Sustainability has become a key driver for leading minerals processing equipment specialist Multotec, promoted by its efforts in range of environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives.

Johan Robbertse, group financial director at Multotec, highlights that its ‘Our Multotec Way’ guides the culture and vision of the business in various aspects of sustainability. This approach reflects in the way that the company nurtures its people and conserves resources like energy and water, says Robbertse.

“In recent years, as global awareness about energy efficiency has grown, Multotec started looking at renewable energy sources,” he says. “This led two years ago to our first solar panel installation of over 400 kWh at our manufacturing facilities in Spartan, followed by a second project to take our self-generation capacity to 800 kWh.”

The company is planning a third solar installation at its facilities in East Rand and Tshwane to raise its capacity to 1,4 MW, which will provide about a quarter of the company’s electricity needs. Already, the positive environmental impact of Multotec’s solar facilities amounted to the removal of some 250 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. This is the equivalent of planting 7,000 trees. In addition, LED lighting and other initiatives in the workshops also save on power consumption.

“We also support our customers in the mining and power generation sectors to operate cleaner,” he says. “Our samplers, for instance, help to improve the quality of coal going into power stations, so output is more efficient with less emissions.”

Water quality and conservation is also in Multotec’s spotlight, with a mineral recovery range of equipment that generates cleaner water for mines. Multotec also assists customers in removing brine so that on-site process water resources can be retained in a closed loop, or discharged in a clean state.

“Our social contribution includes our commitment to skills development and creating a culture of diversity,” he says. The company has supported over 350 learnerships since 2016, with special focus on women and people with disabilities. This has led to the training of 60 disabled learners, a number of which have been absorbed into the business.

Economic transformation is another aspect of sustainability that Multotec has prioritised. In addition to its BEE compliant company status in terms of the Mining Charter, , the company recently created a 51% broad-based black-owned entity for its services operations. With almost 300 people employed in a country-wide branch network, this company supports the Mining Charter goals and promotes the local economy in the regions around key mining hotspots.

“The importance of local manufacture cannot be overstated when considering the long-term sustainability of our mining sector,” says Robbertse. “So we have taken an active role in working with industry bodies to advance the necessary certification frameworks for recognising local manufacture.”

Already ahead of the pack, Multotec recently had its SABS certification as a supplier of South African manufactured goods renewed for another five years.

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