Empowered diversified mining and renewable energy solutions company Exxaro Resources held its annual Sustainability Summit today in Middelburg, Mpumalanga Province. The Sustainability Summit served as both an educational and celebratory event, highlighting the performance of the business within the sustainability areas of safety, health, wellness, and the environment.

Exxaro CEO Mxolisi Mgojo explained that the theme of this year’s summit is the Power of 5! “Today is an important day, where we pause to reflect on our business and safety performance, good and bad. We also use this day of the Summit to recommit ourselves to leading a sustainable and responsible mining company. And in this regard, Exxaro and its partners pledged to a continuation of safety performance.

“All the aspects of sustainability which we are observing today are exceptional achievements considering the difficult times we operated under, especially over the last two years where we grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic. Thank you, for observing safety protocols as directed by our company policies and our legislative framework. This is indeed the best send-off gift I could have asked for, as I prepare for my retirement.”

CEO Designate Dr Nombasa Tsengwa addressed delegates about the Five Years Fatality-Free Milestone that Exxaro reached on 2 March 2022. “We use this day of the Summit to recommit ourselves to the zero-harm journey. As the incoming Chief Safety Officer taking over from Mr Mgojo, I want to acknowledge your loyalty, commitment and dedication in ensuring that we celebrate five years fatality free. This is a remarkable achievement and a result of numerous initiatives including the Khetha Ukuphepha Campaign which has been a constant reminder for the company – that every person, decision and action counts. Let us not take for granted the efforts that it took for us to get here. Let us all work together with our partners and stakeholders to ensure that we see another additional five years which will lead us to ten years without a work-related fatality, she explained.

Some of the delegates in attendance comprised of Exxaro’s employees from all its mining operations and subsidiaries, board members, including Board Chairman – Mr Geoffrey Qhena, NBI, Presidential Climate Change Commission leaders, provincial and national government stakeholders such as the DMRE and trade union representatives including NUM and NUMSA who all gave words of congratulations and encouragement to the milestones achieved by Exxaro.

Recognition of milestones

Exxaro continues to be celebrated for its safety efforts. On 5 April, the mining company received the Fatality Free Business Coal Safe Award. This marks the second consecutive year which further verifies the impact of the company’s safety efforts towards its employees, host communities and the mining industry.

Testament to the accomplishments achieved by Exxaro in the area of Sustainable Mining practices in 2021:

• The group is ranked #1 for ESG performance-selected resources company metrics, in terms of the FTSE Russell index;
• Ranked in top 100 of V.E, part of Moody’s ESG Solutions, Best Emerging Market Performers;
• Mongezi Veti, Executive Head Sustainability ranked 3rd by the Sustainability magazine’s list of top10 Chief Sustainability Officer;
• Exxaro won the Best Sustainability Reporting Award in the Metals & Mining category in the 2021 ESG Reporting Awards;
• Exxaro Resources was announced as the 2021 Best Sustainable Mining Leadership (South Africa) award winner by CFI.co
• Exxaro Resources has received a Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI) ranking of 4/4. This high score reflects the company’s commitment to managing greenhouse gas emissions and indicates to stakeholders and investors that Exxaro is in an excellent position to benefit from opportunities presented by the low-carbon transition.