Connecting with local communities is all about getting involved

Partnering with local organisations that work for the community and the environment is one of the ways we act on our commitment to stewardship in our operations. For example, our South Africa Coal team has a great relationship withthe Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), and together we have worked on a number of initiatives.

We were happy to contribute funding to EWT to help them continue their work in the Chrissiesmeer area. The funding helps farmers and land owners to manage the wetlands by controlling invasive species, and it helps EWT provide broader education and awareness programmes to teach people just how important wetlands are to the environement.

Our team members get involved too, which really helps us connect with local people. In 2017 some of our people volunteered to assist in wildlife surveys in the Chrissiesmeer area, and on World Wetlands Day we hosted seventeen Grade 6 students from Chrissiesmeer Primary School at one of the Chrissiesmeer Protected Environment (CPE) farms. The kids learned about the role wetlands play in our ecosystem as well as how they can help to secure and protect them.

Our people have also helped in other ways, such as supporting annual tourism events like the local Crane Festival, and helping to establish and maintain a number of community and school vegetable gardens in the Chrissiesmeer and Lothair areas.

We love it when our team gets involved with the local communty, and we’re delighted that we’re able to make a difference.