plan our operations
Sound attenuation on mining mobile equipment and infrastructure
Real-time monitoring, allowing us to adapt our activities.

In FY21, we installed a directional noise monitor at our largest mine, Maules Creek. This allows us to more accurately identify sources of noise to implement operational changes to better manage our noise impacts.

Compliance monitoring results are publicly available through the Whitehaven and NSW Environment Protection Authority websites. To make this information more accessible, in early FY22 we will launch an online air and dust quality performance dashboard for our Maules Creek mine.

Run by the NSW Environment Protection Authority, the Namoi Region Air Quality (NRAQ) Monitoring Project also provides data to the public on the baseline ambient air quality. The data is supplied by privately owned monitoring stations in the Naomi region at Werris Creek, Breeza, Wil-gai and Maules Creek.

Whitehaven is involved in the project in a voluntary capacity as a member of the NRAQ Advisory Committee. Project monitoring results indicate that, in the absence of dust storms brought on by drought, air quality in the Namoi Valley is among the best in NSW.

MINIMISING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

CONTENTS

Land use and biodiversity

Whitehaven Coal land use FY21

The vast majority of the land we own in North West NSW and Queensland is not involved in mining activities. Of the more than 84,000 hectares of land owned by Whitehaven, only about 4.6% is used for mining activities.

Around half of the land we own is leased to local farmers for agricultural activities such as grazing or cropping and around 32% is managed for biodiversity conservation.

Biodiversity managed areas (such as biodiversity stewardship sites and those under conservation agreements as offsets) compensate for the biodiversity impacts that cannot be avoided or mitigated, also known as residual impacts. The total area managed for biodiversity purposes is a multiple of that disturbed for mining operations to achieve a net gain in biodiversity value.

Advice from independent experts guides how we select and incorporate offset areas into our biodiversity estate; offset areas are approved by the NSW and Commonwealth Governments. Approved offsets ensure that like-for-like or better biodiversity values are maintained and conserved into the future. All Whitehaven offset areas are now secured in perpetuity, protecting and enhancing biodiversity values, including threatened ecological communities and threatened species.

Throughout FY21, we continued to implement feral animal management, fire management, weed management and revegetation programs throughout our biodiversity managed areas.

To track our progress, we collect biodiversity management metrics from our fencing, pest animal and weed control activities, and assess survey data from our flora and fauna monitoring programs. This adaptive management approach allows us to ensure survival rates from tree planting activities is as high as possible, for example, over 70% across our Maules Creek biodiversity managed areas in 2020.

Since 2017, and as part of the federal conditions of approval for our Maules Creek mine, we have provided more than $1.1 million in funding to the Australian National University, the NSW Department of Planning, Infrastructure and Environment, and BirdLife Australia to undertake research and share information on the regent honeyeater, swift parrot and south east long eared bat.

4.6%

of the more than 84,000 hectares of land owned by Whitehaven is used for mining activities.

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Whitehaven owns 84,406 hectares of land.
50%
leased for
agriculture
32%
managed for
biodiversity
13%
associated with
operations but
not disturbed
for mining 5%
involved in
mining activities
----- End of picture text -----


	FY21	FY20	FY19	FY18	FY17
tal land owned in QLD and NSW (hectares)	84,406	79,421	74,499	75,460	67,601
tal land leased in QLD and NSW (hectares)	42,581	42,144	37,768	32,101	27,920
tal land leased for agriculture in QLD and NSW (hectares)	42,158	41,721	37,345	31,711	27,572
nd disturbed for mining in QLD and NSW (hectares)	3,920	3,636	3,559	3,168	2,942
nd involved in mining activities (%)	4.6%	4.6%	4.8%	4.2%	4.4%
tal land rehabilitated in fnancial year (hectares)	267.5	215.61	133	83	15
tal land rehabilitated – cumulative (hectares)	1,340.9	1099.61	884	751	668
tal land managed for biodiversity (hectares)2	27,322	22,087	21,037	20,430	20,430
ees planted in land managed for biodiversity	58,633	106,917	109,895	146,453	0
ea revegetated in land managed for biodiversity ectares)	898	1,709	1,370	2,040	0

MINIMISING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation is part of the lifecycle of a mine and, as temporary custodians of the land, we take our responsibility to rehabilitate the land seriously.

