Boral has a strategic community partnership model supported by key selection criteria that help determine the most effective partnerships for the Company. The core platform of Boral’s partnership program is to make a valued and sustainable contribution to the communities in which we operate with partnership selection based on a Products, People, and Places strategy. We involve our People to encourage a better work/life balance and to use our expertise to benefit the wider community. We use our Products to build communities and for conservation initiatives and we focus on our Places, the communities in which we operate, to address environmental and social issues.

Boral has seven key strategic partnerships that we use to engage our employees and make a difference in our local communities. These community partnership programs and their key outcomes are listed below. In February 2009, Boral pledged a $50,000 donation to the official Red Cross relief fund for the Victorian bushfires then matched employee donations on a dollar-for-dollar basis to a maximum of $50,000. This $100,000 commitment will take the form of 50% cash (paid in 2008/09) and 50% in-kind materials to re-build affected communities (expected to be needed in 2009/10).

In 2008/09, a total of $569,562 of cash and materials support was invested in these community programs, together with a further $600,422 of cash donated to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Red Cross through employee fundraising efforts in Australia and the USA.

In addition to Boral’s strategic corporate partnerships, Boral’s businesses support local community activities. Boral’s Partnership Framework and Criteria must be used to assess the appropriateness of local partnership opportunities with the quantum of support also subject to Boral’s Limits of Authority policy.

Partnership initiative	Outcomes/achievements in 2008/09
Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA) – Boral Living Green In 2009, Boral renewed its longest standing community partnership with CVA for a further three years. Living Green will continue to focus on conservation projects through volunteering opportunities and family conservation days. In addition, the partnership will also focus on raising awareness of Boral staff on how they can reduce their own environmental impacts through CVA’s Action for Climate Change program.	Formal event held to celebrate 20 years of partnership. 483 volunteer days across 63 conservation projects including 18,720 trees/stems were planted and 21,390 mm² of land weeded and regenerated in WA, QLD, NSW, ACT, SA and VIC. A successful cause related marketing initiative with Boral Timber promoting the Mountain Range of Timber Flooring.
Taronga Conservation Society Australia Boral has partnered with the Taronga Conservation Society Australia (formerly Taronga and Western Plains Zoos) since early 2003. In 2009, we renewed the partnership for a further three years. The partnership will see Boral continuing its naming rights sponsorship of the Youth at the Zoo (YATZ) program and further develop our involvement with the Zoo’s education department with a special focus on YATZ scholarships for Indigenous, disadvantaged and regional participants.	Numerous employees, families and customers visited the Zoos in 2008/09 including 190 attendees at the Twilight concerts in early 2009; and around 600 staff and families at Boral’s Family Day in December 2008. The YATZ Eco Fair was held in January 2009, with Boral and CVA participating. Boral products continue to be used in Taronga’s major master plan developments.
Bangarra Dance Theatre Boral has partnered with the Bangarra Dance Theatre, Australia’s leading Indigenous dance company, since 2002. Since March 2007, we have been the Sydney season sponsor. In 2008, we renewed our partnership with Bangarra for a further three years.	In 2008/09, over 190 Boral staff and their guests attended Bangarra’s capital city main stage performances or regional performances. In November 2008, Boral and Bangarra held their first family day, with over 150 Boral employees and their families attending a special performance and dance workshop at Bangarra’s Walsh Bay Theatre. Boral is the main Sydney season sponsor for 2009, Bangarra’s 20th anniversary year.
Outward Bound Australia – Boral Family Re-Discovery Programs Boral continues to offer Outward Bound Family Scholarships to Boral employees with a high school-aged son or daughter and for less advantaged youth in the community. Outward Bound is widely recognised for delivering a program focused on work/life balance and the scholarships are a key platform of Boral’s broader commitment to corporate responsibility and to supporting, nurturing and developing employees.	Since the Boral Family Re-Discovery program was developed in 2003, a total of 88 family groups have participated in the program across five states. 20 family groups received Boral scholarships in 2008/09. 84% of past participants in the Outward Bound scholarships still work for Boral. Two Outward Bound Aboriginal Leadership Programs were sponsored for Indigenous students in Kempsey and Western Sydney; 30 students completed the program.
Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) JDRF has been Boral’s preferred charity since 2001. It provides Boral with structured opportunities to participate in fundraising and promote employee engagement while increasing awareness of Type 1 diabetes and the need for further research towards finding a cure. Since 2006, Boral has been a Global Walk Leader for the Walk to Cure Diabetes campaign.	Boral has contributed over $2 million to JDRF since the partnership began in 2001, including around 85% from employee fundraising efforts. In 2008/09, Boral’s employees raised $492,449 for JDRF through the Walk to Cure Diabetes in Australia and the USA and through the Ride to Cure Diabetes and the Spin for a Cure events in Australia. Over 1,000 employees and family members participated in the October 2008 Walk to Cure Diabetes. Boral was awarded the Freedom Award for being the highest corporate fundraising team in 2008. 73 riders participated in the Ride to Cure Diabetes in January 2009 and raised $312,700 of the total amount.
Building Communities in Asia Boral commenced its Building Communities in Asia program in 2005 following the devastating Boxing Day tsunami. Boral’s two and half year partnership with World Vision in Indonesia and Thailand came to an end in 2008 and Boral is now investing directly in community building activities around Bayah in Indonesia.	$15,000 cash to World Vision towards construction of learning centres in Thailand and $9,056 of materials-in-kind to the World Vision Trang learning centre in Thailand. $52,000 was invested in community building activities in the Bayah region including: education for 60 secondary students to improve their prospects of gaining a tertiary education; education for 60 children who left school during the previous two years; English classes for 20 local teachers and 24 employees; and the extension of pipelines to provide fresh water to five villages. Employees in Indonesia were involved in raising $5,000 for 10 children to undergo restorative facial surgery. In Thailand, over 2,000 employee volunteer hours invested across three community projects.
HomeAid Boral USA continued its partnership with HomeAid with an annual commitment of US$25,000 in cash and US$25,000 in in-kind product donations. HomeAid is a leading national non-profit organisation providing shelter for the homeless.	Boral is represented on the Board of Directors of HomeAid’s Atlanta Chapter. Boral has committed to providing roof tiles for a new project in California which serves victims of abuse, primarily children. A project in Georgia for which Boral committed bricks, and which had been delayed due to the US housing industry downturn, commenced in July 2009.