SUSTAINABILITY SUMMIT GOES “BACK TO BASICS” FOR SAFETY
With her hard hat firmly in place, Dr Nombasa addressed the crowd in her role as Chief Safety Officer saying,
“Sikhetha Ukuphepha (we choose to be safe) at Exxaro because every incident counts, every day.” And, “If you don’t get to the real root cause of the incident you cannot inform how to avoid incidents.”
“Anything can happen at any time” stated Mdu Mathenjwa, CEO of Grashyo Health and Safety, to emphasise the importance of a safety first approach.
As the Business Unit GM at Grootegeluk mine, Ronaldt Mafoko detailed the mine’s six-part sustainability strategy that includes health and safety and focused on Systems and Certification, to ensure the mine keeps its operating licence.
Afternoon panel discussions covered employee wellness and mental health. Dr Fundile Nyati, CEO of Proactive
Health Solutions, spoke about the need to prioritise mental health in the workplace and its relationship to incidents at work.
Dr Nothando Moyo, Deputy Head of Health at the Minerals Council South Africa, unpacked the role that mental health plays in making people work unsafely, saying “when people start to have a lack of focus or concentration you start seeing safety incidents creeping in”.
Global sustainability was also on the agenda. Steven Ellery, a wetland ecologist at Groundtruth, spoke to the threat that climate
change poses to the biodiversity in the wetlands, and Dr Brian Mantlana, Climate Change Expert: CSIR, shared climate change trends and how they impact business.
Dr Nombasa closed the event by reminding delegates that, “the business we run is not ours. It is only entrusted into our hands so that we can ensure our stakeholders, the shareholders of this business, our communities, employees, and our country can prosper, while we preserve the planet”.
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