2009 GRI social performance indicators

Turnover rates include dismissals and voluntary leave of all employees, including contingent employees (temporary hourly, retiree consultants, etc.).

Long-term disability coverage is not available to part-time hourly, term hourly, or International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) turnaround employees. Long-term disability coverage is at the employee’s expense for those eligible to enroll. Short-term disability coverage is not provided to IBEW turnaround employees. Stock options and an employee stock purchase plan are only available to full-time and part-time permanent employees.

Please refer to the Workplace Practices indicators in the Numbers section in this report.

In preparation for the H1N1 flu epidemic in 2009, TransAlta took a proactive, supportive approach to the global pandemic situation with the goal of maintaining critical operations while supporting our employees through a time of uncertainty. Our corporate pandemic plan has been designed to be incorporated into site emergency contingency plans. Each site identified skill sets and cross-trained to ensure that even with up to 30 per cent absenteeism, critical operations could be maintained. To help with prevention, TransAlta initiated H1N1 awareness programs and ordered protective equipment for all sites such as hand sanitizers, hard surface cleansers, masks and gloves to help employees stay as healthy as possible.

TransAlta employees develop training plans with their supervisors to determine skills and training required for their position. Training is available for technical skills, compliance requirements and “soft skills”. TransAlta offers approximately 140 different training courses to employees.  A combination of online courses, in-house classroom training, hands-on skills training and outsourced courses are offered.  Environment, health and safety training is mandatory to ensure worker safety and protection of the environment.  Additional training (e.g leadership, mentoring) will be offered to employees to enhance skill development and learning provided it aligns with career development.

TransAlta provides educational assistance for employees working toward a degree, diploma, or certification at an accredited institution when supervisors consider the content to be beneficial to the employee’s career development. A course that will help an employee move to a different area of the company for a career change may be approved if the desired career change is realistic. Financial support offered is approved on a case-by-case basis.

Employees who are released involuntarily (excluding instances of just cause) are provided access to a career transition services vendor.  These vendors assist released employees with job search skills, interview skills, resume writing and career planning.

Please refer to the diversity indicators in the Numbers section for gender and age group diversity indicators.  Currently, TransAlta tracks the ethnic diversity of its workforce in the U.S.  Following non-discrimination regulations and policies in Canada, ethnic diversity indicators are not tracked.

U.S. (Centralia) Minority Group Representation (categories have been grouped to avoid individual identification):

TransAlta’s Human Rights and Discrimination policy indicates that TransAlta will strive to ensure its contractors, suppliers, partners, and customers respect fundamental standards of human rights through consultation, training, or contractual requirements.  Where possible, TransAlta will avoid doing business with entities that do not observe human rights standards.

TransAlta will ensure that its personnel policies and practices in its operations around the world will respect the following fundamental rights:

• the right to a healthy and safe workplace
• the right to non-discrimination in the workplace
• the right to be free from cruel and unusual disciplinary practices
• the prohibition of exploitative child labour, and
• the prohibition of forced labour and the avoidance of products produced by such labour

Through consultation, training, or contractual requirements, TransAlta will strive to ensure its contractors, suppliers, partners, and customers respect these fundamental standards of human rights.

TransAlta requires every employee to read, understand and sign off on its Corporate Code of Conduct.  The following outlines requirements relating directly to human rights which are outlined in the Code: “TransAlta enforces a policy of zero tolerance for demeaning, offensive, harassing or discriminatory behavior. TransAlta practices the principle of equal employment opportunity without regard to race, religion, national origin, gender, age, physical disability or political affiliation. All employees are responsible for ensuring there is a safe and secure working environment.”

TransAlta also conducts training on the duty of accommodation, our Harassment Free Workplace Policy and our Disability Management Policy at all of our sites.  These policies include human rights components.

EU Sector : Nature, scope, and effectiveness of any programs and practices that assess and manage the impacts of operations on communities, including entering, operating, and exiting

Consultation for any new operations includes open houses, public meetings, community presentations and meetings with local community advisory groups. Exit strategies include community consultation and support that is tailored to the community, as was the case when we ceased mining operations in Centralia in 2006.

Please refer to the Community and Economic sections of the report for more details.  A detailed study of the impacts of TransAlta’s operations to the Centralia community was conducted and is described in the Economic Section.

We advocate primarily through industry associations and have six lobbyists in various capacities as well as one firm on retainer.

TransAlta is engaged with government policy making on climate change both independently and through industry associations in all regions of our operations. We are particularly active in the Canadian Electricity Association, the Pew Center for Climate Change, the International Emissions Trading Association, and the Edison Electric Institute, as it relates to assisting governments with rational policy development.

In 2009, TransAlta supported the passage of Bill 50 in Alberta. This legislation will provide a process by which the Alberta Electricity System Operator (AESO) can approve transmission infrastructure.  TransAlta supported the passage of Bill 50 because it provides certainty around the process for approving critical transmission infrastructure.

Our participation is these discussions are governed by Policy 125 Government Relations.

Please also refer to the Stakeholder Engagement section.

As a power generator and wholesale marketer of electricity it is difficult to assess the health and safety impacts of providing electricity and other products to transmission and industrial customers as TransAlta does not interface with the end user of the electricity.  Gypsum, fly ash, gravel and coal are typically sold to industrial customers who use these products to produce their own products.  TransAlta has little or no contact with the end users of these products.

TransAlta had no instances of non-compliance with regulations concerning health and safety effects of products and services in 2009.

We did not undertake any further measurement in 2009.

We meet with our industrial customers regularly to discuss operational and environmental issues.