Our rehabilitation activity is carried out in consultation with the traditional custodians of the land, the Gomeroi people of North West NSW.

Plans for rehabilitation form part of the approval process for mining, and rehabilitation takes place progressively throughout the life of a mine and well after it has closed. The objective is to ensure the resulting landform is safe, stable and non-polluting and reflects the surrounding landscape, or improves on it.

During FY21, we undertook significant progressive rehabilitation, including rehabilitating 267.5 hectares of land formerly used for mining activities and planting 46,480 trees in rehabilitation areas.

We work hard to improve rehabilitation methods and look to the latest technology, particularly when trying to advance rehabilitation during periods of drought.

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CONTENTS
Modern rehabilitation of the Melville
legacy coal mining site
READ MORE
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Whitehaven ramps up progressive rehabilitation at Maules Creek

Whitehaven Coal Sustainability Report 2021 | 49

MINIMISING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

CONTENTS

Compliance

In both NSW and QLD, where we have operational and development projects, mining is a highly regulated industry subject to strict environmental and workplace health and safety controls.

Every day, we are required to comply with more than 7,000 individual controls across various licence conditions and management plans. We are committed to strong performance in this critical area. In the regrettable instances where non-compliances do occur, we always seek to work cooperatively with relevant regulators and take steps to address all controllable factors that contributed to the non-compliance.

We were subject to a number of Enforcement Actions[1] in FY21.

We received a single Warning Letter for a breach of conditions of approval relating to Historical Heritage Management.

We also received the following for a number of historical breaches of conditions of approval that occurred during FY18 and FY20:

A single Warning Letter relating to Cultural Heritage Management
A single Warning Letter relating to provision of documentation on the Company website
A single Penalty Infringement Notice for pollution of waters
Five Penalty Infringement Notices and two Caution Notices relating to erosion and sediment practices.

We have introduced appropriate management measures to ensure the breaches are not repeated.

In early FY22, two Whitehaven Coal subsidiaries were convicted of offences under the Mining Act 1992 (NSW) related to activities at the Narrabri Coal Mine. See the full publication order in the Appendix.

Enforcement Actions include non-compliances recorded, cautions, warnings, directions, pollution reduction programs, penalty infringement notices, clean-up orders, enforceable undertakings, suspensions, and prosecutions.

HEALTH & SAFETY

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Health & safety

The safety of our people, workplaces and communities is our number one priority. We believe every single member of our workforce should expect to be able to come home safely to their families and loved ones at the end of each day.

HEALTH & SAFETY

CONTENTS

Our approach is risk-based, pragmatic and oriented to those areas where we know we are accountable and can have a positive impact.

Last year we established a new Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) function reporting directly to the Managing Director and CEO. This year we invested further in the function by introducing a customer-focused service delivery model and our next five-year strategy. The core objective of the strategy is to drive a step-change in HSE performance based on a strong foundation of getting the basics done right.

Together the revised service delivery model and new strategic approach will see:

Continued development of our leaders’ capability in Safety Leadership
Better integration of systems, planning and processes to provide a more consistent HSE approach across the Group
Improved data analysis to better track HSE performance and identify areas for improvement, with a focus on leading indicators.

In the future we will further demonstrate our commitment by adopting the principles of a High Reliability Organisation, enhancing our safety leadership capability, supporting the physical and mental health and wellbeing of our people, and maintaining strong operating discipline. We will continue to progress towards a mature safety culture with a foundation on psychological safety.

Another component of this step-change is our relationships with regulators. Australia’s mining industry is subject to stringent regulation and Whitehaven always strives for cooperative, respectful and consultative relationships with regulators in the jurisdictions where we operate. With the appointment of the new EGM – Operations in late FY20 and EGM – HSE in early FY21, as well as a number of key changes within Government agencies, Whitehaven has taken a more proactive approach in dealings with regulators, particularly in relation to health and safety. Whether at the Group or site leadership level, we will continue to prioritise constructive engagement with Government in support of good regulation and sound HSE outcomes.

HEALTH & SAFETY

Safety of our workforce

We aim to execute on the fundamentals of safety to the highest standards, including investigating all safety incidents, prioritising peer and leadership safety interactions and creating a culture where unsafe work environments are identified and remedied.

