SANDY, UT--(Marketwire - July 22, 2010) - Rio Tinto's Kennecott Utah Copper and Kennecott Land, and Vérité, a digital communications agency, announced that they were presented with a Stevie™ Award for the Best Public Information production in the public relations category. The award was presented for the 2008 Salt Lake Valley Rio Tinto Sustainable Development Report, an interactive web-based tool that educates the public about Kennecott's social, economic and environmental commitments and ongoing sustainable development practices. More than 2,600 entries were submitted for The 2009 American Business Awards.
The 2008 Salt Lake Valley Rio Tinto Sustainable Development Report is an innovative web-based tool that takes the public through an engaging illustrative map of Kennecott's operations. In addition to providing more than 100 stories, the report offers key messages from Kennecott's leaders along with operational overviews, safety achievements, and sustainable development highlights across Kennecott's operations. The 2008 and 2009 Salt Lake Valley Rio Tinto Sustainable Development Reports can be accessed at www.kennecott.com. The report is also available on an interactive kiosk at Kennecott's Bingham Canyon Mine Visitors Center.
"We are so pleased that Rio Tinto and Vérité are being given this award," said Vérité CEO Kimberley Jones. "Together we produced a very unique and cutting edge production that the public can easily view and engage with. It has been very rewarding seeing the impact these initiatives are making on the community and in the media."
"We have a commitment to our local communities to share our sustainable development progress," said Kyle Bennett, communications advisor, Rio Tinto. "This report allows us to do that while demonstrating our commitment to sustainable development in an interactive and compelling way."
Nicknamed the Stevies for the Greek word "crowned," the awards were presented during ceremonies at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. With approximately 600 executives in attendance, The 2009 American Business Awards honored a diverse cross-section of American business people, corporations, non-profits, and government agencies reflecting every important aspect of business today, from C-Suite executives to support staff; major public companies to emerging start-ups; customer services teams to corporate communicators.
"Many Americans accomplish extraordinary things in the workplace every day, but rarely get the attention they deserve," said Stevie Awards founder Michael Gallagher. "We hope that the Stevies inspire people at all levels of American business to recognize and honor outstanding work."
More than 200 executives nationwide participated in judging to determine this year's finalists and Stevie Award winners.
About Kennecott Utah Copper
As the second largest copper producer in the United States, Kennecott Utah Copper provides about 18-25 percent of the U.S.'s copper needs. Kennecott's Bingham Canyon Mine is the largest man-made excavation in the world. It is one of the top producing copper mines in the world with production at more than 18.7 million tons. Every year, Kennecott produces approximately 300,000 tons of copper, along with 500,000 ounces of gold, 4 million ounces of silver, about 30 million pounds of molybdenum, and about 1 million tons of sulfuric acid, a byproduct of the smelting process. Rio Tinto purchased Kennecott Utah Copper in 1989 and has invested about $2 billion in the modernization of KUC's operations. KUCC has also spent more than $350 million on the cleanup of historic mining waste and $100 million on groundwater cleanup. Rio Tinto employs 2,400 people and hundreds of contractors in Utah. www.kennecott.com
About Kennecott Land
KLC was established by Rio Tinto in April 2001 to develop surplus mining land. Daybreak is the first testament to that vision. Daybreak is situated on 4,126 acres in the city of South Jordan where 20,000 homes and up to 13 million square feet of commercial space are planned. At KLC, sustainable development is at the heart of every business decision by balancing the complex interaction of environmental, economic and social factors. Kennecott Land does this in a way that protects and strengthens what matters most to our community: strong and safe neighborhoods, quality education, a healthy and renewable environment, and a vibrant local economy. Additional information is available at www.kennecottland.com and www.daybreakutah.com.
About Vérité
A leading, worldwide digital communications agency, Vérité, Inc. produces unique and effective on-line tools, and creative campaigns for corporate sales, marketing and training departments. The company was founded in 1993 and initially developed digital advertising campaigns to enable businesses to communicate effectively. Vérité offerings include eTools™, on-line services for registering, testing, certification, eCommerce and more. Vérité has built innovative integrated media solutions for some of the world's leading companies including Intel, Novell, Omniture, Rio Tinto, Symantec, and more. Headquartered in Sandy, Utah, Vérité, Inc. serves clients in Utah as well as nationally. Learn more at www.verite.com.
About The Stevie Awards
Stevie Awards are conferred in four programs: The American Business Awards, The International Business Awards, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. Honoring organizations of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding performances in the workplace worldwide. Learn more at www.stevieawards.com.
Supporting sponsors of The 2009 American Business Awards include High Performance Technologies Inc., John Hancock, Lifelock, RCN Corporation, Softpro, and Ultimate Software. Media sponsor is the Business TalkRadio Network. Localization partner of the 2009 Stevie Awards is Lionbridge.