Reporting on issues that matter

In 2009 we undertook a review of the way in which we compile our sustainability report taking into account a wide range of internal and external perspectives. We wanted to ensure that our reporting remained aligned with leading practice, was focused and accessible to users, and maintained a transparent approach to reporting against our commitments and performance.

We have implemented a series of changes to our reporting which are designed to:

• align the company’s reporting with the needs and interests of our stakeholders, including employees, and social and business partners; and
• give these groups a clearer sense of the sustainability issues which are shared concerns, their potential impact on our business, and the way in which we, together with partners, are managing them.

This report is an important first step in this change process. As its title implies, it focuses on presenting the sustainability issues that are most important for our business and our stakeholders and giving a clear sense of our performance and commitments on these issues, thus providing a platform for engagement and dialogue with stakeholders.

As we start to gain a clearer sense of our readers and their concerns, we aim to further this debate in our 2010 and 2011 reports and use our reporting process to strengthen our efforts in the area of stakeholder engagement.

There are three parts to our 2009 Sustainability Review.

• In this group-level report, we present an overview of the sustainability issues identified through our materiality assessment process, as they represent the greatest challenges to the implementation of the company’s business strategy and are the concerns voiced most frequently by our stakeholders and social partners.
• Detailed information and data on AngloGold Ashanti’s sustainability performance is presented as supplementary data. This data has been prepared in line with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G3 guidelines, and complies with the sustainable development framework of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM). Case studies giving insight into the company’s management approach to material sustainability issues are included.
• Country Reports provide data on and insights into sustainability management at AngloGold Ashanti’s various operations. As we move towards a more strategic approach to stakeholder engagement at our operations, we aim to develop these reports further so they become tools for assisting in local engagement processes and providing local stakeholders with information on the company. Country Reports are produced for regions in which we are already operating and for regions where we have significant exploration activities, which in 2009 were the DRC and Colombia. These reports will be made available on our website during the second quarter of 2010.

This Sustainability Review forms part of our suite of integrated reports to shareholders for the financial year and is presented concurrently with our annual financial statements. A hard copy format of the sustainability review may be requested from sustainabilityreview@anglogoldashanti.com.

In this 2009 Sustainability Review we report at an A+ level against the GRI G3 Guidelines, indicating that our report is externally assured. This year our external auditors were PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). See their statement of assurance. In support of our external audit process, we have increased the capacity of our internal audit team to verify our sustainability data and processes during the year, and intend to further develop capacity into 2010 in this area.