Case study: How Anglo American creates economic value for its stakeholders
Anglo American is a leading global mining company, with more than 106,000 people working for it around the world in 15 countries and a world class portfolio of mining and processing operations and undeveloped resources. By employing people, paying and collecting taxes and spending money with suppliers, Anglo American makes a significant positive contribution to both its host communities and their regional and national economies, mostly in developing countries.
This case study is based on the 2021 Sustainability Report by Anglo American, prepared in accordance with the GRI Standards, that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
Abstract
In 2021, Anglo American distributed $30.4 billion of cash value to its stakeholders. Tweet This! In order to create economic value for its stakeholders Anglo American took action to:
- create economic value for employees
- create economic value for providers of capital
- create economic value for suppliers
- create economic value for the government
- support communities
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) Anglo American has identified;
- How Anglo American proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by Anglo American to create economic value for its stakeholders
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2021 Sustainability Report Anglo American identified a range of material issues, such as tackling climate change, helping its people thrive, protecting the natural environment, playing its role in society. Among these, creating economic value for its stakeholders stands out as a key material issue for Anglo American.
Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.
Key stakeholder groups Anglo American engages with:
| Stakeholder Group |
| Host communities |
| Governments |
| Employees |
| Customers |
| Business partners |
| Multinational organisations |
| Industry peers |
| Broader civil society |
| Trade associations |
| Suppliers |
| Shareholders |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritise material topics Anglo American engaged with its stakeholders through in-depth interviews and a survey with a wide range of stakeholders including investors, communities, customers, suppliers, governments, civil society and industry groups.
What actions were taken by Anglo American to create economic value for its stakeholders?
In its 2021 Sustainability Report Anglo American reports that it took the following actions for creating economic value for its stakeholders:
- Creating economic value for employees
- In 2021, Anglo American paid $3.7 bn for employee wages and benefits.
- Creating economic value for providers of capital
- In 2021, Anglo American paid $8.1 bn to providers of capital.
- Creating economic value for suppliers
- In 2021, Anglo American paid $11.4 bn to suppliers.
- Creating economic value for the government
- In 2021, Anglo American paid $7.1 bn in taxes and royalties borne and collected.
- Supporting communities
- In 2021, Anglo American’s corporate social investment (CSI) reached $138 million.
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed
Disclosure 201-1 Direct economic value generated and distributed corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
- Targets: 8.1, 8.2
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- Targets: 9.1, 9.4, 9.5
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References:
This case study is based on published information by Anglo American, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the following link:
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