Independent Assurance Statement

To the Board of Directors, Management and Stakeholders of Amcor Limited:

Amcor Limited (Amcor) commissioned Net Balance Management Group Pty Ltd (Net Balance) to provide independent assurance of their 2009 Sustainability Report (the 'report'). The report presents Amcor's sustainability performance over the period 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009. Amcor was responsible for the preparation of the report and this statement represents the assurance provider's independent opinion. Net Balance's responsibility in performing its assurance activities is to the Board and Management of Amcor alone and in accordance with the terms of reference agreed with them. Other stakeholders should perform their own due diligence before taking any action as a result of this statement.

Assurance Standard and Objectives

The assurance process was undertaken in accordance with the 2008 AA1000 Assurance Standard (AA1000AS). Assurance undertaken using this standard, provides a comprehensive way of ensuring an organisation is responsible for its management, performance and reporting on sustainability issues. This is achieved through the evaluation of the organisation's adherence to the AA1000 AccountAbility Principles (2008) and by reviewing the accuracy and quality of disclosed sustainability performance information.

The AA1000 Accountability Principles (2008) against which Amcor's processes are assessed include:

Inclusivity: An assessment is made on whether the organisation has included stakeholders in developing and achieving an accountable and strategic response to sustainability.

Materiality: An assessment is made on whether the organisation has included in its report the material information required by its stakeholders to be able to make informed judgements, decisions and actions.

Responsiveness: An assessment is made on whether the organisation has responded to stakeholder concerns, policies and relevant standards and adequately communicated these in its report.

Assurance Type and Scope

Net Balance provided Type 2 assurance in accordance with the AA1000AS (2008). This involved an assessment of the organisation's adherence to the AA1000 AccountAbility Principles (2008) and an assessment of the accuracy and quality of the report's sustainability performance related information.

The review of adherence to the principles was undertaken using the criteria outlined in the AA1000 Assurance Principles Standard (2008), while assessment of the accuracy and quality of sustainability performance information and data was undertaken using the Global Reporting Initiative's (GRI) G3 principles for defining report quality.

Assurance Level and Limitations

The level of assurance provided is moderate and is defined by the scope and methodology described in this assurance statement. The assurance covered the whole report and focussed on activities of Amcor during the reporting period, with the following exceptions:

• The scope of work did not involve verification of financial data, other than that relating to environmental, social or broader economic performance.
• The assurance provider's involvement with stakeholder engagement was limited to reviewing external and internal stakeholder engagement processes and outcomes.
• Only the Amcor corporate office was visited as part of this assurance engagement with business group and site data being reviewed remotely.

Assurance Methodology

The assurance engagement was undertaken in September 2009, and the process involved:

• Development of a materiality register using the five-part materiality test. This included a comparison of Amcor against its peers, a risk review, a review of selected Australian media, a policy review and review of stakeholder feedback.
• A review of the processes used by Amcor to engage with its stakeholders. Outcomes of external and internal stakeholder engagement undertaken during the reporting period were also reviewed to understand the nature of material issues raised by stakeholders.
• A review of Amcor's key sustainability strategies, policies, objectives, management systems, measurement and reporting procedures and background documentation.
• Senior management interviews to ascertain their views, understanding and response to material sustainability issues faced by the business.
• A series of interviews with key personnel responsible for collating and writing various parts of the report in order to substantiate the veracity of selected claims.
• A review of the report for any significant anomalies, particularly in relation to significant claims as well as trends in data.
• Examination of the aggregation and/or derivation of, and underlying evidence for over 130 selected data points and statements made in the report and evaluation of the data and statements against the GRI G3 principles of quality.
• A GRI G3 application level check.

Our Independence

Net Balance was not responsible for preparation of any part of the Report. During the reporting period, Net Balance did not undertake any other engagements for Amcor. As such, Net Balance has not undertaken any work that compromises our independence in issuing this statement.

Our Competency

The Amcor assurance engagement was carried out by an experienced team of professionals led by a Lead Sustainability Assurance Practitioner (Lead CSAP), accredited by the International Register of Certified Auditors UK (IRCA UK). The project included professionals with expertise in environmental, social and economic performance measurement across a range of industry sectors. Net Balance is a global leader in the use of Accountability's AA1000AS, having undertaken over 50 assurance engagements in Australia over 2007 and 2008.

Findings and Conclusions

Adherence to AA1000 Principles

Inclusivity: Net Balance investigated a number of case studies from the report that highlighted stakeholder engagement. Amcor was found to engage with, and seek feedback from, a range of stakeholder groups. Amcor is currently in the process of further developing systems to collect feedback from stakeholders. This will further help Amcor appropriately measure, monitor and manage their material sustainability issues in the future.

Materiality: Amcor uses an Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) system to assess and manage business risk. Material sustainability issues for each of the Amcor businesses were found to be captured within the ERM. During 2008-2009 Amcor also undertook a comprehensive management review of sustainability performance and material issues for reporting. The resulting report was found to be in alignment the ERM and with the outcomes of the management review. As such Amcor was found to have appropriately addressed environmental, social and economic material issues in reporting.

Responsiveness: Net Balance tested Amcor's responsiveness through a review of management systems and policies that govern the way the organisation responds to stakeholder concerns and interests. Amcor was found to respond to stakeholders through a number of established mechanisms. Where gaps in responsiveness were found to exist, Amcor was found to be in the process of implementing new processes and/or improvement plans.

 

Reliability of Performance Information

Based on the scope of the assurance process, the following was observed with regard to performance information:

• The level of accuracy of sustainability performance information was found to be acceptable.
• Data trails selected were generally identifiable and traceable, and the personnel responsible were able to reliably demonstrate the origin(s) and interpretation of data.
• The sustainability performance disclosures presented within the report appropriately reflect environmental, social and economic performance achieved during the period.
• The GRI application level check found that the Report was classified as B+.

Overall, it is Net Balance's opinion that the information presented within the report is fair and accurate. The report was also found to be a reliable account of Amcor's sustainability performance during the reporting period.

The Way Forward

Amcor has reported on sustainability performance since 2003 and has been a long term participant in the Carbon Disclosure Project, Dow Jones Sustainability Index and FTSE4Good Index benchmarking programs. These disclosure mechanisms, along with Amcor's strategy for responsible packaging and the "Amcor Way", will ensure that Amcor is well place to grow and develop the business in line with the principles of sustainability.

Reporting on performance over the years has led to the development of mature and robust systems and data in the area of environment. Of particular note is the global system used to track energy, water, waste and emissions data. Amcor has also undertaken detailed life cycle analysis of core products for Amcor and a number of its customers. Detailed work is also continuing on the development of other systems to track and analyse performance in the areas of business risk, customers and talent management.

Amcor has an opportunity to further align data generation and sustainability reporting processes with systems that are already in place. This should be undertaken in conjunction with the documentation of data collection procedures for sustainability indicators that are reported annually. This will ensure efficiency gains are realised with regard to reporting robust information on sustainability performance.

A key area of focus for Amcor in the future is the mapping of stakeholder engagement mechanisms and practice across the business. Stakeholder engagement was found to be occurring through a number of mechanisms and channels. Mapping these engagement pathways and channels will allow Amcor to analyse and strategically communicate with their varied global stakeholder base.

Overall, Net Balance found that the report appropriately addresses Amcor's environmental, social and economic material issues. To ensure that Amcor continues to improve, Net Balance has provided more detailed recommendations and suggestions in a report presented to Amcor's management.

On behalf of the assurance team

24 September 2009
Melbourne, Australia

Terence Jeyaretnam
Director, Net Balance & Lead CSAP (IRCA UK)

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