26 May, 2025This week, IndustriALL will accompany several of its affiliates to participate in the annual general meeting of the giant Swiss commodities trader and mining company Glencore. The AGM is an important opportunity for workers and trade unions, as well as other civil society organizations and affected communities, to raise their voices and speak directly to executives and the board of directors.
This year, IndustriALL delegates will travel to the AGM from Colombia, Canada and South Africa to share their testimony and perspectives about working for Glencore. Their stories involve common themes, such as a lack of corporate transparency and a failure to engage stakeholders meaningfully; failure to adequately address environmental damage at its assets; abandonment of social commitments to workers and local communities and refusal to enter into social dialogue with trade unions.
The delegates’ accounts, some of which have been captured in an investor brief published today by IndustriALL, stand in jarring contrast with Glencore’s own glossy sustainability reporting, which provides a highly selective look at its operations.
IndustriALL plans to continue engaging investors beyond the AGM, for example at an invitation-only, virtual round table in June, where investors will have a chance to interact directly with workers from multiple Glencore assets.
To make reasonable investment decisions, asset owners and asset managers need substantive information about how the company manages its environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks – such as how Glencore treats its workforce and the communities surrounding its assets, and how it is approaching the looming question of energy transition. Prudent investors seek this information from sources beyond the company itself, including those whose lived experience differs substantially from corporate reporting.
And as multiple international frameworks, such as the OECD’s Responsible Business Conduct for Institutional Investors, have confirmed, investors are increasingly expected to use their “leverage” to engage companies to prevent or mitigate negative impacts on human rights and the environment.
Says Glen Mpufane, IndustriALL mining director:
“We welcome the opportunity to speak with investors who share our concerns about Glencore’s poor ESG record. Together, we intend to hold the company to account for its impact on workers, local communities and the environment.”