Supporting our transition to a low-carbon business is our commitment to building our resilience and adaptability in response to the climate change agenda. Our approach is collaborative and inclusive as we believe partnering with our stakeholders is key to achieving our carbon neutrality goal in a just manner.
Showcasing our response in action
As part of our decarbonisation and climate mitigation efforts, we are investigating nature‑based solutions – one of the most cost-effective ways of sustainably addressing climate change impacts.
The Spekboom, or Portulacaria afra, is an extraordinary plant known for its remarkable ability to sequester carbon. It can absorb between 4tCO2 and 10tCO2 per hectare per year, making it one of the most efficient plants for carbon sequestration. Its resilience to harsh environmental conditions, drought resistance, and ability to thrive in various soil types make it ideal for our mining sites.
During the year, we planted 6 000 Spekboom trees at our Grootegeluk mine, and 10 000 trees at Leeuwpan mine. We are monitoring the trees to assess their adaptability to the different environments. The aim is to scale up Spekboom carbon offset projects in the near future based on the survival and sequestration rates of the plants at our operations.
The scaling up of the projects will consider community engagement and participation, as we believe in fostering a culture of sustainability and creating employment opportunities by involving our communities in monitoring and maintaining the trees. We will potentially provide commercial opportunities such as the supply of Spekboom trees to various stakeholders.
Exxaro's Climate Change Response strategy and the TCFD recommendations ensure we embed climate change in our strategic thinking and decision making. Supported by analytics tools that inform this decision making, we include climate change metrics in scorecards, and climate change is embedded in our capital allocation model.
Critical enablers of our response to climate change include:
Exxaro is committed to conducting all climate lobbying in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement. Our objective is to clearly and transparently articulate Exxaro's commitment of contributing positively to climate policy development and implementation.
For a holistic view of our approach, read the supplementary information
available on our website:
Databook |
Climate Change Response strategy |
Climate change position statement
Our response to climate change is rooted in sustainable business practices and environmental stewardship imperatives, and is driven through:
The RBR committee manages climate change risks and opportunities. The SERC ensures we align with low-carbon transition principles.
The ESG steering committee's role is to support Exxaro's ongoing commitment to environmental, health and safety, corporate social responsibility, corporate governance, sustainability, and other relevant public policy matters.
We comply with the National Environmental Management: Air Quality Act, Carbon Tax Act, GHG Protocol, the DFFE GHG reporting regulations and pollution prevention plans regulations in executing our Climate Change Response strategy and supporting projects, and align our operations with national energy efficiency objectives.
To enable compliance with the Climate Change Act approved in July 2024 (upon operationalisation), Exxaro is working towards adapting our operations to align with stricter emissions targets and investing in sustainable practices to mitigate climate impact. The Act aims to establish a framework for reducing GHG emissions and promoting climate resilience in South Africa. Compliance with the Act may require increased transparency in reporting emissions and a shift towards cleaner technologies, which could enhance Exxaro's reputation as an environmentally responsible company, and drive innovation and efficiency at our mining operations.
We recognise that the role we play in mitigating the impacts of climate change is strengthened through how we conduct our business beyond regulatory requirements. We achieve this by:
Since our decarbonisation roadmap was approved this year, we will review our Climate Change Response strategy and position statement in the 2025 financial year to reflect updates from the roadmap.
We play our part in contributing to South Africa's low-carbon transition, responding to the global call for more ambitious nationally determined contributions. South Africa's revised nationally determined contributions for 2025 require us to do more to support the country's transition to a low-carbon economy.
Additionally, the implementation of South Africa's Carbon Tax Act, 2019 (Act 15 of 2019) has elevated GHG emissions reduction to a prominent business imperative, as the tax rate of CO2 emissions could affect our financial and sustainability performance. Governed by the Carbon Tax Act, the current carbon tax rate is R190/tCO2e with several tax-free allowances.
