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. See Focusing what matters most for a discussion on our materiality assessment process.

Good governance is foundational to our overall sustainability strategy. We have a culture of transparent reporting – internally and externally – which gives management and shareholders the confidence that things are working as they should across all levels, and when they are not, that we can move quickly to address them.

Governance starts with active oversight and engagement from our Board. This is fundamental to our approach. We also have a world-class set of policies and standards that form the backbone of our management systems across a range of disciplines within the Company. These are given life through robust engagement and oversight of our Executive Management team, which helps to ensure that risks, impacts and opportunities are identified and managed. We also have a systematic, well-planned and coordinated approach to internal and external assurance – which brings an additional level of scrutiny and oversight to our organisational system.

We value transparency. We work to provide our stakeholders, among them ESG rating agencies, communities and civil society, with the information needed to make an accurate assessment of our social and environmental activities and performance.

The right systems are important. We have sought to upgrade our information system architecture in order to improve internal reporting and integrate sustainability activities into the broader business. During the year, the implementation of iSIMS continued as more modules were developed, and in some cases, were modified to support the management of work flow processes for various departments including safety, security, community, environment and health.

We continue to be informed by the world around us, and our stakeholders, on the issues that are deemed most important. In line with this, we aim to adapt and progress our sustainability approach, targets and goals, key performance indicators (KPIs) and reporting to respond to them.

Sustainability strategy framework 

AngloGold Ashanti’s 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.