Exxaro’s robust commitment towards a Just Transition has resulted in the organisation becoming the only basic resources company with an improved Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) rating of Level 4.0 in December 2022. According to the FTSE Russell ESG Index Ratings, Exxaro’s rating increased from 3.7 in December 2021 and 3.8 in June 2022.

The FTSE Russell ESG Index Rating’s provides investors with an understanding of the company’s exposure to, and management of environmental, social and governance issues. The ESG Rating is an average rating that streams into underlying Pillar and Theme Exposures and Scores - built on over 300 individual indicator assessments. Exxaro was found to have made significant improvements in the Environment category, specifically towards climate change mitigation, yielding a 4.0 rating, the Social element rating at 3.3 while Governance leads with a commendable 4.7 rating.

Exxaro’s CEO, Dr Nombasa Tsengwa expresses how this ESG rating is a reflection of our efforts and accountability to the sustainable development of Exxaro and its communities of operations. “From the moment we committed to a Just Transition through the guidance of our Sustainable Growth and Impact strategy, carbon intensity in our operations has decreased by 0.7%, mainly because of energy efficiency initiatives designed to reduce diesel consumption at our flagship Grootegeluk mine. There have been further efforts made to reduce water intensity to preserve this scarce commodity, leading to an increase of 0.5% in water intensity and 0.6% in water consumption by 2022,” explains Dr Tsengwa.

As a result of these actionable commitments towards a Just Transition, FTSE Russell’s Green Revenues data model, designed to measure the revenue exposure of public companies engaged in the transition to the green economy, bestowed a Green Revenues Factor rating of 3.64% on Exxaro for the first time ever.

“We are immensely proud of our improved ESG and Green Revenues Factor ratings, sustainable development is the most conducive way to address systematic inequality without compromising the future survival of our planet,” concludes Dr Tsengwa.