Our approach

We aim to be responsible stewards of the environments in which we operate, the ore bodies entrusted to us by our host communities, and the capital provided to us by our shareholders.

Improving our sustainability performance across all areas is central to maintaining our social licence to operate and enables us to achieve our overarching strategy. We work to ensure that all disciplines and employees across the business view their work through a sustainability lens. By embedding sustainability models across our value chain and through all reporting structures, we are integrating sustainability into our business.

We believe this approach leaves us better equipped to address legacy issues, anticipate and manage current and future risks, and capitalise on opportunities.

Policies and standards:

Group standard: Anti-bribery and anti-corruption English, pdf
Management Standard: Stakeholder engagement English, pdf

Sustainability strategy

AngloGold Ashanti’s current sustainability journey spans well over a decade and continues to transform the company in a manner that seeks to address the evolving global landscape.

Our strategy recognises that we operate in a complex environment and our ability to achieve sustainable outcomes is intertwined with people, politics, the planet and the economy. In response, our strategy is dynamic and adaptive, considering developments in the jurisdictions in which we operate.

As we seek to create value for our shareholders and stakeholders alike, we recognise that this cannot be achieved in isolation, and a collaborative approach is a prerequisite to success.

Stakeholder engagement

Constructive, collaborative and respectful stakeholder relationships build trust and underpin our ability to create value. Engaging with our stakeholders enhances our understanding of our operating environment and the people we work with, and in turn facilitates informed decision making. It is critical at every stage of our business, from exploration through to mine closure.

Materiality

AngloGold Ashanti’s material sustainability issues include the sustainability-related risks and opportunities that could affect our ability to create value in the short, medium and long term, and are frequently interdependent. We recognise that our materiality assessment represents a point in time. While we have focused on certain material sustainability issues that represent common themes that internal and external stakeholders are presently concerned with, these may change from year to year.

Our people – employees and communities

Climate action and resilience

Pathway to net zero and climate change resilience

Environmental stewardship

Pursuing business sustainability and growth

For detailed information on each of these topics and our materiality matrix, please refer to the Sustainability Report 2023.

Our Sustainability Strategy Framework

Meeting our sustainability goals has for many years been an intrinsic part of our business; in fact, these goals are enshrined in our corporate values. Our efforts are also guided by an annual materiality assessment that determines the key sustainability areas of focus. We structure our sustainability investments and interventions to respond proactively to 10 priority material sustainability issues, which are centred on protecting people and communities while building relationships based on dialogue and trust, sound environmental stewardship, operating a sustainable business, and pursuing climate action and resilience. While we have focused on certain material sustainability issues that represent common themes that internal and external stakeholders are presently concerned with, these may change over time. Our strategy and practices encompass a far broader range of issues, over a longer time range, that are managed on an ongoing basis.

We aim to be responsible stewards of the environments in which we operate by:

Mitigating impacts from operations
Engaging constructively with communities
Working to fairly share benefits of mining among stakeholders

Good governance is foundational to our overall sustainability strategy

Protecting and developing people and communities

Ensuring the safety and well-being
of employees, contractors and
those in our wider mine communities
is our main priority.

Environmental
stewardship

We are committed to avoiding, minimising and mitigating the impact of our activities on the environment and to proactively managing risks to air, land, biodiversity and water resources during the mining life cycle.

Pursuing business
sustainability

Our sustainability strategy is an integral part our business strategy, which aims to create sustained value over the period of our mining operations and beyond.

ESG commitments

We subscribe to a number of external principles, charters and standards that reflect our values and commitment to ESG principles – and allow our stakeholders to hold us accountable. Our participation in industry initiatives enables us to inform and influence global standards and practices as well as gain insight into emerging expectations, issues and risks.

AngloGold Ashanti is a member of the ICMM and is committed to its principles, position statements and performance expectations that guide member companies on continuously improving their sustainability performance. ICMM member companies commit to reporting on their sustainability performance publicly every year in line with the standards set by the GRI. www.icmm.com

The International Cyanide Management Code (ICMI) for the manufacture, transport, and use of cyanide in the production of gold was developed by a multi-stakeholder steering committee under the guidance of the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the then International Council on Metals and the Environment (ICME).
www.cyanidecode.org

The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) is a global initiative which promotes transparent and accountable disclosure and use of revenues from natural resources. AngloGold Ashanti discloses all information in line with country-specific EITI processes and within annual country-level reports.
eiti.org

AngloGold Ashanti uses the WGC Conflict-Free Gold Standard as an important tool to help ensure the gold we produce is conflict-free.
www.gold.org

The United Nations SDGs focus efforts to end poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change. We have integrated the SDGs across our business.
www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals

The UNGC is a voluntary international corporate citizen network, representing partnerships among businesses, governments, civil society and the United Nations. Its aim is to advance responsible corporate citizenship and universal social and environmental principles to meet the challenges of globalisation. AngloGold Ashanti has been an active Board member of the UNGC since 2004 and continues to meaningfully accelerate and scale business impacts to achieve the UNGC goals. As a member organisation, we participate in UNGC programmes such as Target Gender Equality and Young SDG Innovators.
www.unglobalcompact.org

These are a set of principles designed to guide companies in maintaining the safety and security of their operations within an operating framework that encourages respect for human rights. AngloGold Ashanti annually reports on its efforts to implement and promote the VPSHR.
www.voluntaryprinciples.org

We aspire to contribute to Agenda 2063, which is aimed at transforming Africa into the global powerhouse of the future by delivering on a set of seven aspirations, each with its own set of goals.
au.int/en/agenda2063/overview

The World Economic Forum’s Mining and Metals Industry community is a high-level group of peers dedicated to ensuring thought leadership on the long-term sustainability of the industry and its value to society. AngloGold Ashanti seeks to play its role in mitigating the impacts of climate change and integrating ESG considerations in how the industry operates and interacts with its stakeholders.
www.weforum.org/communities/mining-and-metals

The GRI is an independent, international organisation that helps organisations communicate their impacts on the environment, economy and people, including human rights, through their reporting standards. AngloGold Ashanti reports in accordance with the GRI Standards.

www.globalreporting.org

SASB aims to help connect businesses and investors on the financial impacts of sustainability through industry-specific standards. Effective 1 August 2022, SASB became part of the IFRS Foundation and its standards will ultimately transition into the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards. AngloGold Ashanti’s reporting against SASB positions us well to potentially align with IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards in the future. www.sasb.org

The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework offers a global benchmark for climate change disclosure. AngloGold Ashanti has adopted the recommendations of the TCFD and commits to incrementally reporting in line with this framework.

For more information on our TCFD-aligned disclosures, see our Integrated Report 2022