CRH: Sustainable, Responsible, Ethical interactions and is firmly committed to the Group’s core values of integrity,  honesty and respect for the law. The Code of Business Conduct and related  policies set out clear guidance on conducting business in an ethical and  responsible way and confirm the long-standing Group commitment to human  and labour rights. Through a Group-wide compliance and ethics programme,  CRH ensures employees are appropriately trained, have access to secure  channels to report genuine issues and have additional support available if  needed. A detailed review of corporate governance, including further details  on the compliance and ethics programme, is provided on pages 38 to 53 of  this Report. CRH’s success over 40 years of operation has been based on a solid foundation  and commitment to the fundamentals of doing business in a sustainable and  responsible manner. These fundamentals of business – strong customer and  supplier relationships, value-added products, efficient production processes and  targeted markets – are managed within an established sustainability framework  with a strong focus on four key areas: Health and Safety, Environment and  Climate Change, Governance, and People and Community. In each of these  areas, CRH sets and implements policies, develops management systems,  monitors performance and incorporates stakeholder feedback, aiming for  continuous improvement across all of its activities. CRH has formal structures  in place to identify, evaluate and manage potential risks and opportunities in  sustainability areas and the Group’s performance in this regard is reviewed  regularly by the Board of Directors. As the global impacts of resource scarcity, climate change and changing  demographics become more apparent, CRH is committed to playing its part  in addressing these challenges while also generating business opportunities  through investment, development and innovation across its range of products  and throughout its processes. This approach is fully aligned with CRH’s strategic  vision – to be a responsible international leader in building materials, delivering  superior and sustained shareholder returns. At the heart of CRH are the people and communities which both support and are  supported by Group companies operating at over 3,500 locations worldwide.  CRH believes that continued sustainable business success depends on the  excellent relationships maintained with stakeholders – employees, customers,  suppliers, neighbours and others. CRH provides significant employment, encourages personal development  and aims to create opportunities for employees at all levels as it meets the  leadership challenge of sustainable performance and growth. CRH is rooted in local communities and through both its core business activities  and a variety of local social initiatives the Group supports community enterprises  and projects across all of its global operations. The health and safety of everyone working for CRH continues to receive a  high priority and in 2012 further progress was made in reducing the number of  accidents. New initiatives were introduced during the year to augment existing  safety systems and further heighten awareness of safety, with the aim of fully  embedding a culture of safety at every level of the organisation. Safety in  emerging regions, contractor safety and transport safety remain key focus areas. Despite these safety improvements, CRH deeply regrets that three fatalities  (two employees and one contractor) occurred in Group subsidiary companies  during 2012. The circumstances around each of these individual tragedies have  been examined and the lessons learned have been communicated across  all businesses and operations. The elimination of fatalities is a fundamental  objective of CRH. With ever increasing demands on world resources and mounting pressures  on the global environment, CRH continues to focus on achieving the highest  standards of environmental management and control and on reducing its  environmental impact. Throughout the Group extensive programmes are in  place to improve energy efficiency, increase the use of alternative fuels, achieve  targeted air emission reductions, optimise water use, reduce waste and  increase recycling. CRH remains on target to meet its commitment to reduce  specific cement plant carbon emissions by 15% on 1990 levels by 2015 and  is also fully committed to the restoration of worked-out pits and quarries and  maintaining biodiversity in the locations in which it operates. Developments in  all of these areas, which are of increasing importance to customers and other  stakeholders, are ongoing and core to CRH’s activities. In 2012, CRH maintained its distinguished record of being ranked among  sector leaders by a number of Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) rating  agencies. CRH continues as a constituent member of several sustainability  indices including the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes and the FTSE4Good  Index. In addition, many Group companies have won high-ranking accolades  for excellence in sustainability achievements.  CRH is widely recognised as operating to the highest levels of corporate  governance. The CRH Board complies fully with the requirements of the 2010  UK Corporate Governance Code and also with the applicable provisions of  the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. CRH places ethics at the forefront of all business  CRH remains committed to reporting on its sustainability performance in a  complete and transparent manner, and to publishing performance indicators  on key identified sustainability areas. An annual Sustainability Report, in line  with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines, is published separately and is  available on www.crh.com. The independently-verified 2012 CRH Sustainability  Report will be available by mid-2013. In November 2012, the Group organised capital markets days for investors and  sector analysts in London and New York. These events included presentations  on various aspects of CRH’s operations and strategy and, in keeping with the  Group’s practice of open dialogue, provided an opportunity for attendees to  meet with the senior executive and Divisional management team. CRH attaches great importance to communications with all stakeholders and  in 2012 maintained its open door policy on stakeholder engagement, holding  open days at many of its facilities, communicating regularly with key stakeholder  groups and encouraging feedback on a broad range of issues. People and Community Communications Health and Safety Environment and Climate Change External Endorsements Governance 6 CRH