Chamber’s initiative shows commitment
Demonstrating its commitment to building a more resilient and sustainable industry, the Chamber of Mines announced a new initiative in the weeks leading up to this year’s Investing in Africa Mining Indaba.
Dubbed the Membership Compact, this essentially ties industry participants to a code of conduct that aims to ensure the industry’s relevance and growth. All chamber members will be expected to abide by these guiding principles in support of ethical business conduct.
The chamber says this latest initiative stems from its mission to reposition the mining sector as SA’s “pre-eminent industrial sector and to double real investment in mining by 2030”.
“This is an industry strategy that will be owned by all chamber members with the overriding objective of building a trust-based social pact with key stakeholders, creating an overwhelmingly positive investment and operating environment for the sector that makes the global investment community and mining industry recognise that SA has emerged into an investment destination of choice for the mining sector.
“The benefits of achieving this vision are incalculable and will be a game changer for the country and its ability to achieve the National Development Plan objectives, to which members of the chamber subscribe.”
The guiding principles contained in the Membership Compact commit members to:
1. Implement and maintain ethical business practices and sound corporate governance;
2. Strive to achieve zero harm in respect of mine health and safety;
3. Integrate sustainable development into business decision making;
4. Respect fundamental human rights and respect cultures, customs and values;
5. Implement risk management strategies;
6. Seek continual improvement of their environmental performance;
7. Contribute to conservation of biodiversity and land use planning;
8. Facilitate responsible product design, use, re-use, recycling and disposal;
9. Contribute to the social, economic, and institutional development of communities; and
10. Implement effective and transparent engagement and communication with stakeholders.
ALL CHAMBER MEMBERS WILL BE EXPECTED TO ABIDE BY THESE GUIDING PRINCIPLES IN SUPPORT OF ETHICAL BUSINESS CONDUCT