INTRODUCTION

With the overall aim of diligently managing the environmental footprint of AECI’s activities and products throughout their lifecycles to minimise environmental harm, targets are being set for the following Key Focus Areas (KFAs):

1. Resource conservation and recycling;
2. Energy conservation and global warming mitigation (including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions);
3. Chemical substance management and pollution prevention;
4. Remediation of contaminated land;
5. Communication and awareness;
6. Management aspects.

Targets for the first phase are outlined in detail within the Green Gauge. Both qualitative and quantitative targets have been set for monitoring environmental performance in each of the KFAs. The key components of these are summarised as follows:

Being able to manage environmental issues is becoming increasingly important as knowledge and understanding of the changing global environment becomes more and more pronounced. Consequently AECI intends to base business practices on its environmental values and targets in to ensure sound environmental management. A key component of sound environmental management is the setting, measurement and reporting of achievement of targets.

To manage and communicate environmental performance effectively, therefore, it is essential to measure what we manage. This measurement will be based on quantifiable Key Environmental Performance Indicators (KEPIs) which will be used to track performance.

AECI’s Vision is to be the chemical and mining services supplier of choice for customers in its chosen markets.

AECI Values

Our values guide our behaviour to sustain excellent performance and have been formalised in the acronym BIGGER

To maximise the benefits of restructuring carried out in 2010 and to enhance the Group’s new focus, AECI has adopted the following foundational principles:

• Bold: We will tackle the difficult challenges in our businesses and will offer customers innovative technical and service solutions.
• Innovative in the creation of value: We are passionate about the innovative creation of value for our customers, our shareholders and our people.
• Going Green: We acknowledge that our operations have an impact on the environment and we are committed to the diligent management of our environmental footprint.
• Engaged: We believe in engaging fully with our people and are committed to a culture of honesty, transparency and growth.
• Responsible: As a responsible corporate citizen we embrace the concept of “people, planet, profit” and hold ourselves accountable to operate safely and ethically to meet the needs of all our stakeholders.

AECI SHE Policy and Standards

POLICY

The AECI Group is committed to a clean, safe and healthy environment for its employees, contractors, customers and surrounding communities.

The AECI Executive Committee, guided by the Corporate Citizenship Committee, is responsible for the regular review of the Group safety, health and environmental policy, for the guidance of Group companies in its implementation, and for monitoring performance.

STANDARDS
We require each Group company:

• to adopt a safety, health and environmental policy that meets the needs of its businesses;
• to hold line management accountable for the implementation of the safety, health and environmental policy;
• to develop and maintain appropriate procedures to support the safety, health and environmental policy;
• to manage safety, health and environmental risks in a manner that meets all the legal requirements of the countries in which it operates and accepted international criteria;
• to be prepared for and to deal with any emergency;
• to ensure that employees and contractors are trained effectively;
• to maintain a record of safety, health and environmental information and to meet statutory record-keeping requirements; and
• to audit its performance against its policy, standards and procedures and to report this regularly to the AECI Executive Committee.

The goal remains no harm, to anyone, ever.

Taking the AECI Values and the SHE Policy and Standards into account, we have formulated the AECI Group Environmental Vision as:

DILIGENT MANAGEMENT OF OUR ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT

This Environmental Vision is based on three critical environmental footprint reduction goals; namely, resource conservation, energy conservation and pollution prevention.

Pillars Supporting Green Gauge

Our efforts to achieve the targets of Green Gauge will be based on three key pillars.

1. Achieve targets through progressive efforts to increase efficiency
   We will strive to minimise our impact on the environment by improving the efficiency of production processes, efficient logistics management, offerings to customers and office activities, amongst others.
2. Place a high priority on Green Chemistry to encourage the design of products and processes that minimise the use and generation of hazardous substances
   By ensuring that our activities are environmentally conscious, we will strive to provide products that are not only superior in terms of functionality and quality, but also exert minimal impact on the environment.
3. Communicate and establish partnerships with stakeholders within and outside the Company
   In addition to innovation, the move to renewable energy and other new elements of environmental infrastructure, developing technologies and creating mechanisms for reducing environmental impacts require collaboration with other companies, regulatory authorities, NGOs, universities and research organisations. To ensure Group-wide participation and ownership of this pillar, we will encourage and promote environmental education and training.

Our targets for the first phase, which continue to 2020, are outlined in Green Gauge, in which we have proposed the Mid- and Long-Term Environmental Footprint Reduction Goals. Green Gauge describes specific steps to realise this vision of diligent management of our environmental footprint.  Using 2015 and 2020 as the standard years, both qualitative and quantitative targets have been set for monitoring environmental performance in each of the KFAs.