ESG A-Z

Focus areas

Safety
Climate change
Human rights
Tailings
Ethics and compliance
Indigenous people

All of our operations are required to obtain and comply with regulatory approved air quality limits and approvals, supported by routine monitoring and trends analysis, wherever we operate.

We believe artisanal and small-scale mining can co-exist alongside large-scale mining when carried out responsibly and transparently.

Our sustainability assurance processes support the management’s assessment of risk and provide assurance on the key mitigation controls.

Mining activities directly impact the surrounding land, flora and fauna throughout the lifecycle; our goal is to minimise and manage those impacts.

Final responsibility for sustainability lies at Board level, with our Health, Safety, Environment and Communities Committee.

We are supporting research into the potential of technologies such as carbon capture, utilisation and storage to investigate ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel use.

We define catastrophic hazards as events that – though unlikely – could cause widespread loss of life, or significant environmental harm, resulting also in major reputational or financial damage.

As we rely on the application and assurance of our own HSEC management framework, we do not insist that our assets undergo third party certiﬁcation.

We recognise the risks of forced labour, modern slavery, human trafficking and other labour standards violations within our supply chains.

We believe that the global response to climate change should pursue twin objectives: limiting temperatures in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement, and supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, and universal access to clean, affordable energy.

We require each asset to have a closure plan, including progressive rehabilitation and financial provision, to support a responsible exit.

We bring economic benefits to the countries where we work – by employing people, buying goods and services, paying taxes and royalties, and investing in infrastructure.

All our operations are required to have in place local-level complaints and grievance processes that are legitimate, accessible, predictable, equitable, transparent and rights-compatible.

We have formulated our Covid-19response in partnership with our expert medical advisors, taking into account government advice and global bodies such as the WHO.

Some of our assets are located on or near the traditional lands of Indigenous Peoples. We appreciate and respect the importance of their cultural heritage and seek to avoid, or where avoidance is not possible, minimise impacts from our operations and activities on places, items or other aspects of historical and cultural significance.

We believe that employing people from different cultures, countries, races, ethnicities, genders, abilities, beliefs and backgrounds is essential to our culture.

We require each asset to identify potential emergencies at or adjacent to their operations and to develop an appropriate Emergency Response Plan.

All of our operations are required to obtain and comply with regulatory approved air quality limits and approvals, supported by routine monitoring and trends analysis, wherever we operate.

We develop and implement robust management systems for land and biodiversity, air emissions, energy, water and waste.

We recognise the value of objective benchmarking of our performance against peers, and support efforts by environmental, social and governance (ESG) rating agencies to do so.

We seek to maintain a culture of ethical behaviour and compliance throughout the Group, rather than simply performing the minimum required by laws and regulations.

We participate in a wider range of external initiatives, including global, national and regional organisations.

We recognise the risks of forced labour, modern slavery, human trafficking and other labour standards violations within our supply chains.

We believe that employing people from different cultures, countries, races, ethnicities, genders, abilities, beliefs and backgrounds is essential to our culture.

Our Board health, safety, environment, and community and human rights committee oversees sustainability at Glencore.

All our operations are required to have in place local-level complaints and grievance processes that are legitimate, accessible, predictable, equitable, transparent and rights-compatible.

We work to improve not just our peoples’ health and wellbeing, but that of our host communities.

A key part of operating responsibly is to work with government, NGOs and other stakeholders to support the health and wellbeing of our host communities.

We are committed to respecting human rights. We actively support our employees, business partners and others to understand and meet our standards and expectations.

We align our approach to Indigenous people with the ICMM’s Position Statement on Indigenous People and Mining.

We recognise and uphold the rights of our workforce to a safe workplace, freedom of association, collective representation, collective bargaining, just compensation, job security and development opportunities.

Along with our JV partners, we influence these assets to adopt appropriate operational and governance standards that reflect those of Glencore and the other JV partners.

We implement land stewardship and biodiversity plans throughout our assets’ lifecycles, which we often develop in collaboration with local stakeholders.

We develop and maintain constructive relationships with the governments of our operating countries.

Employment is one of the most direct opportunities for us to support the local development of our host countries.

We use local suppliers whenever we can, to reduce our costs and provide our host communities with alternative employment opportunities.

We hold membership in a broad range of industry organisations and our participation enables us to represent, promote and protect the interests of our business. We carry out an annual review of the positions and advocacy activities undertaken by those organisations in which we hold membership.

Our assets incorporate biodiversity considerations into their environmental impact assessments, along with any risks that our biodiversity impact may have for local communities.

Our sustainability framework is the primary vehicle for the collection and reporting of sustainability risks, opportunities and performance to inform our business strategy.

Our ambition is to be recognised as a top employer in all of our operating regions and to foster an environment that supports and encourages different backgrounds, cultures and beliefs.

A core component of our operations’ lifecycle is progressive rehabilitation.

Currently, we apply sustainability-related KPIs for our asset-level management.

We publish a range of publications on our approach and progress in our sustainability-related activities.

We seek to avoid resettlement wherever possible. When unavoidable, we follow the principles of IFC Performance Standard 5: Land Acquisition and Involuntary Resettlement.

We responsibly source the commodities that advance everyday life through providing safe and quality-assured materials that meet regulatory requirements and industry standards, across the whole supply chain.

Our sustainability risk management framework aligns with global standards, and helps identify hazards and ways to eliminate, manage or mitigate them.

We are committed to operating safely and believe all fatalities, occupational diseases and injuries at work are preventable.

We work with security providers in accordance with the Voluntary Principles and our own Security Standard.

We bring economic benefits to the countries where we work – by employing people, buying goods and services, paying taxes and royalties, and investing in infrastructure.

We aim to engage in an open and transparent manner that supports the successful running of our business.

Our customers are increasingly seeking assurance that their own supply chains do not have any links to human rights abuses.

We are committed to aligning the design, operation and closure of our TSFs with international best practices.

We pay all relevant taxes, royalties and other levies in amounts determined by the legislation of relevant national, regional or local governments.

We are committed to high standards of corporate governance and transparency.

Our success relies on our ability to attract, develop and retain the best talent, at every level.

We work to minimise the impact of the waste our activities produce. We focus on the need to store waste safely, particularly mineral waste and tailings.

We recognise that access to safe, clean water and sanitation is a human right and we aim to minimise our water-related impacts and protect the water sources we share.

Our Raising Concerns platform supports the reporting of concerns in various languages in a secure manner.

Our ambition is to be recognised as a top employer in all of our operating regions and to foster an environment that supports and encourages different backgrounds, cultures and beliefs.