As set out on our Corporate Governance home page, we have a number of policies that address key aspects of our corporate governance. Our key policies cover: Copies of all these policies are available in the Library on this website, or in the different sections below. Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
We seek to maintain high standards of integrity and we are committed to ensuring that James Hardie conducts its business in accordance with high standards of ethical behaviour. We require our employees to comply with the spirit and the letter of all laws and other statutory requirements governing the conduct of James Hardie’s activities in each country in which we operate. Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics applies to all of our employees and directors. The Code of Business Conduct and Ethics covers many aspects of company policy that govern compliance with legal and other responsibilities to stakeholders. All directors and company employees worldwide are reminded annually of the existence of the Code and requested to confirm that they have read it. 
Ethics Hotline
Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics policy provides employees with advice about whom they should contact if they have information or questions regarding violations of the policy. James Hardie has a telephone Ethics Hotline operated by an independent external provider which allows employees to report anonymously any concerns. All company employees worldwide are reminded annually of the existence of the Ethics hotline. During the last year, any complaints made to the Ethics hotline were reported directly to the Chairmen of the Audit Committee and Supervisory Board as well as to appropriate senior management. Interested parties who have a concern about James Hardie’s conduct, including accounting, internal accounting controls or audit matters, may communicate directly with our Chairman (or Presiding Director for NYSE purposes), our Deputy Chairman, our Supervisory Board directors as a group, the Chairman of the Audit Committee or our Audit Committee. Such communications may be confidential or anonymous, and may be submitted in writing to our Company Secretary at the company’s head office at Atrium, 8th Floor, Strawinkylaan 3077, 1077ZX Amsterdam, The Netherlands or submitted by phone at +31 203 012 986. All such concerns will be forwarded to the appropriate Supervisory Board directors for their review, and will be simultaneously reviewed and addressed by our General Counsel in the same way that other concerns are addressed by us. Our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, which is discussed above, prohibits any employee from retaliating or taking any adverse action against anyone for raising or helping to resolve an integrity concern.
Continuous disclosure and market communication
We strive to comply with all relevant disclosure laws and listing rules in Australia (ASX and ASIC), the United States (SEC and NYSE) and The Netherlands (AFM). Our Continuous Disclosure and Market Communication Policy aims to ensure that investors can easily understand James Hardie’s strategies, assess the quality of its management and examine its financial position and the strength of its growth prospects, and that the company complies with all of its legal disclosure obligations. The Managing Board is responsible for ensuring the company complies with our continuous disclosure obligations. A Disclosure Committee comprised of the Managing Board and the VP Investor Relations is responsible for all decisions regarding our market disclosure obligations outside of the company’s normal financial reporting calendar. For our quarterly and annual results releases, the Managing Board is supported by the Financial Statements Disclosure Committee, which provides assurance regarding our compliance with reporting processes and controls. The Managing Board discusses with the Audit Committee any issues arising out of meetings of the Financial Statements Disclosure Committee that impact on the quarterly and annual results releases. The Nominating and Governance Committee reviewed and updated the Continuous Disclosure and Market
Communication policy during the fiscal year.
Share trading
All company employees and directors are subject to our Insider Trading Policy. Company employees and directors may only buy or sell the company’s securities within four weeks beginning two days after the announcement of quarterly or full year results, provided they are not in possession of price sensitive information. There are additional restrictions on trading for designated senior employees and directors, including a requirement that they receive prior clearance from the company’s compliance officer before trading or pledging their shares by taking out a margin loan over them, and a general prohibition on hedging or selling for short-swing profit any shares or options. Company employees who are not designated employees may hedge vested options or shares, provided they notify the company. The Managing Board recognises that it is the individual responsibility of each James Hardie director and employee to ensure he or she complies with the spirit and the letter of insider trading laws and that notification to the compliance officer in no way implies approval of any transaction. The Nominating and Governance Committee reviewed and updated the Insider Trading Policy during the fiscal year.
Share buy-back
The company conducted an on-market buy-back during the fiscal year. The Nominating and Governance Committee adopted a set of disclosure protocols during the year to reinforce its existing disclosure policies while any on-market buy-back is current.
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