Barrick - Sustainability - Introduction

Sustainability Introduction

Putting Development and the SDGs at the Heart of Our Disclosures

Our sustainability thinking has evolved during that time, and so too have our disclosures. We no longer simply report our progress and sustainability performance against a handful of metrics and key performance indicators. We understand that Barrick as a company, and mining more broadly, has a critical role to play in delivering socio-economic upliftment and a fairer future.

We see ESG frameworks and sustainability disclosure requirements as the floor rather than the ceiling of our actions. To that end, this report details:

Our long-term sustainability goals, and our progress and performance against those, and our most material sustainability aspects.
Our contributions to upliftment and wider society.

Information regarding our management approach, such as policies and standards, is available on our website at Barrick Gold Corporation; Sustainability – Reports & Policies.

Grounded in Real World Progress

Sustainability and taking action now with the prosperity of the future front of mind is at the heart of our business. It shapes our strategy, informs our decision-making and is critical to achieving our mission of being the world’s most valued gold and copper miner.

The continued and increasing popularity of ESG as a part of investment and societal thinking has resulted in a plethora of frameworks related to ESG ‘impact’ which a company is expected to comply with.

While we very much welcome a focus on aspects beyond the bottom line, we believe the ‘ESG industry’ is now at risk of missing the point. It risks becoming little more than a race to compliance, with too much emphasis on contextless box-ticking, ranking exercises and competition to be ‘first on paper’. In short, ESG has lost sight of what it means to be sustainable. Real world progress and situational complexities are sometimes missed with a new form of short-termism emerging.

At Barrick, our approach to sustainability means that we prioritize actions on the ground where it matters. Conformance or compliance with frameworks or standards is simply a natural by-product of our everyday efforts. However, there has been an overreach by some ESG standard setters, which has led to reactive, overly cumbersome and non-value additive requirements, leading to unintended consequences and impacts where it really matters, the communities and their environment. This tension is reflected in the market and by stakeholders who have come to review and pull back on some of their ESG requirements. We believe this is a natural system correction and response to the rise of ESG rather than an attack on sustainable business practices.

Our approach to disclosure and frameworks is that we will use them wherever they deliver value to our business and our stakeholders, particularly those communities closest to our operations.

It is for this reason we have worked to put the UN SDGs at the heart of our report and we consider our contributions to achieving these universal goals as the true measure of our success as a business. The societal value we can deliver, and not the metal or mineral itself, is what makes mining critical.

Our 2023 report builds on that belief, showcasing our contributions both to society and the long-term socio- economic upliftment of people near our operations and in the wider country of operation.

Other Frameworks

Our report conforms with the member requirements of the World Gold Council (WGC) and International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), including the implementation of the WGC Responsible Gold Mining Principles (RGMPs) and the ICMM Mining Principles Performance Expectations. Disclosure related to our self-assessments can be accessed on our Sustainability Report and Disclosure Portal. The report has been prepared with reference to the requirements of the GRI Universal Standards and the recently released GRI Mining and Metals Standards. It also aligns with the requirements of the now-disbanded SASB and the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). We continue to track reporting frameworks and trends, and listen to our stakeholders in terms of their requirements and expectations. We are working to understand the recommendations of the International Sustainability Standards Board’s new sustainability disclosure standards, particularly where there are overlaps with current requirements.

We are also working to identify and understand where there may be gaps and how such gaps can be closed, and we disclose where practicable or as required.

Scope and Boundary

All information is current as at December 31, 2023, unless otherwise indicated. The report includes information on all wholly-owned operations, joint ventures where we are the operator as well as joint ventures that are independently operated, except for Zaldivar (which is operated by Antofagasta plc). Data for joint ventures covers 100% of performance, not just our ownership share. Where material, we report data on ancillary properties such as offices, closure sites, projects or exploration sites. Currency is expressed in US dollars, unless otherwise indicated. Further information is available in the online Content Index to this report, which additionally reports against the requirements for the annual UN Global Compact Communication on Progress.

Assurance

Data used in this report has been assured by an independent external assurer, Apex Companies LLC. The assurance statements are available on our website at Barrick Gold Corporation – Sustainability – Reports & Policies. The basis for preparation of our Sustainability Report and disclosure of our sustainability related information may differ from materiality standards used by Barrick for other purposes, such as our securities regulatory filings and financial reporting.

Management approach: Sustainability governance

We believe sustainability is delivered best by experts on the ground not from a corporate office. Empowered by our bottom-up governance structure, our sites take the initiative in identifying and implementing their own sustainability initiatives and targets best suited to their unique sustainability context and issues in line with our overall sustainability strategy.

All our mines have dedicated teams responsible for the management of health & safety, as well as community and environmental aspects across the site. Support and direction are provided to each site by our Regional Sustainability Leads, with oversight provided by our Group Sustainability Executive and our Chief Operating Officers.

