Today, empowered diversified coal mining company, Exxaro Resources, held its annual Sustainability Summit for the first time in its new head office building, the conneXXion, based in Centurion. The flagship Summit serves as both an educational and celebratory event highlighting the performance of the business within the sustainability functional areas - safety, health, wellness and the environment.
Under the theme “The Future Now”, the event brought together Exxaro employees and stakeholders from various Business Units, to not only share insights and chart the way forward for Exxaro’s sustainability, but to celebrate the company’s 36-month fatality-free milestone.
During his presentation, Exxaro CEO Mxolisi Mgojo, expressed his gratitude to his employees for achieving this target. “As your Chief Safety Officer, sending you home unharmed is a promise I would like to keep. I am particularly pleased that with this achievement, considering the number of expansion projects that have been opened in the past year.”
Like many industries, mining comes with certain risks and hazards which require unwavering commitment and strict adherence to safety standards and procedures. To this end, Exxaro committed to the zero-harm principle through their safety campaign, Khetha Ukuphepha. Launched in 2019, with the aim of the campaign is to ensure that every worker practices safety at work and home.
When it comes to health and wellness, Mgojo went on to explain how employee’s health is valuable to him and the company. “You must always remember that ‘your health is your wealth’. The Future Now asks us to take ownership and responsibility of our own health. We are putting together interventions that will ensure that we address lifestyle conditions and mental health issues affecting all of us”.
As a lead up to the Summit, Exxaro initiated various environmental awareness activities including a clean-up of the Hennops River behind Exxaro’s head office, the conneXXion, as one of the many ways to demonstrate that everything Exxaro does today, is geared toward ensuring a safer and more sustainable future.
Mgojo concluded that the goal post for safety practices don’t end today, “achieving the 3-year milestone is a demonstration of what is possible for Exxaro and the mining industry”.
To enforce this vision, employees were led by Exxaro Exco in a Khetha Ukuphepha Zero Harm (Safety) Pledge.