Newmont Mining named industry leader four years in a row on Dow Jones Sustainability Index
Denver based global mining concern, Newmont Mining has been named the leader in the metals and mining industry in the world on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for 2018 – and the company has been the leader on the Index for four consecutive years.
Newmont is adjudged the leader in the mining companies’ category on RobecoSAM’s Corporate Sustainability Assessment based on its Total Sustainability Score in 2018.
RobecoSAM is the company that collects and analyses the data for the Index. It has been doing so since 1999. It describes itself as the driving innovation in the fields of environment, social and governance investing.
The latest report on the Index provides a broad overview of the of the metals and mining industry and the relative positioning of Newmont Mining Corporation at the dimension and criteria level.
The report notes that the mining industry’s environmental issues center on land use, mineral waste management and energy and water use. It further recognizes workforce challenges which include labor conditions and health and safety. All of these issues, the report points out have the potential to expand beyond the confines of the mine, impacting relations with local communities and stakeholders.
“As a result, mining companies have to improve their environmental performance, community interaction (which includes establishing adequate consultation processes and grievance mechanisms) and exposure to human-rights risks. Broader trends increase the scale of these challenges: deeper extraction, declining ore grades, and growing waste rock and process tailings volumes . Moreover, regional water scarcity and higher water use in processing are increasing the potential for conflict with other water users, including across borders,” it stated.
Each year, over 3,400 listed companies around the world are asked between 80-120 questions focusing on economic, environmental and social factors relevant to the companies’ success, but under-researched in conventional financial analysis, the report said.
RobecoSAM indicated that it selected the most relevant criteria in each sustainability dimension based on their weight in the assessment and their current or expected significance for the industry.
Newmont was the first gold mining company to be included on the Index in 2007.
Newmont achieved outstanding performance in a number of areas including in the following: Economic: Corporate Governance, Risk and Crisis Management, and Policy Influence; Environmental: Biodiversity, Climate Strategy, and Water-related Risks; Social: Labor Practice Indicators, Human Rights, Corporate Citizenship and Philanthropy, and Asset Closure Management.
Commenting, Gary Goldberg, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Newmont said, “This recognition is an important reflection of how well we are doing to create value and improve lives for all of our stakeholders.
“Employees at our sites around the globe know that leading in profitability and responsibility go hand-in-hand, and that their day-to-day work can have positive and lasting impacts on local communities. Our focus is on the long-term success of our company and doing that requires integrating sustainability into all aspects of our business,” he added.
Newmont Mining Corporation has a subsidiary in Ghana – Newmont Gold Ghana, with operations at the Ahafo mine in the Brong-Ahafo region and the Akyem operation in the Eastern region near New Abirem.
Newmont began operations in Ghana with the acquisition of Normandy Mining in 2002. Production commenced in 2006 at the Ahafo mine and the Akyem mine started operations in 2013.
By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi
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