Anglo American Platinum Limited |
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This report forms an important component of our overall communication with our stakeholders. It gives us the opportunity to present comprehensive data and information on how we are addressing the many social and environmental aspects associated with our business.
The report is intended to be read by both South African and international stakeholders. Important information found in it will be shared with members of the communities close to our operations through our existing environmental structures (see our stakeholder engagement processes).
It is a requirement of the Mining Charter Scorecard that we report on our progress toward meeting the charter’s requirements. The Group continues to use its Sustainable Development Report to provide a public statement of its performance against the scorecard. A scorecard reference table allowing for easy cross-referencing is found in the principles of corporate governance and structures section.
Anglo American Platinum is not a member of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) or a signatory of the United Nations Global Compact. However, through our major shareholder, Anglo American plc, we are bound by a number of international codes, among which are the 10 principles of the ICMM, the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, and the Global Compact. A reference table listing these requirements is available on our website tiny.cc/apgri/
As an organisation with diverse stakeholders and a workforce of around 58,500 including contractors, we believe that the most important elements of sustainability in our business are the safety, health and wellbeing of our employees and of people who live in the communities within which we operate.
The Group’s positive contribution to society includes investments in a number of important areas: job creation; skills development; education; health; local business development; procurement opportunities; payment of royalties and taxes; and infrastructural provision.
The negative impacts of mining typically include economic dependency, social impacts such as the proliferation of informal settlements as job seekers move into areas adjacent to mines, increased crime, environmental impacts (eg noise and dust pollution and the utilisation and the pollution of water), the use of scarce resources such as electricity and water, and the loss of agricultural land for farming.
By mining, however, we extract the platinum group metals (PGMs) we need in order to address issues such as the impact of toxic exhaust emissions on the quality of our air, and various other technological and medical applications. Our business also employs significant numbers of people (many of them sole breadwinners); improves the skills levels of employees and other beneficiaries; generates wealth for our shareholders; and pays taxes. And even though the mining of PGMs is not sustainable in perpetuity, many of the benefits and skills it creates will outlast the mining activities themselves. Therefore the opportunities Anglo American Platinum seeks to create for individuals and society are designed to ensure sustainable communities beyond the life of its mines.
Most of Anglo American Platinum operations are based in South Africa, a country presenting a unique sustainable development context. South Africa is a developmental state that experienced years of selective development during the period of apartheid. This led to imbalances in South African society which the current Government is rectifying through numerous transformation programmes. To address several of these imbalances in the mining industry the Government developed the Mining Charter with its associated scorecard; this requires mines to have met certain black economic empowerment targets by certain dates. (See the mining reference scorecard table for an update of the Company’s performance against the scorecard.)
Under the apartheid government, many traditional communities were forcibly moved into so-called ‘homelands’. This resulted in high population densities close to many of our operations, such as those around Rustenburg and the Eastern Limb of the Bushveld Complex. At the same time, in areas such as the Eastern Limb, years of underdevelopment have led to imbalances in water distribution. Together with high population densities and past inequalities, the shortage in these areas of natural resources such as land and water (South Africa is a water-scarce country) has led to competing demands and, in some instances, conflict between mining operations and the surrounding communities. Incidents relating to our operations are discussed in the key community issues section .
Although the Company is based primarily in South Africa, it has to address many global sustainability challenges, such as climate change and the protection of biodiversity. As a result, both South African and global sustainability issues are discussed in this report.
Our financial year runs from January to December and this report thus covers developments in, and results for, 2011. The previous report was released in February 2010.
The report covers all of Anglo American Platinum managed operations and mentions the key material issues at joint ventures and associate operations. Although the Group is involved in exploration activities in Brazil and Russia, these are not considered to have material impacts in terms of sustainability and are not included in this report.
The only change affecting the scope and boundary of this report is our Unki operation situated in Zimbabwe which is being reported for the first time as it began production in January 2011.
Data for joint-venture operations that are not under the direct control of Anglo American Platinum management are generally not covered in the Sustainable Development Report.
Furthermore, a process has been put in place to improve assurance on sustainable development issues at joint-venture operations. All such ventures are required to provide the Anglo American Platinum Board with the necessary assurances.
Data measurement techniques are in line with recommended practice and are explained in the relevant section of the report.
This report displays some noticeable changes in the sections on stakeholder engagement, strategy and materiality. These are based on feedback we received during our stakeholder engagement sessions and from our wider stakeholder base; and on the advice we received from our external review panel.
For further information, please e-mail
sbullock@angloplat.com
The address of the Anglo Platinum Limited website is
http://www.angloplatinum.com
Contact person for the Sustainable Development Report:
Stephen Bullock
Sustainable development manager
Anglo American Platinum Limited
55 Marshall Street, Johannesburg, 2001
PO Box 62179, Marshalltown, 2107, South Africa
Telephone + 27 (0) 11 373 6646
Fax + 27 (0) 11 373 5646
E-mail Stephen.bullock@angloamerican.com
The external review panel was founded in 2008 to review our draft
report prior to publication. The panel’s function is to review the
report’s materiality, inclusiveness and responsiveness, guided by the
AA1000 assurance standard. To ensure an independent relationship between
the Company and the panel, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
was appointed by Anglo American Platinum to administer the panel.
For the 2011 report, the panel includes Zithulele Cindi, Valerie Geen,
Jonathon Hanks, Tshepo Lenake and Cathy Reichardt. In accordance with
the governance rules, Steve Nicolls has been rotated off the panel in
2011. We would like to thank Mr Nicolls for his devoted contribution
over the past few years.
The panel members are selected based on the knowledge they have of the
industry; and for their expertise in the sustainable development
challenges and opportunities that face business in general and the
platinum industry in particular.
Members are appointed on a pro-bono basis. They are nevertheless offered
the opportunity to nominate a charity of their choice, and Anglo American Platinum makes
a donation of R20,000 on each member’s behalf.
For the first time in 2012 the panel will be requested to participate in
the identification of material issues as an advisory panel to management
and will give feedback to the Safety & Sustainability Development
Committee of the Board.
Our Sustainable Development Report for 2012 provides details of our
economic, environmental and social programmes. This report also details
our performance in 2011 and identifies material sustainable development
(SD)
challenges and opportunities that are likely to affect the future of the
Group.
In accordance with the G3 guidelines we self-declare that this report is
aligned toGRI
application level A+ and has been assured as such by
PwC.
We have referred to the revised G3 mining and metals sector supplement
guidelines to ensure that we have aligned our report with the
requirements.
By engaging in the processes of integrated risk-management and
stakeholder engagement, we have been able to identify significant
SD risks that concern both us and our stakeholders. To ensure
that we address all material issues, we have been guided by stakeholder
interaction to steer our reporting.
We have created a dedicated section on stakeholder engagement in order
to discuss the feedback received from our wide stakeholder base. The
section explains our stakeholder-engagement process and provides
feedback on the key issues raised in 2011. Please see the
stakeholder engagement section for this information.
The Group has developed a series of internal systems in order to record, monitor and improve the accuracy, completeness and reliability of the information and data provided in the SD Report. These systems cover the financial, operational, safety, health, human resources and environmental management aspects of the business. Moreover, Anglo American Platinum directors:
| Valerie Geen | Cathy Reichardt | Tshepo Lenake | Jonathon Hanks | Zithulele Cindi |
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