In FY21 we identified an opportunity to improve the effectiveness of our incident investigations. The purpose of incident investigations is to identify the cause of an incident and implement corrective actions to prevent a reoccurrence.

Our overall safety performance was mixed in FY21. We saw improvement in a number of our leading indicators such as:

Reducing risk around vehicle interactions

One of the most significant risks in our business is the interaction between coal and overburden haulage trucks with smaller heavy equipment and passenger vehicles. These types of interactions are frequent and have resulted in fatalities in other operations.

63% increase in the number of hazards reported across our operations
466% increase in the number of in-field safety interactions

As part of this initiative we have:

Identified two investigation methods: one for lower level incidents and the other when the incident could have resulted in a higher potential outcome
24% increase in the number of actions completed on time.

The trucks used to transport coal and overburden are left hand drive trucks, which means if they follow NSW Road Traffic rules there is decreased visibility of light vehicles at intersections.

In addition, our Gunnedah CHPP and Rocglen sites both achieved recordable injury-free records of 3,000 consecutive days.

Trained more than 40 leaders in these investigation methods
Updated the tools to support the investigation process

Our Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate (TRIFR) at 30 June 2021 was 5.9. While still well below the NSW coal mining average of 13.41, safety outcomes in this respect were not able to be sustained compared to last year. However, we are continuing to see a decrease in TRIF across the longer term.

Vehicle hierarchy is used to reduce the likelihood of heavy and light vehicle interaction at intersections and control issues associated with blind spots on large mining equipment. Working closely with the NSW Resources Regulator, we are developing an improved approach to address vehicle-related incidents that will see us transition from using NSW road rules in production areas to a system of vehicle hierarchy for determining right of way.

Established company-wide communications to share lessons from incidents.

In FY22, we will continue improve our health and safety performance including through increased rigour in our risk management. Relevant targets have also been incorporated into the business strategy including improving TRIF, closing material and critical actions on time, improving in-field leadership and site interactions, and improved incident investigation transparency and learning.

This FY21 result was primarily driven by a series of minor injuries in the second quarter of the year. Intervention programs to address the underlying causes included hazard identification, increase in leadership safety interactions and our movement for improvement program to prevent musculoskeletal injuries. Since January 2021 there has been a 12% decrease in TRIF.

This transition has been supported by tailored training for the workforce as well as contractors. Training includes an e-learning unit, with those requiring more support being trained using virtual reality in a scale model simulation. The change to vehicle hierarchy will be implemented at our Maules Creek mine in early FY22, followed by our other open-cut sites.

	FY21	FY20	FY19	FY18	FY17
Fatalities	0	0	0	0	0
Total recordable injury frequency rate per million hours worked (TRIFR)	5.9	4.1	6.2	6.9	7.4

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CONTENTS
Managing the risks of
COVID-19
Especially in light of our status as a
major employer in the North West NSW
community, we have stayed agile as
we respond to the evolving nature of
COVID-19 and changes in state and federal
Government settings that have arisen in
relation to movement, mask-wearing, and
COVID-19 testing.
We have maintained protective measures,
including around hygiene, social distancing,
limiting or postponing gatherings, travel
and access to sites, and adjusted our
response in alignment with public health
advice. We have kept our people safe
and employed, and maintained continuity
of production and supply. No cases of
COVID-19 in our workforce were recorded
in FY21. We continue to work closely with
our suppliers, including labour hire and
transporation contractors, to mitigate
against potential impacts of COVID-19
related restrictions.
We continue to participate in state and
national industry association working
groups convened to develop and
implement COVID-19 response measures
to keep communities and employees safe,
and minimise the operational impacts
of COVID-19 restrictions. The Resources
Sector National COVID-19 protocols
became a model for other sectors early on
in the pandemic and we continue to share
approaches and lessons within the industry,
and to other sectors where applicable.
In FY21 and into FY22, we have focused
additional resources, both as a company
and as an industry, on supporting the
national vaccine roll-out.
Whitehaven Coal Sustainability Report 2021 | 53
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HEALTH & SAFETY

CONTENTS

Health, wellbeing and resilience

Mental health

In partnership with our new Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provider, in FY21 we developed a mental health first aid program for front-line leaders. The half-day program provides leaders with a knowledge base and tools to recognise and respond to teammates who are psychologically unwell, and ways to connect them to appropriate support such as the EAP, a mental health service, general practitioner or hospital. The program also reinforces managers’ responsibilities regarding mental health. More than 50 operational leaders participated in FY21.

