ESG
Sibanye-Stillwater’s
ESG strategy CARES
Sustainability can have different meanings depending on the context in which it is used. For PGMs and gold producer Sibanye-Stillwater, sustainability means managing operations in a way that allows the company to at least maintain its social licence to operate, in order to generate long-term value for all stakeholders.
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s a value-driven company, SibanyeStillwater has adopted a unique ESG strategy that enables the company to carry out its vision: to create superior value for all stakeholders through mining. The CARES values are the essence of the company’s approach to sustainability and are embedded in the overall ESG strategy. CARES is an acronym for commitment, accountability, respect, enabling and safety. Its meaning is illustrated in the umdoni tree, an indigenous South African tree. CARES is symbolic of the roots of the tree, while the trunk represents the employees, the material strength of the company. It is also responsible for the delivery of the fundamentals of safety, health and wellness, cost management, quality production and the volume targets necessary for a profitable and sustainable business. The tree’s leaves on the branches represent all the stakeholders and, finally, the seeds and fruits signify the varying benefits and value that SibanyeStillwater is able to deliver to stakeholders. Speaking to Inside Mining, Kobus de Jager, senior vice president: Organisational Safe Performance & ESG
www.sibanyestillwater.com
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at Sibanye-Stillwater, explains that the CARES values are the driving force behind the company. He adds that sustainability at Sibanye-Stillwater is measured through ESG metrics, which is a core strategic focus area for the business. “ESG is a concurrent activity, while we are executing our core business,” De Jager says. The company is part of various global institutions such as the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) and, more recently, the United Nations Global Compact. De Jager explains that Sibanye-Stillwater uses some of the broad guidelines set out in these institutions to devise the company’s ESG strategy. Some of the environmental guidelines include promoting natural resources, increasing environmental consciousness, identifying alternative energy sources, and improving lives through its economic footprint. De Jager highlights that the international institutions closely monitor how a company deals with ESG issues before allowing them to become members.
ESG’s importance Although ESG is not new to the mining industry, it sometimes gets overlooked and does not receive the attention it requires. According to James Wellsted, senior vice president: Investor Relations, Sibanye Gold was established in 2013, at a time when deep-level gold mining had a bad reputation because of its association with labour disputes, poor safety track records and environmental issues. The company recognised the need to build a sustainable business, which could be achieved through delivering value. Sibanye-Stillwater adopted a vision to deliver superior value to all stakeholders, while much of the industry was renowned for prioritising the bottom line and primarily focusing on shareholder returns. “We were aware, particularly in the South African environment, that you can’t operate like that in order to have a sustainable business – we need to balance the requirements of all stakeholders,” says Wellsted. Doing business any other way is unsustainable in the long run, because the social and environmental pressures would eventually impact a company’s social licence to operate.
