Building an ESG Strategy:
Wescoal’s Story of Value Creation
The first phase of the ESG Strategy for JSE listed Wescoal Holdings Limited has been successfully delivered by GSA Campbell in association with KudosOne.
We worked to develop a strategic outlook tailored to reposition the company for resilience and industry leadership in the dynamic and evolving mid-tier coal mining arena.
Reginald Demana
Group Chief Executive Officer, Wescoal Holdings Limited
Wescoal operates in a high impact, heavily regulated industry, in a socioeconomically complex environment.
The mining sector remains a driver of value in South Africa, however investors and other stakeholders are leading the requirement for a long-term focused and stakeholder centric approach.
In this context, Wescoal recognises that the company’s strategy must incorporate and integrate Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues and is gearing itself for an industry leadership approach to these issues to adopt a position that is not only advantageous but increasingly essential.
We were tasked with delivering an ESG Strategy that is credible, relevant and immediately implementable. In addition, we performed an advisory role with the Wescoal Integrated Annual Report, to identify gaps and make adjustments to communicate its adherence to best-practice principles and standards.
The non-negotiables set by the team for the Wescoal ESG Strategy covered:
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A credible theoretical approach
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Authentic and relevant in context
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A platform for industry leadership
The GSA Campbell / KudosOne collaborative agreed - Wescoal has an opportunity to establish an identity as a responsible coal mining operation championing socioeconomic change and transformation. It is important for Wescoal to deliver and express this value authentically and coherently.
This first phase of development of the ESG strategy framework enabled Wescoal to make immediate progress on its journey, bringing the industry leadership objective into focus. Opportunities for savings, efficiencies, risk mitigation, reputation enhancement and competitive advantage also became clear.
"Wescoal is at an important juncture, as we look to redefine our long-term objectives. Our ESG Strategy provides us with a great platform to bring in the changes that are necessary for investor confidence and value creation.
We needed the strategy to be credible and uniquely relevant for our business, and we are extremely happy with the process and the outcomes of this first phase."
Reginald Demana
Group Chief Executive Officer, Wescoal Holdings Limited
Wescoal's recently completed ESG Strategy has provided clarity around what the business should be measuring managing and reporting.
The 2020 Integrated Annual Report represented an opportunity to signal progress in this regard, and to integrate ESG more meaningfully in the reporting process.
GSA Campbell, with KudosOne performed an advisory role, working with Wescoal and Singular Systems to incorporate globally recognised sustainability and integrated reporting principles and practices
