| employee survey on sasol’s performance |
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As part of our commitment to promoting sustainable development
throughout the company, Sasol commissioned an independent
employee survey, designed to monitor employee awareness of
sustainable development issues within the company, and
particularly of the sustainable development report.
A total of 922 employees replied to the survey across a spread of
the regions within which Sasol operates. The aim of the survey was
to discover the extent to which employees had engaged with our
sustainable development report, and to provide an opportunity
to gather feedback on their perceptions of sustainability issues
relevant to the company. The response rate of one in 18 employees
was attributed to the survey coinciding with the extremely busy
end of financial year period. The survey was also conducted
electronically, and not all our employees have ready access to
email. It is anticipated that future employee surveys will receive
greater participation. The greatest number of respondents came
from the South African operations, although responses were also
received from Sasol employees working in Germany, the UK,
North America, Mozambique, India, China and the Middle East. |
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Sasol employee survey – feedback at a glance |
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922 employees throughout the Sasol group responded |
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Over half of all respondents knew that Sasol published
an annual Sustainability Report |
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Of these, 31% had read sections of the report |
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Only 28% of all respondents knew of Sasol's employee
version of the sustainability report, and of these only
27% had read sections of that report |
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Almost a quarter of the respondents know what the UN
Global Compact is, with one-fifth of these aware that Sasol
is a signatory of the UN Global Compact |
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| Employees' views on the material sustainability
issues |
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| Employees were asked to identify those social, environmental
and/or corporate governance issues that they thought were of
significance to Sasol. The following issues were identified: |
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| Social indicators |
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Skills development was considered particularly critical for the
continued growth of the company and was highlighted as an
area for improvement both within the company and in the
pool of available labour in the South African labour force. |
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Safety and the measurement and reporting of safety issues
remained a focus for many respondents, who acknowledged
improvements made in safety over the past year, yet urged
continued monitoring and improvement. |
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Job creation and education were seen as important both within
the company and as part of Sasol's wider
societal obligations. |
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Employment equity and broad-based black economic
empowerment continued to be recognised as key issues. |
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HIV/Aids was identified as an ongoing concern both within the
workforce and as a focus for Sasol's CSI activities. |
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Procurement and supply chain management were highlighted
as areas where Sasol could have a positive impact through
ensuring adequate standards for the Sasol supply chain. |
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Community welfare of Sasol neighbourhoods was
overwhelmingly perceived as a critical measure of Sasol's
freedom to operate. |
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Corporate social investment was regarded as a key mechanism
for enabling Sasol to impact on the communities, important
for the company. |
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| Environmental indicators |
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Greenhouse gas emission was perceived by many respondents
as a significant challenge to Sasol's global growth ambitions,
most of whom also highlighted the importance of carbon
sequestration. |
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Alternative energy sources and Sasol's involvement and
progress in their use - particularly renewables - was seen
as a significant area for future growth. |
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Water quality and atmospheric emissions remain the standard
environmental benchmarks and as such continue to be an issue
of significance for Sasol. |
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Compliance with industry, national and international best-practice
was seen as significant in securing Sasol's reputation
and right to operate. |
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Remediation and rehabilitation were also identified as a
particularly significant challenge. |
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| Corporate governance indicators |
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Ensuring sustainable growth and the potential long-term
implications of Sasol's current business model were raised
along with the need to examine alternatives. |
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Employee communication was highlighted as an area that
needed increased work to ensure all Sasol employees were
more effectively informed and engaged on sustainable
development issues. |
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Risk management, financial controls, management training and
succession planning were also identified as
important issues. |
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| Employees' views on Sasol's performance and
sustainability reporting |
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| Employees were asked to identify those issues they would like to see
reported on in Sasol's sustainable development reports. On the
whole, the existing content of Sasol's sustainable development
reports was considered to cover the majority of issues raised by
employees. Those who had read the previous reports commended
the scope and depth of these reports. While many welcomed the
current quantitative performance reporting, including against
agreed targets, many employees expressed a preference for
reporting at a site or business unit level. Notwithstanding the
perceived strengths of the sustainability reports, there was seen to
be scope for improved internal communication of this progress and
of the role of sustainable development in general. |
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"I would like to see Sasol's 'sustainability
initiatives' used more in our communication and advertising. I don't
mean 'greening' our image, but actually talking about things like the
integrated energy centres and how they have uplifted people's lives.
I would also like to see Sasol getting the staff more engaged
in community initiatives like helping to build houses."
Sasol employee |
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| Sustainability issues in which employees felt Sasol was performing
well or making valuable progress included: |
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Safety |
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Training, education and skills development |
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HIV/Aids programme |
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Corporate social investment |
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Water and waste management |
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Emissions reporting and reduction |
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Community relations |
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Compliance and reporting |
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Alternative energy |
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| Employees identified the following
issues as being of particular importance to Sasol's reporting: |
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Identifying the long-term implications of climate change for
Sasol's business model and the need to develop alternative
energy sources. |
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Continuing to focus on safety despite the improvements made
over the last year. |
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Focusing on staff development, training and growth in order
to maximise employee potential. |
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Providing particular attention to a variety of environmental issues. |
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Further increasing the level of corporate social investment and
improving the communication of its outcomes in
the community. |
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"Sasol's (2006) sustainability report is
a well-composed document, and gives the reader some insight into the
extent of Sasol's operations and impacts. It shows that Sasol is trying
to understand its own sustainability scenario. I think that
environmental issues are taken seriously and acted upon at senior
and board levels of the organisation. There are also a number of
projects/initiatives that are addressed at meeting social needs . . .
and we have a very strong bursary scheme especially for
chemical engineers."
Sasol employee |
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We have sought as far as possible to address these issues within
this report, and will be continuing this form of dialogue with
our employees as part of the ongoing process of internal
communication. With the aim of further improving our levels of
internal communication, we will once again be publishing a very
brief summary report of our sustainability report aimed specifically
at our employees.
Many employees expressed the need for more effective
communication and transparency both within and external to
the company, with the aim of ensuring greater knowledge internally
of the company's performance, as well as improving Sasol's profile
in the wider community. |
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"I think Sasol is doing a good job on all its new projects and has
been doing so for the last few years. My concern is with the 20,
30 and 40 year-old installations that need to be 'cleaned up'".
Sasol employee |
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