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Safety and Wellbeing

People are our business, and we’ve no doubt about our first priority: doing everything we can to keep our employees safe and well. There’s no easy answer, but by leading with safety and investing in health and wellbeing, we’re getting ever closer to our goal of Zero Harm.

Healthy Living

We need our people to be healthy, happy, engaged, and fulfilled in work and in life. It makes us safer, more productive, and a stronger force for good in the communities where we operate.

We tackle the threats to health and wellbeing wherever we find them, with programs for checking the health of our people, for creating a healthier working environment, and for encouraging healthy lifestyles.

There’s still more we can do to protect our people—from disease, and from noise and inhalation hazards—but by focusing on delivery, we’re making measurable progress.

Leading the Fight against HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis

Leading the Fight against HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis -

Leading the Fight against HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis

Over 35 million people are now living with HIV/AIDS, and fighting against this disease is an international priority.

New treatments give sufferers every chance of a normal life, and we have made good use of this opportunity with the largest private sector testing and treatment program.

We’re also tackling tuberculosis, which has become an epidemic in South Africa. Tuberculosis and HIV often go hand-in-hand, so we try to test and treat for both diseases as early as possible. In all, 69% of our employees in southern Africa took part in both tests, thus ensuring that we are able to detect HIV early on and seek out prompt care.

Occupational Health

Zero harm.

Zero harm is an idea that’s at the foundation of our approach to occupational health. We believe that none of our people should be injured or contract illness while at work. But what are we doing to reach that goal?

All of our efforts to help combat occupational health risks are guided by three principles, supported by a framework of measures and processes:

  • We believe that all occupational illnesses are preventable.
  • We learn by assessing and monitoring exposure and surveillance of occupational disease incidence in order to prevent further harm.
  • We apply common, simple, and non-negotiable standards throughout Anglo American.

Common dangers to health such as noise, inhalable hazards, musculoskeletal disorders, and fatigue have all been assigned mandatory technical standards at our sites. These standards include requirements for risk assessments, education and training, application of controls, and monitoring and review.

At our sites, the focus is on reduction of exposure to health hazards at the source through good engineering practice and rigorous maintenance of controls. Our standards go beyond legal compliance, but compliance with the law will always be the minimum standard.

To support all these efforts, dangers to health are clearly and openly communicated at our sites with all stakeholders.

Taking care of people is at the core of what we do. With the right level of rigor and effort, the goal of Zero Harm for occupational health is an achievable one.