SUSTAINABILITY

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. 

Read more about air emissions 

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

Read more about ASM

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

Read more about auditing and assurance

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

Read more about biodiversity

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

Read more about Board oversight

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.

Read more about carbon capture

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.

Read more about catastrophic hazards

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.

Read more about certification

We recognise the risks of child labour, modern slavery, and other human rights-related risks in our industrial assets and supply chains.

Read more about child labour

We support the goals of the Paris Agreement to limit the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels. Beyond supporting the energy transition overall through the supply of metals, we take a holistic approach to decarbonisation, focusing on reducing our combined industrial Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.

Read more about climate change

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

Read more about closure planning

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.

Read more about communities

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.

Read more about complaints

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.

Read more about cultural heritage

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

Read more about diversity and inclusion

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

Read more about emergency response planning

We investigate significant environmental incidents and, where appropriate, work with local authorities to address impacts. 

Read more about environmental incidents

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.

Read more about ESG rating agencies

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.

Read more about ethics

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

Read more about external standards

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

Read more about forced labour

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

Read more about gender

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

Read more about governance

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.

Read more about grievance mechanisms

We work to protect the health and promote the wellbeing of our workforce and the residents of our host communities.

Read more about health

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. 

Read more about HIV/AIDS

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

Read more about human rights

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

Read more indigenous people

We respect our employees' right to freedom of association and right to collective bargaining and foster transparent and collaborative labour relations.

Read more about industrial relations

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. 

Read more about joint ventures

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

Read more about land management

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

Read more about lobbying

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

Read more local employment

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.

Read more about member organisations

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

Read more about nature

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

Read more about our approach

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.

Read more about our people

Our approach to product stewardship is designed to enable the products we produce and market to meet different jurisdictions’ chemical regulations and contributes to safe working practices that can protect human health and the environment.

Read more about product stewardship

Our approach includes planning for land rehabilitation as early as feasible. Where appropriate, we conduct progressive rehabilitation on previously disturbed areas once active operations have completed.

Read more about rehabilitation

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

Read more about reports

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

Read more about resettlement

Responsible sourcing is our commitment to take into account social, ethical and environmental considerations when managing our relationships with suppliers through our supply chain and procurement strategies.

Read more about responsible sourcing and supply

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

Read more about risk management

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

Read more about safety

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

Read more about security

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.

Read more about social performance

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

Read more about stakeholder engagement

We are committed to the responsible management of our TSFs as part of our efforts to prevent impacts on health, safety, the environment, communities, cultural heritage and infrastructure.

Read more about tailings

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

Read more about tax

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

Read more about transparency

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

Read more about turnover

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. 

Read more about waste

We work to understand and minimise our operational water footprint and manage our activities in a way that protects our shared water resources and the ecosystems in which we are present.

Read more about water

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

Read more about whistle-blowing

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.

Read more about workforce