How Anglo American is Protecting its Global Supply Chain

Anglo American is transforming its approach to leadership and technology to enhance safety, a move directly impacting the stability of the global supply chain.

As Anglo American produces essential materials, operational continuity is paramount. By embedding safety as a core principle, it protects its workforce while ensuring the consistent delivery of copper, premium iron ore and crop nutrients to industries worldwide.

Founded in 1917, Anglo American has operations spanning southern Africa, the Americas and Australia. Today, its output is integral to decarbonisation and global food security.

Dedication to safety is a fundamental component of its strategy to be a dependable link in the global supply chain, minimising disruptions from workplace incidents.

Fostering supply chain resilience

Safety is Anglo American’s most important value and a cornerstone of its FutureSmart Mining programme, an approach designed to transform mining for the better.

The focus is a work environment where operational disruptions from safety incidents are minimised. Fewer accidents mean fewer production halts and a more stable supply of raw materials. This "zero harm" commitment is central to its role as a supplier.

The company operates with the following key values:

• Safety - ensuring employees are safe from harm 
• Care and respect - everyone looks out for each other
• Integrity - employees are honest and transparent
• Accountability - the company and employees take responsibility for their actions and learn from mistakes
• Collaboration - colleagues and stakeholders collaborate
• Innovation - seek other perspectives to encourage innovation

"Safety is our number one value and always our first priority," explains Duncan Wanblad, CEO of Anglo American. "We continue to make progress towards our goal of zero harm, with a further major improvement in the first half on what was our lowest-ever injury rate in 2023."

"No fatality is ever acceptable and we have to all learn from every incident across the industry. Keeping our workforce safe is our primary focus and comes first in everything that we do."

Technological innovation

A key part of Anglo American’s strategy involves using technology to remove employees from high-risk situations, enhancing safety and securing operational uptime.

Anglo American uses a data-driven approach to analyse business risks and quantify the benefits of risk-reduction measures.

What's more, by implementing automation, drones and robotics, it can conduct tasks like confined-space inspections remotely. This means employees avoid exposure to potentially harmful substances or entrapment risks.

Deploying these technologies allows operations to continue without exposing workers to harm, strengthening the reliability of the supply chains it feeds into.

Leadership and culture in securing production

Alongside technology, Anglo American is focused on developing its safety culture through a programme known as Visible Felt Leadership (VFL).

The model emphasises engagement between management and the workforce to foster a more open and supportive environment.

A culture where employees feel empowered to speak up about safety concerns is better equipped to prevent incidents before they happen. This proactive approach is vital for preventing work stoppages and ensuring production goals are met safely.

Duncan adds: "Alongside our continued use of innovative technologies to help make Anglo American a safer and a healthier place to work, we are building an ever-stronger safety culture, based on the established concept of Visible Felt Leadership."

By cultivating this culture, Anglo American is building a more resilient workforce, which could reduce staff turnover and retain valuable operational experience. Stability within teams contributes to its dependability as a global supplier.

Through this dual focus on technology and leadership, Anglo American is working to eliminate operational risks, reinforcing its commitment to employees and its partners in the global supply chain.