Anglo American takes sustainability prize at Volkswagen Supplier awards

Our PGMs business was one of two suppliers out of VW’s 40,000 suppliers to receive prizes in the Sustainability category at Volkswagen’s recent Group Supplier Awards, which recognised their top suppliers. The event, which took place in Berlin, attracted more than 200 guests from 25 countries as well as representatives from 160 selected supplier companies. The other categories were Innovation, Launch of the Year, Local Performance Champion, and Global Performance Champion.

As one of the world's largest PGMs producers, we are a key partner to the automotive industry, supplying PGMs for use in internal combustion engines and Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles, a key technology that will support the transition to a more sustainable transport sector.

On receiving the award from Dirk Große-Loheide, Chief Purchasing Officer Volkswagen Group, Hilton Ingram, Executive Head of PGMs Marketing, commented: “We are committed to providing a reliable supply of high quality, sustainably produced metals as part of a solution tailored to our customers’ specific needs.

Anglo American take top sustainability prize at Volkswagen awards

“We do this by forging mutually enriching relationships with industry leading customers who value the sustainability attributes of our product portfolio and by taking an active role in shaping a mining sector that leaves a positive legacy and creates enduring value for all stakeholders. That’s why we are exceptionally proud to be recognised by Volkswagen, a key customer, with this prestigious award.”

Anglo American has a well-established record of responsible sourcing and ethical value chains, with industry-leading internal standards that guide our approach to sustainability and respond to the increasing expectations of our customers, when it comes to the sustainable and ethical nature of our metals and minerals.

Our customers know that everything we do is guided by our Purpose of re-imagining mining to improve people’s lives, our Values, and our focus on sustainability – from our safety, health, and environmental management system, to our standard for responsible sourcing and our commitment to meeting the needs of the communities in which we operate. This helps us prioritise ethical decision-making across our entire supply chain.

Ethical Value Chains is a key area of focus that sits under the Trusted Corporate Leader pillar of our Sustainable Mining Plan. Our associated target is to have all our operations audited against recognised responsible mining certification systems by 2025.

Among those certification systems is The Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance or IRMA. IRMA measures environmental and social responsibility for mined materials and offers independent third-party verification and certification, covering the full range of issues related to the environmental and social impact of industrial-scale mines.

In February 2021, our Unki platinum mine in Zimbabwe was assessed against IRMA’s comprehensive mining standard, achieving the IRMA level 75 of performance.

It was the first mine in Africa and the first PGM-producing operation globally to complete the audit, verified by SCS Global Services.

The award certificate presented to Hilton and signed by CEO of the Volkswagen Group, Dr Oliver Blume, references Anglo American’s work in support of the IRMA standard and its adoption – with a focus on our PGMs operations in South Africa and Zimbabwe – and how these efforts create value further downstream our value chain.

The certificate also said: “We would like to recognise the exceptional achievement and high innovative strength with which you contribute to the success of Volkswagen AG.”

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