An analysis of energy disclosures in the mining sector

Abstract

The study analyses the extent of corporate social reporting in the South African mining industry through quantitative content analysis of the annual integrated reports. The mining sector sustainability in South Africa is important to stakeholders and communities the mines operate in. Sustainable reporting helps with building confidence among investors, sending a clear message that the mines are serious about the environment, climate change and the communities they are doing business in. The Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI) G4 enhance standards and guidelines and were introduced in South Africa in 2015. All mines listed on the JSE reported their audited integrated results on sustainable reporting in 2016 based on the GRI G4 enhanced guidelines. The study explores the extent of energy reporting of ten of the South African mines in South Africa. Mining in South Africa uses 26% of the total energy generated by Eskom. Non-financial reporting, in the form of the new GRI G4 standards and guidelines, forms the primary objective of this research on energy reporting. Compliance with the globally accepted GRI G4 sustainability framework was analysed and evaluated. The study found that the overall compliance for the five elements is 74% for energy disclosures for all the mines studied. GRI G4 E3 D are the lowest element reported on with a score of 20%. The mines in South Africa do not generate energy to sell. In future, the mines will have to produce or seek alternative energy sources to be sustainable such as solar power or hydro-electric power generation. The compliance for the mines is based on 15 different regulatory frameworks. The mines should find a common international regulatory framework to report on as best practice as thus reporting mechanism is not sustainable in the future.