In FY21 we also developed a psychological injury and wellness Trigger-ActionResponse Plan. This framework builds upon the mental health first aid training, to help leaders determine escalation points and clearly identify the appropriate type of support service when an individual is presenting as psychologically unwell. The framework will be trialled in FY22 with refinements made before rolling out across all operations.

Ongoing improvement to limit exposure to dust

In FY21, two new workplace exposure standards came into effect: the respirable crystalline silica standard and respirable coal dust standard. The revised standards reduce the acceptable exposure limits at coal mines. In preparation for these new standards coming into effect, we reviewed exposure data and identified opportunities to tighten or increase frequency of controls.

Given the differences between opencut and underground operations, we also established an open-cut mine dust committee. Each quarter, team members from each open-cut operation share experiences and methods to reduce dust exposure, and periodically hear from external experts about industry best practice approaches. Our established Narrabri underground mine dust committee continues to meet.

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TALENT AND DIVERSITY

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Talent & diversity

CONTENTS

We are committed to promoting a workplace culture and environment in which every individual feels safe and supported.

TALENT AND DIVERSITY

We are committed to promoting a workplace culture and environment in which every individual feels safe and supported.

Our STRIVE principles of safety, teamwork, respect, integrity, value and excellence underpin how we work and interact with each other. By observing and espousing these principles we are better able to attract and retain a talented, diverse and inclusive workforce.

Every three years we conduct an employee engagement survey to gain insights on employee sentiment and to elicit qualitative and quantitative data to help guide our continuing investment in our people and culture practices.

Our FY21 survey identified the need for greater focus on the following areas:

improved employee communication
reward and recognition
making learning and development opportunities more consistent across the business
increased engagement and visibility from senior leaders.

The positive feedback received on our remote and flexible working during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the continuation of these arrangements where this can be accommodated within the operational requirements of the business. We have introduced robust employee engagement action plans to continue to improve our engagement across sites and offices, tailored to experience and feedback from our diverse teams.

	FY21	FY20	FY19	FY18	FY17
Number of employees	1,171	1,187	1,062	1,027	960
Number of full-time equivalent contractors	1,363	1,364	1,362	1,224	941
Wages and salaries ($m)	210.5	209.1	189.9	172.1	159.4
Female representation (%)	12	12	13	10	11
Proportion of workforce identifying as Indigenous (%)	9	9	9	11	11
Total employee turnover (%)	22	17	23	22	18

TALENT AND DIVERSITY

Attraction, retention and development

Throughout FY21, our internal recruitment function continued to grow, and continued a trend of Whitehaven relying less on external recruiters. To help build this area, we invested in digital recruitment platforms to deliver greater efficiencies in cost, increase compliance and provide a more streamlined and user-friendly experience for candidates.

Our contractor workforce fulfils a number of critical short and longer term skills and capability gaps across our operations. Throughout FY21 we have converted more than 100 contractors to full-time Whitehaven employees, to ensure we retain and continue to develop the talent needed to support our strategic agenda.

progressively roll out similar local traineeship opportunities across the areas of business, administration and logistics.

The recruitment for our graduate program got underway with 10 university graduates selected for our graduate program, commencing at the start of CY22. This newly formed program offers graduates from a range of disciplines the opportunity to gain work experience through three structured rotations around the organisation.

During the year we started our new Trainee Operator Program. The program offers participants entry-level employment and the opportunity to gain a nationally recognised qualification. 25 new local trainees were recruited to complete the two-year program and receive a CERT III in Surface Extraction Operations. Launched in April 2021 at Maules Creek Mine, the program has already delivered results with the new trainees operating equipment solo at a faster rate than regular traineeships. In FY22, we will

Leadership training remains an area of focus, reinforced by the results of the recent employee engagement survey. In FY21 we ran a number of training and coaching programs to help our people build their management and leadership skills. This program will be formalised and embedded in a holistic Frontline Leadership Program from FY22.