We have an MoU with the Agricultural Research Council, enabling the parties to develop and conclude research agreements and development projects in:
We have an MoU with the Council for Geoscience, which expresses our intent to collaborate on carbon capture, utilisation and storage initiatives aimed at reducing carbon emissions in South Africa and potentially contributing to value chain/ scope 3 emissions reduction
We create employment and reskilling opportunities for communities living in and working at and around our operations
We provide sponsorships for South Africa's pavilion at COP every year. The conference is a platform for government, industry and other stakeholders to share and contribute towards global efforts to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change
We were one of the first mining companies in South Africa to participate and disclose information on climate change mitigation, water security, governance, risks and opportunities, strategy, metrics, and targets on the CDP
To reduce scope 1 and 2 emissions while enabling continuous operations and building a resilient clean energy network, we implement operational efficiency programmes, carbon offsets and renewable energy self-generation projects. These initiatives contribute to the reduction of our carbon intensity by reducing diesel and electricity consumption, and rectify higher carbon intensity per tonne of product mined caused by suboptimal equipment use.
We work with our engineering teams and a service provider to identify potential group-wide projects to implement at our operations with significantly high energy usage. We are systematically reducing the emissions of our Grootegeluk vehicle fleet by addressing logistics constraints using analytics tools and implementing optimisation solutions that include:
The LSP and future investments in decarbonising Exxaro's mining operations represent a systematic and responsible approach to the energy transition without introducing additional risks to South Africa's electricity generation. We also plan to implement solar photovoltaic (PV) projects at our mines in closure offices and Ferroland game lodges to reduce our scope 2 carbon footprint.
Furthermore, the LSP and similar projects will foster sustainable development and enhance socio-economic benefits for local communities.
We also promote renewable energy as a cost-effective technology through the anaerobic biodigester programme, which was launched with the South African National Energy Development Institute and Unisa in 2019.
While it is critical to reduce our direct emissions, the largest contributor to our indirect emissions profile is our scope 3 emissions. Over 98% of our scope 3 emissions emanate from the generation of power by Eskom using Exxaro's coal. Although Exxaro will not set targets for scope 3 emissions currently, we are pursuing opportunities to monitor and manage scope 3 emissions through partnerships with our customers and suppliers (including inbound and outbound logistics); prioritising green procurement of goods and services; contributing to research and development on decarbonisation technologies; and reducing emissions related to employee travel.
Our strategy to diversify to low-carbon transition minerals and grow our energy solutions business will be key in addressing scope 3 emissions and ensuring our contribution to the low-carbon transition.
Direct GHG emissions (measured in tCO2e) from sources owned or controlled by Exxaro using diesel, petrol, gas, explosives and limestone. Production‑related fugitive methane emissions are also included
GHG emissions from electricity generated by utility Eskom and purchased by Exxaro
Emissions outside our control but emanating from our products or value chain activities such as customers burning coal supplied by Exxaro
Initiatives we implement include:
Priority Low
High
Quick wins
Energy and
water efficiency programmes (linked to performance incentives)
Compliance focus: pollution prevention plans for
operations
Solar PV at
Grootegeluk
Renewable energy consumption at all our operations
We engage and partner strategically and take targeted measures with our key suppliers to partner and collaborate on value chain emissions reduction
Our approach of aligning our portfolio towards low-carbon transition minerals will be key in addressing scope 3 emissions
We support industry and government efforts to develop low-carbon technologies such as carbon capture and storage, which are critical for the removal of carbon emissions
Nature-based offset projects
Exxaro
decarbonisation training and employee participation
Leadership-driven process
Our emissions reduction initiatives are supported by our efforts in driving energy efficiency and implementing cleaner energy sources at our operations.
We submit an annual pollution prevention plan report to the DFFE. The 2021 to 2025 pollution prevention plans include CO2 emissions reduction projects for reducing diesel consumption and carbon emissions at our operations.
| Anticipated emissions reduction (tCO2e) | |||||||
| Project | Implementation | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | Total | |
| Grootegeluk in-pit crushing and conveying project | Ongoing | 6 503 | 6 250 | 6 104 | 6 050 | 30 960 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Road management and improvement | Ongoing | 3 827 | 3 678 | 3 592 | 3 561 | 18 222 | |
| Pantograph utilisation optimisation | 2021 | 735 | 707 | 690 | 684 | 3 500 | |
| Out-of-cycle time reduction | 2021 | 1 724 | 1 657 | 1 618 | 1 604 | 8 208 | |
| Autonomous drilling | 2021 | 208 | 200 | 195 | 193 | 989 | |
| Total | 12 997 | 12 491 | 12 199 | 12 093 | 61 879 | ||
Assumptions used to estimate anticipated GHG emission reduction: electrical and diesel conversion factors, and the project scope, are consistent.
