Zim miners move to adopt ESG: Ndamba
INSTITUTE for Sustainability Africa chief executive officer Rodney Ndamba says Zimbabwe’s mining companies are slowly adopting environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards due to rising investor pressure and regulatory shifts.
The push for ESG adoption comes amid growing scrutiny of mining’s environmental footprint and its impact on local communities, particularly those affected by land degradation, displacement and the loss of traditional livelihoods.
ESG is a framework that covers everything from environmental compliance and labour practices to corporate governance and community engagement.
For Zimbabwe, where extractive industries account for over 60% of export earnings, aligning mining operations with ESG frameworks is not only a reputational imperative, but also a competitive one, especially in securing foreign direct investment.
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Ndamba told NewsDay Business in an interview, however, that the sector was showing signs of progress.
“Companies like Mimosa, Zimplats, Unki and Caledonia are among those that have taken great strides,” he said.
“Others are still in early stages, but what’s encouraging is the sector-wide momentum that is starting to build.”
Still, weak enforcement mechanisms and inconsistent regulatory pressure have made ESG integration more of a voluntary gesture than a hard requirement in most of Zimbabwe’s mining sector.
While Zimbabwe has limited enforcement capacity, Ndamba pointed to policy shifts that are beginning to influence corporate behaviour.
One such example is Statutory Instrument 134 of 2019, introduced by the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, which made sustainability reporting mandatory for listed companies after an initial pilot phase.
“That regulatory move helped shift mindsets in the private sector,” Ndamba said.
“A similar phased approach could be applied directly to the mining industry to drive accountability on environmental damage, labour practices and community impact.”
Despite these developments, he noted that many companies still conflate ESG’s social pillar with traditional corporate social responsibility (CSR), missing the strategic value of social investments.
“There’s a lot of confusion between CSR and the social component of ESG,” Ndamba explained.
“CSR is philanthropic, but ESG requires companies to integrate social issues like labour rights, child protection and indigenous community welfare into their core business strategies. It’s not about charity; it’s about long-term value creation.”
The Institute for Sustainability Africa, which has been promoting responsible business practices in the region for 14 years, continues to face challenges, chief among them being weak board-level commitment within some mining houses.
“For sustainability to stick, the board must lead. If directors don’t prioritise it, management won’t either. But the good news is we’re seeing a shift. Boards are warming up to ESG as a strategic issue,” Ndamba said.
“The appetite for sustainability is growing, not just in Zimbabwe but across the region. We’re on the right path. The challenge now is to build on that momentum and turn it into deeper, lasting integration.”
ESG compliance is increasingly becoming a global expectation and investment standard.-newsda
