In this third story about our six key sustainability commitments, we look at operational excellence, how we're facilitating health improvements in local communities and what our next steps will be.
Operational excellence underpins our approach to sustainability. It is about operating our business safely, sustainably and responsibly. We believe that this is fundamental to our licence to operate, but also an increasing source of competitive advantage.
Through our partnership with the non-governmental organisation Reprolatina, Anglo American is supporting sexual health education in Barro Alto, Brazil. In 2010, research showed a concerning rise in the number of pregnancies among the community’s adolescents. Since then, we have invested $700,000 in a programme that has achieved impressive results. The number of adolescent pregnancies registered in ante-natal care per year was 40% of the total pregnancies in 2010, a figure that decreased sharply to 16% in 2012. The use of contraceptive methods sharply increased in adolescents too, and the number of people benefiting from and registering for the programme had reached 17,564 at year end.
There have been some major achievements in sustainable development so far, but we are still challenging ourselves and setting targets for 2013-14. Some of these include, implementing more water security projects and increasing the amount of water we recycle and re-use. At the same time, delivering on our partnerships with host municipalities as a way of benefiting communities, rolling out enterprise development programmes and a local procurement toolkit. For zero harm, the goal will be to eliminate fatal injuries, learn from high potential incidents and enhance our investigation capability. Climate change will see continued investment in leading-edge, energy-efficient and low-carbon technologies, plus more engagement with climate policy. Finally, for community health, piloting theHealthSource in primary healthcare locations in rural areas in southern Africa, and improving our health and wellness programmes throughout host communities.
