Environment

Newmont's Commitment to Creating a More Sustainable World

Oct 19, 2017 6:45 PM ET
Campaign: Newmont Mining | Environment

Newmont | Beyond the Mine

In 2015, more than 130 heads of state at the United Nations (UN) Summit on Sustainable Development adopted 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) that aim to end poverty, protect the environment and promote prosperity by 2030.

In 2016, we conducted a comprehensive mapping exercise of Newmont’s current contribution to the SDGs. This exercise involved completing a baseline assessment of specific programs at each site and region as well as conducting a desk-based review of Newmont’s policies, standards and existing targets. The mapping informed a process of prioritizing the SDGs in alignment with the Company’s community investment and development strategy.

We determined that among the 17 SDGs, we contribute significantly to 12 (SDGs 1 through 8, 12, and 15 through 17) and partially to two (SDGs 9 and 13).

We discussed the findings from the mapping exercise with leaders of our global sustainability and external relations team; developed key criteria to identify those SDGs which are most relevant and aligned to our business strategy to prioritize our development of improved metrics indicators; and benchmarked how other companies were approaching the SDGs.

Our approach for 2017 and beyond is informed by this work, identifying opportunities to contribute to the relevant goals, building on our strengths and filling gaps where they exist. For example, we determined that, in general, we are strong at reporting on outputs – such as how much we invested and how many people enrolled in a program – but we have room to improve reporting on outcomes (e.g., improved literacy and decreased malnutrition).

Based on this analysis, we identified five SDGs that align with our business and areas where we can have the most impact on the goals:

  • SDG 3 – Good health and well-being
  • SDG 5 – Gender equality
  • SDG 6 – Water and sanitation
  • SDG 8 – Decent work and economic growth
  • SDG 17 – Partnership for the goals (because this is a key delivery mechanism for the goals and no one company can achieve the goals on their own)

Next steps

We will begin a global, cross-functional effort throughout 2017 to understand existing systems, define our approach, and adapt and/or develop meaningful SDG-related targets. Beginning in 2018, we will further integrate priority SDGs into our business operations and will seek to report against outcomes to better demonstrate how we contribute to the sub-goals/targets.