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First locals start
mining careers
through new
traineeship program
READ MORE
----- End of picture text -----

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WATCH NOW

Graduates @ Whitehaven Coal

==> picture [152 x 129] intentionally omitted <==

100

contractors converted to full time Whitehaven employees

10

university graduates selected for our graduate program

25

new local trainees recruited to complete two-year program and receive CERT III in Surface Extraction Operations

Whitehaven has eight collective agreements within the business and approximately 65% of the workforce is covered by Enterprise Agreements, and we have a positive and constructive relationship with representatives of our employees.

Towards the end of FY21, we launched our revised Employee Relations Strategy, which responds to the changing nature of the business and the need to continue to maximise productivity. A key aim of the strategy is to improve communication and engagement with our workforce, including sharing information regarding the performance of the business and industry workforce trends.

collective agreements within the business

~65%

of the workforce is covered by Enterprise Agreements

Diversity and inclusion

As outlined in our Diversity Policy, Whitehaven has set measurable objectives for promoting and enhancing workplace diversity.

A range of factors contributed to us not meeting our goal of increasing female representation in FY21. In FY22, we are introducing targeted initiatives to increase female participation, which will include setting a target for female participation in our workforce.

Progress on female representation

Over the past year, as outlined in our 2021 report to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, we promoted nine women, with four of those being to managerial positions, resulting in a slight increase in the proportion of managers who are female from 10% to 11%. Throughout FY20 and FY21 we introduced additional rigour in the recruitment process to focus on increased gender diversity, and as a result women represented 19% of new hires during FY21. Women represent 12% of our workforce, below the coal-mining industry average of 15.5%[1] and consistent with previous years. We have more to do to increase diversity and we will continue to consider measures that make Whitehaven a more attractive place to work, as well as measures specifically targeted to lift diversity.

In addition, we are developing and implementing leadership programs with a focus on ensuring a diverse representation from groups such as female leaders, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander leaders, and other high performers.

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We continue our longstanding partnership with Women in Mining (WIMnet) NSW. This includes sponsorship and participation in its Mentoring Program. The program provides females across the sector the opportunity to be mentored and network with leaders in the mining industry. In FY21, five of our emerging female leaders participated in the six-month program.

Georgia takes out NSW trade award

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CONTENTS
Progress on Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander employment
A key commitment for our business and our Reconciliation Action Plan
is to support Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) economic
empowerment by employing and training local ATSI people.
We are proud to have significantly exceeded our goal of having 10% of roles
at Maules Creek Mine filled by ATSI people. At the end of FY21, around 20%
of the workforce at Maules Creek identified as ATSI, consistent with FY20.
Company-wide, around 9% of our workforce identifies as ATSI.
During the year, we began looking at ways to promote a wider range of
roles to local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and also delivered
mentoring and coaching opportunities to help existing employees move into
management positions.
We also announced a partnership with Aboriginal Employment Strategy to
recruit ATSI candidates for both construction and operational jobs at the
Vickery Extension Project. The target is to have a 10% representation of ATSI
employees on the site. This initiative will further solidify our position as a
major employer of ATSI people in the North West region.
Building on such success, we are working with our recruitment team to place
ATSI students in our new Trainee Operator Program, and continue to work
with the Clontarf Academy and other education partners to encourage local
students to consider a career in mining. Find out more about our partnerships
in the Community chapter.
Whitehaven Coal Sustainability Report 2021 | 59
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Workplace Gender Equality Agency.

APPENDIX

CONTENTS

Appendix

Narrabri Coal Pty Ltd and Narrabri Coal Operations Pty Ltd Guilty of Breaching Mining Act and Fined a Total of $372,500

Narrabri Coal Pty Ltd (“NC”) has been convicted of 10 offences under the Mining Act 1992 (NSW) for being a holder of two authorisations under that Act, conditions of which were contravened by Narrabri Coal Operations Pty Ltd (“NCO”). The authorisations held by NC are Mining Lease 1609 (“ML”) in respect of the Narrabri Coal Mine (“mine”), approximately 30km from Narrabri, New South Wales, and Exploration Licence 6243 (“EL”).

NCO has been convicted of nine offences under the Mining Act 1992 for causing the contraventions of the EL.