2018
20202021
2022202320242030
2050
In 2024, we participated in the revised CDP programme which has an integrated questionnaire for climate change, water security and biodiversity management.
We are reviewing our scope 3 calculation methodologies to ensure continuous improvement and data credibility. In 2025, we will also develop and publish a methodology report which indicates how we approach emissions quantification and disclosures.
To ensure comparability, Exxaro measures, manages and reports energy and carbon data in terms of the GHG Protocol's Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard. Our scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions are monitored and reported annually.
GHG emissions recorded over the past three financial years are below.
To enable our business to thrive in a low-carbon future, we are strengthening our ability to adapt to climate change and building our resilience against it. We are developing our climate change adaptation and resilience plan for the organisation. This plan will bolster our existing approach, which includes:
To measure carbon sequestration results from our Hlobane afforestation and reforestation initiative, we are investigating an evidence-based approach to quantifying, measuring and managing results. We have also initiated discussions with several stakeholders such as the South African National Biodiversity Institute to ensure we leverage all opportunities presented in using nature-based solutions.
Our increasing efforts to reduce our scope 1 and 2 emissions, and improve energy efficiency align with our decarbonisation plan, now and into the future.
Growing external risks present significant opportunities for us to evolve and transition, thereby securing a future for Exxaro, our communities and future generations.
The risks identified during the detailed climate change scenario analysis conducted in 2019 and 2020 continue to inform our response and mitigation efforts.
Exxaro aims to use climate-related data to predict the impacts of extreme weather events on our operations, communities and social impact programmes. We have engaged with a service provider to consult on climate predictions for specific operations and value chain partners. These predictions will enable us to determine or better understand how the impacts of extreme weather events on our value chain in turn impact our business, suppliers, customers and communities.
Exxaro has several awareness, training and education initiatives that cover topics such as carbon pricing, carbon tax, adaptation, carbon budgets, and climate mitigation from a global, national and business perspective. These initiatives not only deepen our knowledge as an organisation, but also stimulate behaviour change in pursuit of climate change adaptation and resilience at our operations and in communities.
Exxaro has been facilitating climate change masterclasses for the past three years as part of employee awareness, education and behaviour change. Classes are held throughout the year.
We are investing extensively in developing knowledge of climate change, renewable energy and sustainability. We prioritise innovation, research and development, and collaboration on sustainability issues with value chain stakeholders. In previous years, we also funded three university chairs to build on climate knowledge and to advance efforts towards climate mitigation and adaptation.
Resulting in a 6.36% decrease in carbon intensity compared to 2023 due to energy efficiency measures at our operations
invested to date
for production-related emissions, ie fugitive methane emissions associated with the coal seams
B for climate
B for water security
| * | Only the operating mines' carbon emissions were taken into account for the intensity calculations. This excludes the ConneXXion, Hlobane, FerroAlloys, etc. |
| RA | Reasonable assurance provided. |
For more information on our CDP performance, please refer to www.cdp.net and the databook.
Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions (ktCO2e)
Scope 3 GHG emissions (ktCO2e)*
Carbon emission by source (ktCO2e)
| RA | Reasonable assurance provided. |
| * | Scope 3 emissions for domestic sales. |
| ** | Source proportion. |
| *** | Restated: the previously reported amount of 634ktCO2e included operational mines only. This year's figure includes all operations. |
Refer to the databook for more detail on our scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions.
Renewable energy self-generation
The LSP at Grootegeluk, designed to reduce our emissions by 161ktCO2e, is undergoing construction. Although the project experienced some delays in 2024, construction activities are ramping up and include piling, installation of mounting structures and installation of solar PV modules.
Commercial operations are expected to commence mid-2025.
IR