To deliver on our strategic objective of becoming a catalyst for economic growth and environmental stewardship, we incorporate responsible business practices in everything we do. Not only do we aim to mitigate and manage our negative impact on natural resources, we also contribute to enhancing ecosystem resilience and the lives of our employees and communities.
We unpack our approach and performance through the following lenses:
| Our commitments, management approach and meeting or exceeding compliance | Unpacked in this chapter | |
| How we track and measure our performance | Highlighted in this chapter and measuring and monitoring our performance on delivering meaningful and positive impact | |
| Our stakeholder-inclusive approach | Engagements and collaboration in achieving our goals and initiatives summarised in this chapter, with stakeholder needs and concerns unpacked from stakeholder-inclusive approach |
Our environmental stewardship approach at a glance
We are guided by our environmental policy in delivering on our environmental commitments, which is further driven group-wide through:
We adhere to local laws and management standards, and incorporate current and forward‑looking best practices.
Cennergi's environmental and
social management system addresses
impacts according to local standards
and principles, as well as international
guidelines, including the Equator
Principles, the International Finance
Corporation (IFC) performance
standards and the World Bank.
We manage our environmental and social impacts by embedding performance principles into our ESG management systems, environmental policies and management practices.
Our strategic response
Our Sustainable Growth and Impact strategy guides the evolution of our environmental policy as we progress against delivering on our ESG objectives embedded in our strategy:
| ESG objectives | Supporting the achievement of
our Sustainable Growth and Impact strategy |
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| Decarbonisation and resilience | To implement cross-cutting measures to decrease carbon emissions emanating from our operations and building on adaptation and resilience |  |
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| Air quality | To reduce air pollution, including dust fallout, PM10 and PM2.5 | |||||
| Rehabilitation programme | To close and rehabilitate mines for a positive social impact legacy | |||||
| Biodiversity management | To protect and conserve biodiversity within our area of influence through the implementation of management plans and initiatives that promote and enhance biological diversity |  |
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| Energy and water management | To set water and energy targets aligned to our national benchmarks, industry standards and site objectives, and to allow for future resilience of the business, environment and communities |  |
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| Waste management | To minimise our environmental impact by promoting waste management hierarchy and transforming waste streams into opportunities for a circular economy model |  |
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| Strategic partnerships | To partner with various stakeholders to enable the successful delivery and broader positive impact of our ESG objectives | |||||
Further
reading
| How we are embedding ESG-related risks and opportunities in the business | Embedding ESG in our business |
| Our materiality determination process and environment-related material matters | Material matters |
Exxaro's wheel of excellence, detailed below, provides a consistent framework for environmental stewardship across the group, ensuring alignment in compliance, implementation, monitoring and reporting at every level. It enables the seamless integration of new assets and guides BUs in building essential competencies to achieve high environmental standards.
Our environmental commitments are categorised into key focus areas, each underpinned by targeted strategies and policies:
Progressed against our decarbonisation journey, and identified and implemented decarbonisation projects and opportunities for the short to medium term, which included planting 16 000 Spekboom trees at Grootegeluk and Leeuwpan as part of nature-based solutions adopted
| Improved disclosure through participation in the CDP | Planted 100 trees on rehabilitated land at Belfast as part of adopted nature-based solutions | Planted 100 trees at Matla to create a wind break and mitigate the impact of dust from the area | |||||
| Achieved an energy intensity of 27.688GJ/kt against our 2024 target of 32.329GJ/kt | Achieved a carbon intensity of 4.12tCO2e/ kTTM against our target of 4.2tCO2e/kTTM | Achieved a water intensity of 142L/t RoM against our target of 180L/t RoM | |||||
| Collected data on air pollutants at Grootegeluk – a key result of the multi‑pollutant ambient air quality monitor installed | No environmental fines, complaints or penalties recorded (2023: none) |
CENNERGI
Cennergi did not record any significant environmental incidents during the year (2023: none) |
In 2024, we sharpened our focus on environmental priorities critical to our carbon neutrality goal for 2050. To drive decarbonisation, we advanced energy efficiency initiatives, implemented nature-based solutions and introduced energy and water performance metrics across all functional areas and strengthened our commitment to resource circularity.
We are also exploring strategic partnerships, adopting green technologies, and employing robust environmental management tools to further enhance sustainability.
Through our university chairs, we support research that promotes sustainable resource use, addresses climate change adaptation and mitigation, and tackles other pressing environmental challenges.
Seven
level 1 incidents recorded
(2023: three)
The Matla WUL renewal application was declined in 2022. There were various engagements between Exxaro and DWS which concluded in Exxaro conceding to line the Matla pollution control dams. Supporting documentation (including the designs for the dams) were submitted to DWS for the finalisation of the WUL.
Since updating our environmental incident management standard in 2021 to include level 0 incidents (those posing a potential risk but with no environmental impact), we have continued to monitor these events closely.
In 2024, Exxaro recorded 45 level 0 incidents (2023: 53), seven level 1 incidents (2023: three) and zero level 2 and 3 incidents.
Refer to the databook for details of our level 1 environmental incidents.
Environmental complaints can be raised during stakeholder engagements, by phone, letter, or in the complaints book at each mine entrance. These are managed by environmental teams with support from head office specialists, who ensure corrective actions are implemented and monitored. Exxaro is exploring an electronic system to manage environmental complaints.
In 2024, Exxaro received no new environmental complaints.
The Climate Change Act 22 of 2024 was signed into law on 23 July 2024. This Act establishes a comprehensive framework for South Africa's climate response, including mitigation and adaptation measures. It introduces sectoral emission targets and mandates carbon budgets for major emitters, aiming to transition the nation towards a low-carbon, climate‑resilient economy. As a key player in the mining sector, we are aligning our operations with these new requirements to comply with the Act.
In 2025, the focus will remain on reducing emissions and energy consumption, protection of ecosystems, resource circularity, policy and regulatory developments in the ESG space. The ESG PMO will further aim to embed ESG criteria into project delivery through the integration of ESG KPIs.
IR