Anglo American published its 15th annual Sustainability Report alongside its 2015 Annual Report, entitled “Driving Change, Defining Our Future”. Both reports outline the Group’s strategic plans to focus on a core portfolio of assets as it continues to emphasise the central role of sustainability in creating value for all stakeholders during a transformative period.

Anglo American’s materially streamlined portfolio will focus on its world-class diamond, platinum group metals (PGMs) and copper assets. The core portfolio of competitive, long life assets offers considerable organic growth potential and is positioned to deliver robust profitability and cash flows through the price cycle. It also offers greater exposure to the fast-growing consumer demand sectors as the global economy evolves, within which lie a number of next-generation clean energy and other environmental technologies.

Sir John Parker, Chairman of Anglo American, commented: “The need for extractive companies to make a positive, sustainable contribution to society is perhaps greater than ever. We will only be able to do this effectively, however, so long as we can maintain trusting and effective relationships with our wide-ranging and often-conflicting stakeholder base. It is only by being ‘partners in the future’ that mining companies will be able to secure and maintain their licences to operate, thus laying the foundation for prosperity that endures beyond the lives of their operations.”

Mark Cutifani, Chief Executive of Anglo American, added: “Anglo American is taking the appropriate steps to ensure it builds a more resilient business and that it continues to play its wider role in society by creating real and sustainable value. As a business, we can only deliver that value to shareholders and society at large if we ourselves are profitable and in a position of financial strength. I firmly believe the path we have taken will provide us with that more robust foundation, for the benefit of all our stakeholders.”

Anglo American’s Sustainability Report highlighted progress and ambitions in a number of areas, including:

Safety – Dedicated to achieving a vision of zero harm.

• In 2015, three employees and three contractors lost their lives in work-related activities at operations managed by Anglo American. Whilst this is the lowest number of workplace deaths in a full production year, any loss of life is unacceptable.


• The second half of the year saw a fatality-free final quarter, representing an encouraging step forward and a reminder that zero harm can be achieved.


• In 2015, Anglo American initiated a control-improvement programme, which engaged every one of its employees and contractors, ensuring the right controls are in place and that those controls are effectively monitored. As a result, the Group achieved its best safety performance in a full production year.


• In 2015, improving safety on public roads in communities around operations formed a key part of operational safety-improvement plans. As a result of this increased focus, there was no loss of life associated with any Anglo American-contracted road transportation services during 2015.

Health – Effective control of health risks protects Anglo American’s people and enhances productivity.

• The number of new cases of occupational diseases reported in 2015 was 163, down 7% from 175 reported in 2014, and down 35% since 2010.


• Anglo American is a recognised leader for tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS programmes in the workplace and in 2015 showed further improvement in this area. In 2015, the Company tested and counselled nearly 90,000 employees and contractors in southern Africa.


• Over the last year, the number of new HIV infections decreased further and there was a 34% increase in the uptake of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) by HIV-positive employees. This brought the total percentage of HIV-positive employees on ART from 53% in 2014 to 72% in 2015, and closer to the UNAIDS global target of 90% by 2020.

Water & Energy – The mining industry is highly reliant on water and energy and Anglo American’s immediate focus is on securing adequate supplies and using resources more efficiently to reduce that reliance.

• For the third consecutive year, Anglo American exceeded its 2020 water savings target of 14%, achieving an estimated 16% water saving against projected water usage.


• Anglo American reduced its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 22% in relation to 2015’s ‘business as usual’ consumption. This amounted to 4.5 million tonnes of avoided CO2e, which is equivalent to displacing the emissions of nearly one million passenger vehicles.


• 64% of the Company’s total operational water requirement was met by recycling/re-using water, representing an encouraging step towards its long-term goal of increasing this level to more than 80%.


• Anglo American held its first Open Forum event in June 2015 as part of its FutureSmart™ innovation programme with a focus on water. The four-day event was attended by water specialists from a range of industries and the potential elimination of our water dependency was better defined.

Socio-Economic Development – Anglo American seeks to ensure that the benefits it generates flow more directly to communities around its operations.

• Through its award-winning Socio-Economic Assessment Toolbox (SEAT), the Company partners with local institutions to strengthen supply chain capacity and maximise the socio-economic benefits in the regions in which it operates.


• In 2015, Anglo American’s Corporate Social Investment expenditure totalled more than $124 million.


• Anglo American focuses on leveraging the value chains and skills within the business, through initiative such as local procurement, and on building the capacity of host communities and local government.


• In 2015, Anglo American invested $13.6 million on health-related community programmes and $22.4 million on education and diversifying workforce development training.

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
Despite the current economic environment, Anglo American is committed to the need to continue to embody good governance in sustainability, and to demonstrate best practice. Incorporating respect for human rights into regular business practice is both a moral and business imperative, and is closely aligned with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Anglo American was an active participant in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), launched in September 2015. The SDGs reflect many of the socio-economic issues that already sit at the heart of Anglo American’s approach to sustainability and it believes strongly that its role as a private sector player is to support its host governments in meeting these targets, while reinforcing the real and positive difference mining and Anglo American can make in society.