Our Safety, Health and Sustainability policy is aligned to the International Finance Corporation’s performance standards. Monthly reports are studied by our CEO, the Executive Committee, site general managers, site safety, health and sustainability managers, and selected senior employees. They analyse and discuss the cause of serious incidents, as well as preventative measures that are monitored by managers on a quarterly basis until issues are closed out.

Specific attention is given to emerging patterns and trends in relation to: causes of incidents; environmental compliance; progress generated by internal / external audit reports; corporate social responsibility as well as artisanal and small-scale mining and human rights.

As we strive for continuous improvement we plan, implement, check and review steps with an eye to further alignment with ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 – the occupational health and safety management system standard and international best practice with respect to corporate social responsibility.

Through ongoing engagement, we align ourselves with community concerns, needs and aspirations. Investment programmes are designed to maximise our positive socio-economic impacts and our new Group CSR Projects and Sponsorship Policy focuses on a range of issues, including infrastructure and social welfare, education and support for youth initiatives, sports and promotion of healthy lifestyles and, not least, community training and development programmes.

Many rural communities in our operating regions live in conditions of extreme poverty. This is why we initiated a socio-economic baseline study by local organisation Marakuja and the University of Berkeley, California, to help measure the impact of our corporate sociaI investment in the DRC and inform our future activities.