Responsibly managing and mitigating the negative impacts of our activities on the environment is critical to enabling the success and long-term sustainability of our business, and ensuring we create a sustainable future for our employees, communities and the planet.
Exxaro's natural capital refers to the resources we rely on to run our business and create the products and services we deliver to our stakeholders. Our natural capital impact encompasses climate change adaptation and resilience, air quality, energy, water security, waste management, biodiversity protection, and environmental liabilities, land management and rehabilitation.
We understand that mining can result in long-lasting environmental impacts if unmanaged. Our strategy guides our approach in managing these impacts, thereby protecting the natural resources we rely on. We incorporate performance principles into our ESG management systems, environmental policies and practices. In addition, we comply with local legislation, management standards, and current and future-based best practice.
| Material theme | Matters | Strategies to achieve our objectives | Related strategic objective |
Our broader impact |
 Responsible environmental stewardship |
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 Executing our strategy |
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 Principled governance |
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Implemented nature-based solutions pilot projects, performed well against our energy intensity and water intensity targets and, unfortunately, recorded seven level 1 incidents (2023: three)
To ensure our sustainability and mitigate our environmental impact, our future focus centres on implementing various environmental management measures, including waste management awareness programmes, energy efficiency projects, continuous dust fallout monitoring, developing a biodiversity management strategy and implementing a water treatment solution at Durnacol. In addition, our Climate Change Response strategy and position statement will be reviewed in 2025 to reflect updates from the decarbonisation roadmap.
DETAILED DISCLOSURE
Read our environmental stewardship for details about our approach and performance.
Our strategic response to natural capital preservation
Our strategic response to natural capital preservation is rooted in our Sustainable Growth and Impact strategy, guiding efforts to reduce carbon emissions, rehabilitate land, protect biodiversity, and manage water, energy and waste sustainably.
By embedding environmental objectives within our strategy, we drive targeted responses that align with national benchmarks and industry standards, ensuring responsible resource use, impactful rehabilitation programmes, and collaborative strategic partnerships.
Transitioning into a low-carbon business and climate change mitigation
Exxaro's commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050 is central to our vision for a sustainable future, supporting South Africa's low-carbon transition while positioning us as a leader in environmental stewardship.
We published our Climate Change Response strategy and assessment on our alignment with the TCFD recommendations in our 2020 Climate Change Response strategy report. The TCFD provides a strategic framework for guiding our Climate Change Response strategy. This supports our overarching Sustainable Growth and Impact strategy through three of the five objectives (transition at speed and scale, empower people to create impact and be carbon neutral by 2050).
Refer to the databook for our response to TCFD reporting requirements.
Driving forces behind our strategic transition
Detailed disclosure in our ESG report
Driving forces behind our strategic transition
Accountability and responsibility through board oversight
Our board and its committees are ultimately accountable and responsible for overseeing Exxaro's response to climate change, ensuring integrated business processes and responses. The board also oversees the executive committee's execution of Exxaro's strategy, including measures that address climate change, among other material ESG matters.
Detailed disclosure
Driving forces behind our strategic transition
Integrating climate change into our strategy
Our strategy to diversify through investments in our low-carbon transition minerals and grow our energy solutions business is key to addressing the impacts of climate change and reducing our scope 3 emissions.
Detailed disclosure
Driving forces behind our strategic transition
Executing our decarbonisation roadmap
The roadmap and strategy will guide our emission reduction targets for scope 1 and 2 emissions. We will employ technology and integrate renewables to reduce our scope 1 and 2 emissions. Additionally, we form strategic partnerships and investigate innovative technologies to address scope 3 emissions to ensure carbon-neutral goods and services within the value chain.
Measuring, managing and reporting on performance
We report on energy and carbon data in terms of the GHG Protocol, and participate in the CDP climate change and water programmes.
Detailed disclosure
Driving forces behind our strategic transition
Collaborating
We engage and partner with various stakeholders to raise awareness and collectively drive climate action.
Detailed disclosure
Driving forces behind our strategic transition
Addressing risks
Climate-related risks are incorporated into our ERM processes – a strategic initiative fully supported by the board and executive management.
Detailed disclosure
This plan includes key initiatives, milestones and partnerships in line with our decarbonisation strategy to address scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. Implementation of our plan will prioritise initiatives that effectively balance emission reduction, technology adoption, technological feasibility and funding availability, ensuring a comprehensive approach to our overall emissions reduction goals.
To achieve this, we will need to actively reduce our scope 1 and 2 emissions by at least 40% by 2030. This target was previously 2026 and was restated due to production changes. The commissioning of our first self-generation project (the LSP) will contribute to a 25% reduction in our scope 2 emissions and a 17% reduction in our total scope 1 and 2 emissions. The implementation of additional renewable energy projects at our Mpumalanga operations and energy efficiency projects will also contribute to the achievement of our short-term target.
We aim to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 through a strengthened contribution towards a low-carbon transition.
Action
Employ technology to reduce scope 1 and 2 emissions
Focus area
Diversify towards resilient minerals and renewables
Focus area
Secure South Africa's
energy and economic
needs
Focus area
Balance emitted carbon with an equivalent amount of offset
Focus area
Support the most impacted and vulnerable in the shift
Focus area
Our ERM processes consider and embed climate-related risks and opportunities into our existing processes and decision making. We conducted a detailed climate change scenario analysis in 2019 and 2020 to identify these risks and determine their relative significance. These risks remain relevant to our context. Our response includes leveraging opportunities such as resource efficiency, growing our energy business, self-generation projects, investments in low-carbon transition minerals and developing adaptive capacity.
| Transition risks | |
| Credit and insurance risk | 1 |
| Carbon pricing risk | 2 |
| Market risk | 3 |
| Reputational risk | 4 |
| Physical risks | |
| Water security risk | 5 |
| Risk of heatwaves at our operations | 6 |
| Risk of drought | 7 |
| Risk of extreme rainfall days | 8 |
Our response to these risks is unpacked in the 2020 Climate Change Response strategy report and 2020 climate change position statement .
* Only the operating mines' carbon emissions were taken into account for the intensity calculations. This excludes the ConneXXion, Hlobane, FerroAlloys, etc.
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
For more information on our CDP performance, please refer to www.cdp.net and the databook.
We recognise that it takes time and a systematic, integrated and stakeholder-inclusive approach, to implement projects that will address the impact of climate change in a just and sustainable manner. Our focus for 2025 includes finalising our adaptation and resilience plans, and updating our various policies and Climate Change Response strategy – bolstering our readiness to achieve our long-term carbon neutrality target while current projects contribute to achieving our short-term targets.
Environmental stewardship
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 multipollutant 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.
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.
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