Anglo American

Sustainability strategy and accountability
Anglo American provides evidence of linking performance criteria in senior executives’ remuneration policies to targets and objectives which cover nature, including biodiversity, and social issues. The company also applies a mitigation hierarchy approach to its biodiversity targets, with the aim of delivering net positive impact by 2030.

Stakeholder engagement
Anglo American discloses how often and through which channels it engages with various stakeholder groups and an overview of the issues raised during its stakeholder engagement activities.

Water
Anglo American has a target to reduce group-wide freshwater withdrawal in water-scarce areas by 50% by 2030, and it reports progress against this target. The company demonstrates it is reducing water withdrawal in its own operations; total water withdrawn reduced from 197,489 megalitres per year (ML/yr) in 2020 to 176,529 ML/yr in 2021. The company reports how much water is withdrawn for its own operations in water-stressed areas.  

Indigenous Peoples’ and land rights
Anglo American is committed to respecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights. When engaging with Indigenous Peoples, the company applies the principles of free, prior and informed consent in accordance with the International Council on Mining and Metal’s Position Statement and Good Practice Guide on Indigenous Peoples and Mining. The company also requires its business relationships to identify and recognise affected Indigenous Peoples and to obtain their free, prior and informed consent regarding whether and how to carry out projects.

Sustainability strategy and accountability
Although Anglo American discloses its process for identifying and prioritising its most relevant sustainability impacts as well as the outcome of this process, it does not disclose group-wide targets on key sustainability topics for the most material parts of its value chain. Additionally, the company does not disclose whether its highest governance body has expertise regarding nature-related topics.

Lobbying
While Anglo American discloses a list of trade associations of which it is a member wherever it operates, it does not disclose a clear and detailed framework for assessing alignment of its trade associations with nature-positive policies. Moreover, Anglo American does not report (potential) misalignment between the lobbying activities of its trade associations and nature-positive policies.

Impact and dependencies assessment
Anglo American has not holistically assessed its impacts or how it depends on nature, including biodiversity. It has an opportunity to start such an assessment across its value chains, focused on quantification of its impacts or dependencies.

Key areas and species
Anglo American discloses the locations that are in or adjacent to areas important for biodiversity within its own operations. However, there is an opportunity to disclose its suppliers in close proximity to areas important for biodiversity. Moreover, the company does not disclose species populations existing in or adjacent to its own locations or those of its suppliers. Anglo American also does not disclose the status according to national and international conservation lists of species identified in its own locations.

Ecosystem conversion and restoration
No evidence was found regarding Anglo American’s efforts to avoid ecosystem conversion, including deforestation, or promote restoration. The company has an opportunity to develop a strategy and publicly report on specific, time-bound targets.

Resource exploitation and circularity
Anglo American does not disclose its inputs, including its material footprint, and does not report quantitatively on its group-wide circularity performance. Although the company discloses activities to improve soil health or agrobiodiversity in its production or sourcing practices, it does not have a target to improve soil health in its production or sourcing practices.

Water
Anglo American does not engage with suppliers to reduce water withdrawal. It does not report a decrease in water pollution or disclose its processes for managing and monitoring discharge water quality. It does not regularly report on water pollution or disclose targets to reduce water pollution. The company does not disclose a commitment to respect the right to water. Nor does it disclose its processes for implementing preventive and corrective action plans for identified specific risks to the right to water and sanitation in its own operations.

Solid and air pollution
The company is not reducing the production of hazardous substances. Moreover, it does not commit to avoid developing or marketing new chemicals or products with SVHC (substance of very high concern) properties. The company is not reducing the production of hazardous waste or plastic use and waste in its own operations. The company does not report on the amount of plastic waste generated and proportions directed from or to disposal. The company reports regularly on air quality parameters of emissions of harmful air pollutants. However, it does not report time-bound targets to reduce air pollutants across the most material parts of its value chain.

GHG emissions
The company is reducing its scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions, which decreased 8% in 2021 compared with 2020. The company has a target to reduce its scope 1 and 2 emissions by 30% by 2030 and reports progress against this target. However, the target is not aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory. The company is also reducing its scope 3 emissions, which have decreased from 225.7 Mt CO2e in 2018, to 114.8 Mt CO2e in 2020. The company has a target to reduce its scope 3 emissions by 50% by 2040 and reports progress against the target. However, as above, the target is not aligned with a 1.5-degree trajectory.

Invasive species
The company has not identified any activities that could lead to the introduction of invasive species in its own operations.

Safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment
The company does not disclose if it is committed to respecting local communities’ right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment or to zero tolerance for acts of violence, threats, intimidation or judicial harassment committed against land and environmental rights defenders.

Indigenous Peoples’ and land rights
The company does not disclose a commitment to respect ownership and use of land and natural resources and related legitimate tenure rights, as set out in the relevant part(s) of the VGGTs or the IFC Performance Standards. The company does not require its business relationships to have a process to identify legitimate tenure rightsholders, paying particular attention to vulnerable or marginalised tenure rightsholders, and to negotiate with them to provide adequate compensation.

The company describes the process for identifying its human rights risks and impacts in specific locations or activities covering its own operations. The company also describes the process for identifying human rights risks and impacts in its business relationships. The company describes its process(es) for assessing its human rights risks and discloses what it considers to be its salient human rights issues. In addition, the company describes its global system to take action to prevent, mitigate or remediate salient human rights issues, and this includes a description of how its global system applies to its supply chain. There is no evidence that the company provides an example of the conclusions reached and actions taken or to be taken on at least one of its salient human rights issues as a result of assessment processes. Nor is there evidence that the company discloses the categories of stakeholders whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities. The company engages with stakeholders whose human rights have been or may be affected by its activities.

The company has a publicly available policy statement committing it to respect the health and safety of its own workers and expecting its suppliers to do the same. The company discloses a time-bound target for paying all workers a living wage. It also describes how it determines a living wage for the regions where it operates. While the company states that it expects its suppliers to pay wages that are sufficient for workers and their families to fulfil their basic needs, it has an opportunity to disclose how it works to support the payment of a living wage by its suppliers. The company discloses the proportion of its total direct operations workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements. While the company states that it encourages its suppliers to respect employees’ right to freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, it has an opportunity to describe how it works to support the practices of its suppliers in this regard.

The company discloses a global tax strategy. There is no evidence that the company describes the process for identifying its bribery and corruption risks and impacts in specific locations or activities covering its own operations. However, it does include anti-bribery and anti-corruption clauses in its contracts with direct business relationships. In a public policy statement, the company discloses its approach to lobbying and political engagement. The company specifies that it does not make political contributions.