Building thriving communities

Fortescue’s Green Energy Education Program introduces school students to the pressing issues associated with climate change, and the technologies that can help us tackle these challenges. Integrating technology, engineering and societal issues, students are introduced to the fundamentals of climate change and energy.

The global green economy transition requires both the public and private sector to develop an understanding of the current state (baseline) of workforce and supply chain opportunities, as well as an understanding of the potential future state (opportunities). Fortescue partners with universities globally, including in Kenya, Namibia and Ethiopia, to undertake this research informing industry, government and academic planning for future skills in the green industry, as well as our own targeted industry and workforce development, capacity and competency building.

Fortescue’s Pecém Green Hydrogen and Ammonia Project in Brazil held its public hearing on August 2nd 2023 in Ceara State. Over 320 local people attended the successful event, including a broad cross-section of the community, young and old, and inclusive of Indigenous Peoples. Feedback was positive overall, noting that Fortescue has been inclusive and respectful in its pre-hearing engagement. This pre-hearing engagement process was led by the Brazil Communities and Social Performance Team with Corporate support, and consisted of 24 meetings, reaching 879 people and 12 institutions.

In July 2024, Fortescue launched its first “Klima-Ninja” (Climate Ninja) green energy education program in partnership with Nordfjordkompaniet in Norway. This initiative debuted at Nordfjordkompaniet’s 2024 Summer Camp for 150 students in grades 2-4 (ages 7-10).

The goal of the program is to raise awareness and foster hope for a green future. Fortescue contributed to the development of lesson plans and in-kind donation of materials, including model hydrogen and solar vehicles. We also contributed towards transportation costs to ensure all students, no matter their socio-economic situation, could attend the camp. Nordfjordkompaniet reserves spots for underprivileged children to ensure inclusivity and engages intern teaching students who were able to build their skills in communicating climate change and green energy concepts to children.

In September 2023, Fortescue partnered with Jacob’s Ladder Africa to sponsor 15 school children and 3 teachers from Naivasha, Kenya to participate in the Africa Youth Climate Assembly (AYCA) in Nairobi. Many of these students, despite living two hours away, had never visited Nairobi.

The AYCA provided students with the chance to engage with heads of state, policy influencers, business leaders, and scientists. Students were empowered to present their own declaration on critical environmental and climate governance issues, by contributing to the Nairobi Youth Climate Declaration. This was then fed into the Africa Climate Summit Nairobi Declaration, United Nations General Assembly, COP 28 and other regional and international forums.

Fortescue partnered with the Centre de Développement Integré de Lukula (CEDIL) to deliver a malaria and river blindness vector control program to reduce the prevalence of both diseases in the villages surrounding Inga, DRC. The Inga Falls in the Congo River provide a favourable environment for the growth of black flies and mosquitoes, vectors of blindness and malaria.

The objective of the initiative was to reduce prevalence of river blindness and malaria in selected villages around Inga, raise hygiene awareness among the local community and ensure sustainability of the program through training and community education.

The two-year program, completed in 2024, reached 14,305 people. It reduced disease prevalence resulting in improved community well-being and enabled the formation of a well-trained and experienced community fumigation team.