Our Group Sustainability Executive reports weekly to the Executive Committee on sustainability-related issues, including safety incidents, progress against targets and any grievances raised.

Ultimate accountability for our sustainability performance resides with our Board of Directors and Executive Officers, including the President and CEO.

We take pride in and strive for excellence in social and environmental management, both at a group and a site level, and link financial incentives across the group to our sustainability performance.

Sustainability-related committees

Environmental & Social Oversight Committee

Our most senior management-level body dedicated to sustainability is the Environmental & Social Oversight (E&S) Committee which meets on a quarterly basis. The E&S Committee connects site-level ownership of sustainability to our Executive Officers and our Board of Directors, who have ultimate responsibility for our sustainability performance.

The E&S Committee is chaired by our President and CEO, and members include:

Chief Operating Officers for each region;
The Group Sustainability Executive;
The General Managers for each mine;
Regional and site health, safety, environment and closure leads;
In-house legal counsel; and
An independent third-party sustainability expert.

The E&S Committee reviews sustainability performance and key performance indicators across our operations. It also provides a forum to discuss and learn from the sustainability successes and challenges experienced across each region in each quarter. As well as feedback from an ‘on the ground’ review, the E&S Committee meetings also include an environmental and social license to operate-focused site visit completed by the independent consultant at one of Barrick’s Tier One Gold Assets on a quarterly basis.

The President and CEO reviews the reports of the E&S Committee with the Board's Environmental, Social, Governance & Nominating Committee (ESG & Nominating Committee), formerly known as the Corporate Governance & Nominating Committee.

ESG & Nominating Committee

The ESG & Nominating Committee helps the Board to oversee the company’s environmental, health & safety, corporate social responsibility, and human rights programs, policies and performance.

The ESG & Nominating Committee oversees:

Corporate governance;
Environmental, including climate change;
Health & safety;
Corporate social responsibility;
Security; and
Human rights.

The Audit & Risk Committee

The Audit & Risk Committee assists the Board in overseeing the group’s management of enterprise risks, as well as the implementation of policies and standards for monitoring and mitigating such risks including compliance with Barrick’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption Policy.

The Audit & Risk Committee also reviews the company’s approach to climate change in the context of Barrick’s public disclosure.

The Audit & Risk Committee oversees:

Financial statements, systems, and reporting;
Internal controls over financial reporting;
Enterprise risks and risk management framework;
Financial risk;
Cybersecurity;
Key operational risks; and
Business integrity and ethics.

The Compensation Committee

The Compensation Committee assists the Board in ensuring that executive compensation is appropriately linked to our sustainability performance.

The Compensation Committee oversees:

Alignment of executive compensation with strategic priorities; and
Ensuring that compensation plans do not encourage excessive risk taking.

Business Assurance Group

The Business Assurance Group is responsible for providing assurance that controls relied upon to manage risk exposures are designed and operating effectively.

Product stewardship

Our gold is refined to market delivery standards by several refiners throughout the world. The refined gold is sold to gold bullion dealers, investment banks or refiners based on the spot price at the date of sale. Certain of Barrick's operations also produce gold concentrate, which is sold to a number of international gold smelting companies. The purchasing customers then take responsibility for its onward distribution for use in products such as jewellery, coins and electronics.

We take a risk-based approach to product stewardship and implement due diligence procedures so that our supply chain conforms to the World Gold Council’s Conflict-Free Gold Standard, and we publish an annual Conflict-Free Gold report. As part of this approach, we do not purchase gold from artisanal or small-scale miners. We believe it is only through sector-wide collective action that the gold mining sector can create fully responsible supply chains.

Political contributions

In general, we do not make financial contributions to politicians or political parties, except on a limited basis as allowed by local regulations. Any such related contributions require pre-approval as set out in our Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption Policy.

If any political contributions are made they are disclosed annually in our Sustainability Report.

Whistleblowing

Barrick employees, contractors, third parties and community members can report potential violations of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and related policies, including our Anti-Bribery and our Anti-Corruption Policy and Anti-Fraud Policy confidentially and anonymously through several channels, including our global hotline which is operated by an independent provider.

We encourage all our stakeholders to raise concerns through one of these channels. The hotline is available 24 hours a day in multiple languages. Hotline contract information is promoted through staff training and communications as well as our group-wide internal communications portal.
In 2021, we added an optional feedback survey for all individuals submitting reports to the hotline. Survey responses, which can be submitted anonymously, will be reviewed and tracked over time to improve our reporting system and process.

We treat all breaches of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics and related policies seriously. All reported breaches are assessed and investigations are conducted as appropriate.

Breaches of this Code can result in disciplinary or corrective actions up to and including a contract termination or dismissal. Barrick maintains a stringent non retaliation policy which serves to protect any individual making an allegation in good faith. We do not tolerate the harassment or victimisation of anyone raising concerns or anyone who assists them. Such conduct is itself a breach of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, and a serious disciplinary matter.

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Our Disclosures

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