Environmental activist groups will not rest until energy and chemicals giant Sasol takes accountability for pollution around its operations, they told Business Times this week.
Malik Dasoo, Extinction Rebellion’s organiser in Gauteng, said the group would keep disrupting Sasol’s annual general meetings to drive home its point.
The company’s AGM had to be cancelled last Friday after it was interrupted by about 15 protesters who took to the stage at its offices in Sandton, chanting “We want to breathe”.
“The main point is there will be no peace for Sasol until there’s justice for those people living around their operations,” said Dasoo, whose organisation led the protest..
The activists wanted to highlight the plight of residents of Sebokeng, Orange Farm, Vereeniging, Secunda and Sasolburg who live near the group’s operations.
“They live in terrible conditions. In Vereeniging, we have the lowest air quality because of Sasol. Sasol is killing 20,000 South Africans every year because of their operations. They could clean their operations if they wanted to, but they do not want to because it is too expensive,” said Dasoo.
He said Sasol had not shown commitment to reducing its carbon footprint over the next 10 years.
“Sasol says it wants to reduce its emissions by 30% by 2030, but they have not done anything to reduce emissions. If you say you are going to do all of these things, actually do it, otherwise it remains greenwashing.”
Dasoo said that while shutting the AGM down would not bring about immediate changes, it was a big win for civil society. “It is a win in a way for the affected local communities whose voices are not heard. They complain all the time to Sasol in those areas, but Sasol does not have to listen to them.”
After Eskom, Sasol is South Africa’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases.
The shutdown was a double blow for the global company. Two key shareholders, Old Mutual Investment Group (OMIG) and Ninety One, had indicated before the AGM that they would vote against Sasol’s climate change report.
Sunny Morgan, co-founder of another climate activist group, Debt for Climate, said Sasol continues to pollute without a viable and realistic plan for curbing the impact of its emissions.
“They are challenging the department of forestry, fisheries & the environment in court not to implement these interventions that will curb emissions. Yet they continue to pollute, extract and expand their fossil fuel interests. This is not in keeping with the target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C,” said Morgan, who was among the protesters at the AGM.
On the Vaal, children are dying of asthma, old people are constantly sick with respiratory diseases and complications. We hold Sasol responsible for those deaths and for those injuries and for polluting the environment in and around those operations
— Debt for Climate's Sunny Morgan
“In the Vaal, children are dying of asthma, old people are constantly sick with respiratory diseases and complications. We hold Sasol responsible for those deaths and for those injuries, and for polluting the environment in and around those operations.”
In August, Sasol urged environment minister Barbara Creecy to change her department’s approach to measuring the company’s emissions for its Secunda boilers. The national air quality officer had previously refused to do so.
Tracey Davies, executive director of the shareholder activist organisation Just Share, said she was surprised the AGM was cancelled so abruptly.
“These kinds of protests are increasingly common at the AGMs of oil and gas majors and financial institutions around the world, and we have not seen any other AGM cancelled as a result.”
She said Sasol’s emission reduction targets were not the problem.
“The problem is that since the plan was announced in 2021, no significant progress has been made, nor have detailed plans been disclosed to ensure its success.”
Ahead of the AGM, OMIG said that due to the delay in implementing an appropriately ambitious energy transition strategy, it would vote against resolutions to approve the report of the remuneration committee and the climate change report, and would oppose the re-election of Muriel Dube as a non-executive director.
Responding to OMIG, Sasol denied its climate targets had slipped, saying it would achieve a 5% reduction of greenhouse gases by 2026 in its South African energy business. OMIG declined to comment when contacted by Business Times.
Asset manager Ninety-One, which holds a 3.4% stake, also announced it would vote against Sasol’s climate change report.
It said that if the energy company can provide more evidence of a credible feedstock strategy to restore volumes or demonstrate that the Secunda plant remains economically viable at lower production volumes from 2030, it will change its vote next year.
“We have continued constructive engagements with Sasol and believe the company could be in a position to provide the comfort we seek over the next year,” it said in response to questions.
Ninety-One said Sasol was a “systemically important” company for the country’s economy.
“It will be the largest single corporate taxpayer in the coming year. If Sasol can successfully transition over the medium term, this will create immense shareholder value and jobs in South Africa.”
The Public Investment Corporation said it engages directly with investee companies such as Sasol through its environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) team.
Sasol declined to comment, saying it would communicate a new date for the AGM in due course.
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