South African business leaders on the importance of climate action
We Mean Business coalition
Many of South Africa’s leading companies are embracing climate action as a driver of innovation, competitiveness, risk management and growth. The National Business Initiative (NBI), which is the key partner of the We Mean Business coalition in South Africa, spoke to many forward-looking companies about their approach to the low-carbon transition.
Anglo American CEO Andile Sangqu
“For us at Anglo American climate change is part of a business imperative. We believe that for us to be able to run a responsible mining operation we’ve got to embrace the imperatives of climate change. It’s a very important part of how we impact our communities, also even in the way in which we help our own organisation to transition towards a low-carbon economy.”
Tongaat Hulett CSO Vuyo Kona
“At Tongaat Hulett we are one of the companies that is greatly impacted by climate change. In the sense that the land we use which produces our product is susceptible to climate change. We have seen the top soil being moved through erosion and what we are focusing on now is to improve our soil fertility not with intensive use of fertilizers but using crop rotation to improve the organic matter.”
SASOL CEO Bongani Nqwababa
“Climate change is an integral part of the strategy of any business nowadays. There will be 9 billion people on this planet by 2050, therefore we need to make sure that they are adequately provided for. As a business we need to make sure that we leave this planet in a better position than it is in now.”
First Rand CSO Madeleine Ronquest
“I think the role of business is greater than we have thought before. Initially a business was there to make money and to create profit and the directors were only interested in that. However we do need natural capital, we need human capital in order for us to achieve that goal and we cannot just forget about that.”
Exxaro CEO Mxolisi Mgojo
“The issues of climate change are very important worldwide because really it talks about how we look at environmental stewardship, it also talks about the types of new economies that we are going to have to create in a manner that we can reduce the impacts around climate change, which some of them are being driven by carbon emissions.”
Old Mutual CSO Khanyisile Chaba
“The role of business in society, particularly in sustainable development, is around the recognition that business is not in isolation. Business lives within a society and business is here because we have to create an environment where we thrive as a business, we are here so that all those who are dependent on us can have positive futures.”
Nedbank CEO Mike Brown
“We’ve been on a journey for many years of every year trying to reduce the impact that our operations have on the planet and to reduce Nedbank’s own carbon footprint… (Nedbank) is the leading funder of renewable or green energy in South Africa. We’ve committed somewhere around about 35 Billion Rand to renewable energy projects and increasingly on the retail side of our business we’re providing our customers with renewable energy opportunities for their homes.”
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