NC and NCO are both wholly owned subsidiaries of Whitehaven Coal Limited (“Whitehaven Coal”). They were fined a total of $372,500 by the Land and Environment Court of NSW (“the Court”) for the commission of the offences.

Two activity approvals under the EL provided for a number of exploration boreholes to be drilled at numerous locations within the exploration area. NCO contravened a condition of the EL on nine occasions, including drilling two exploration boreholes in the wrong locations, failing to seal one borehole within 28 days after use, and creating access tracks in unapproved locations within the Pilliga East State Forest. NCO also failed to prepare a Rehabilitation Management Plan within a required time period.

As holder of the EL, NC was liable for those contraventions and was convicted for the nine offences. An exploration borehole within the ML was not sealed once it ceased to be used resulting in the tenth conviction against NC.

The conduct comprising the offences was first discovered by the NSW Resources Regulator (“the Regulator”) during an audit of the mine. Following the audit, the defendants voluntarily suspended exploration activities from 24 July 2019. The Regulator formally suspended exploration activities from 22 August 2019, pending completion of a third party audit and report in relation to the defendants’ systems for compliance with conditions of the EL and the completion of all necessary corrective actions to the satisfaction of the Regulator.

The defendants completed all corrective actions and recommendations arising from the third party audit, and on 10 August 2020 the Regulator revoked the suspension.

On 13 August 2021 the Court convicted the defendants of the offences against s 378D of the Mining Act 1992, and:

imposed fines totalling $372,500;
ordered the defendants to jointly pay the prosecutor’s professional costs;
ordered the defendants to publish this notice in the Australian Financial Review, The Daily Telegraph, The Narrabri Courier ; and
ordered the defendants to publish this notice on the mine’s website and on Whitehaven Coal’s LinkedIn page and in its next Sustainability Report .

The creation of access tracks in unapproved locations within the Pilliga East State Forest led to short term minimal environmental harm through the loss of habitat, breaks in ecological connectivity, and disturbances to the ecosystem in those locations.

Whitehaven Coal Sustainability Report 2021 | 60

Whitehaven Coal

Level 28, 259 George Street Sydney NSW 2000 P +61 2 8222 1100

[email protected]

ASX Code: WHC

whitehavencoal.com.au

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WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED — Environmental & Social Information 2021

66059_rns_2021-08-25_1ff43495-26a1-43d7-b72e-c0adafef2d1b.pdf

ASX ANNOUNCEMENT

2021 Sustainability Report

Investor contact

Media contact

Unlocking future value Sustainability Report 2021

Sustainability highlights FY21

Message to stakeholders

How we operate

Whitehaven Coal produces premium-quality coal for customers in Asia.

Sustainability reporting

Our customer base by coal type

Where we operate

Our planned future projects include:

How we create value

Purpose

Investors

Vision

Principles

Safety

Teamwork

Respect

Integrity

Our people underpin our success

Our people

Value

Excellence

Communities

Our approach to sustainability

Sustainability governance

Overall responsibility for our sustainability strategy and approach lies with Whitehaven’s Board.

Guiding our approach

Managing risk

Driving action

Memberships

Engaging with our stakeholders

Our material issues

Our business

Our business model and markets

Thermal coal

Thermal coal quality

Metallurgical coal

Business improvement

Continued investment in automation

Ethical business conduct

Regulation and policy

Continuity during COVID-19

Privacy and cybersecurity

Our approach to taxation

Taxes paid

Taxes collected

Income tax

Effective income tax rate

Climate

As stated in our approach to sustainability and previous Sustainability Reports, we acknowledge that production and consumption of coal generates GHG emissions.

Coal remains a key energy source

Growth in low emission, energy efficient coal-fired plants

Innovation and technology are central to emissions reductions

Reducing our emissions

Climate-related risks and opportunities

Climate change governance

Risks and opportunities

Risks

Opportunities

Business resilience and climate change

Our scenarios

Product resilience

Resilience under STEPS

Resilience under SDS

Financial resilience

Resilience under STEPS Resilience under SDS

Monitoring and reporting

Emissions

We are committed to ongoing efforts to reduce our operational emissions from energy use and haulage.

Supporting our communities

FY21 community contribution

Community engagement

Contributing to local prosperity and sustainability

WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED Environmental & Social Information 2021