TORONTO — Barrick Gold Corporation has been named the top-performing company in a sustainability ranking of Canadian mining companies by Corporate Knights, a Toronto-based media and investment research company.
Barrick came first overall among Canada’s most well-known mining companies when assessed against 12 sustainability indicators. Corporate Knights has called the inaugural Canadian Mining Industry Sustainability Ranking “the most comprehensive quantitative ranking of Canadian mining companies to date.”
According to Corporate Knights, Barrick’s leadership in the ranking was driven by “top-tier disclosure practices” and “strong across-the-board sustainability performance.” The ranking highlighted the company’s performance in water productivity (revenue generated per cubic metre of water used) and “pay equity” (ratio of highest-paid executive compensation to average employee pay). Barrick achieved the highest overall score and was among industry peers that link a proportion of executive compensation to sustainability performance targets.
“At Barrick, our goal is to create shareholder value the right way,” said Jamie Sokalsky, President and Chief Executive Officer. “That is why we have embedded our commitment to responsible mining in our global business strategy. This ranking is a credit to Barrick’s employees worldwide, who understand the importance of doing the right thing every day. Together, we are working hard to continue to improve safety, to manage our environmental impacts better, and to maintain our license to operate at all locations.”
The Canadian Mining Sustainability Ranking is intended to provide investors and other stakeholders with a transparent, data-driven framework to identify the top overall sustainability performers in the Canadian mining industry. The ranking assessed company performance across a range of indicators, including safety, energy, water and waste management, Board diversity, pension fund status, and innovation.
This latest recognition follows on the company’s recent listing on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, as well as a separate Corporate Knights ranking that included Barrick among the Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada.
