We have expanded the list of climate policies we assess company engagement with to incorporate land-use related policy, referring to legislative or regulatory measures to enhance and protect ecosystems and land where carbon is being stored. Assessments under this category are currently underweighted in terms of their contribution to the overall company metrics. This weighting will be progressively increased over the next 6 months.
We adjusted the terminology used to describe the queries running down the left-hand side of our scoring matrix and added additional explanatory text to the info-boxes. This has no impact on the scores and methodology. It has been done following user feedback to improve clarity.
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Gold Fields is a member of Minerals Council of South Africa, and has a senior executive as a representative on the association's board - Martin Preece, Senior VP at Gold Fields (MCSA website, up-to-date March 2022)
Martin Preece
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Gold Fields is a member of Minerals Council of South Africa, and has a senior executive as a representative on the association's board - Martin Preece, Senior VP at Gold Fields (MCSA website, up-to-date March 2022)
Martin Preece
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Gold Fields is a member of Industry Task Team on Climate Change (ITTCC website, up-to-date May 2022)
not specified
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Gold Fields is a member of Industry Task Team on Climate Change (ITTCC website, up-to-date May 2022)
not specified
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Gold Fields is one of 83 direct members of the Chamber of Energy and Minerals of Western Australia (CME website, up-to-date November 2022)
not specified
--no extract--
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Gold Fields is one of 83 direct members of the Chamber of Energy and Minerals of Western Australia (CME website, up-to-date November 2022)
not specified
--no extract--
In this section, we depict graphically the relationships the corporation has with trade associations, federations, advocacy groups and other third parties who may be acting on their behalf to influence climate change policy. Each of the columns above represents one relationship the corporation appears to have with such a third party. In these columns, the top, dark section represents the strength of the relationship the corporation has with the influencer. For example if a corporation's senior executive also held a key role in the trade association, we would deem this to be a strong relationship and it would be on the far left of the chart above, with the weaker ones to the right. Click on these grey shaded upper sections for details of these relationships. The middle section contains a link to the organization score details of the influencer concerned, so you can see the details of its climate change policy influence. Click on the middle sections for for details of the trade associations. The lower section contains the organization score of that influencer, the lower the more negatively it is influencing climate policy.
Open PDF file of Data Source
Climate Lobbying Overview: Gold Fields’ engagement on climate change is limited to top-line, albeit broadly positive, statements on climate policy and the energy transition. The company appears to have limited transparent engagement on specific climate-related policies.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Gold Fields has broadly positive top-line communications on climate policies. In its 2020 Annual Report, published in March 2021, Gold Fields supported reducing global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in line with limiting warming to 1.5°C. In its 2020 Climate Change Report, published in March 2021, Gold Fields appeared to support achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emission by 2050, stating that “the world needs to have a negative carbon footprint by mid-century”. In the same April 2021 report, the company appeared to support the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Additionally, in its 2021 Climate Change Report, Gold Fields appeared to support drastic action from governments, corporates and civil society to combat climate change. Furthermore, in its Climate Change Policy Statement, published in August 2020, Gold Fields CEO Nick Holland appeared to support carbon pricing.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Gold Fields appeared to have limited transparent engagement with specific climate-related regulations, and has not responded to CDP climate change information requests since 2018.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Gold Fields’ positioning on the energy transition is mostly limited to top-line positions, and the company does not appear to have strategically engaged on the issue. In its 2021 Climate Change Report, published in April 2022, Gold Fields appeared to support the transition to a “low-carbon future”. In its 2021 Annual Report, published in March 2022, the company appeared to support the decarbonization of the mining industry, and also appeared to support the integration of renewable power into the global mining industry in a December 2020 media release. The company also appeared to support the transition to renewables in a June 2021 presentation.
Industry Association Governance: Gold Fields has disclosed a list of its industry association memberships on its corporate website, however the company has not disclosed on its industry associations’ positions on climate-related policy, nor has it disclosed the company’s influence on their positions. Additionally, Gold Fields does not disclose its memberships to Business Leadership South Africa or the Industry Task Team on Climate Change, industry associations that have both been unsupportive of a South African carbon tax. Gold Fields is also a member of the Chamber of Minerals and Energy Western Australia, which has actively lobbied against climate policy in Australia.