Barrick Gold (NYSE: GOLD; TSX: ABX) has released its 2023 sustainability report and reported it has exceeded its target for greenhouse gas emissions reductions. The company cut emissions 16% from its 2018 baseline, exceeding plans to cut emissions by 15% in 2023.
Barrick has committed to be net-zero by 2050.
Barrick also re-used or recycled 84% of its water used in operations, with an 85% recycle rate achieved at its water-stressed sites.
The company has also invested US$43 million in community development projects, including a water tower near the North Mara gold mine in Tanzania and the development of a hospital and three schools in Balochistan, Pakistan, near its Reko Diq copper-gold project.
On workplace safety, Barrick recorded a 21% year-on-year improvement on lost time injury frequency rate (LTIFR), and total industries is lower than it was in 2022. The company also recorded its lowest-ever malaria incidence rate, a 33% year-on-year decrease from 17.86% in 2022 to 11.35% in 2023.
“Our safety performance has been given additional focused attention with the establishment of new groupwide safety protocols to drive fatal risks down and achieve the zero target we have set ourselves,” Barrick CEO Mark Bristow said in the statement.
Barrick bases its sustainability policy on four pillars: contributing to the socio-economic development of host countries and communities; protecting the health and safety of workers; respecting human rights; and minimizing its impact on the natural environment.
The entire sustainability report can be read at www.Barrick.com.
