TREVOR MUNDAY Deputy Chief Executive of Sasol

In line with a nationwide desire for change, Sasol’s board and workforce are a reflection of South African society as a whole and a key to the success of the company

Twelve years since the advent of democracy, broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) and socio-economic transformation remain challenges for South Africa. Proactively embracing these challenges and accelerating its transformation initiatives is Sasol, South Africa’s leading integrated petrochemical company and largest private industrial investor. In the past year, the company has appointed three black executive directors and made significant changes at non-executive level, with 54 percent of the board now comprising black directors and in total 62 percent from South Africa’s “designated” groups (including white women). It also runs an in-house advanced leadership development program from an employment equity perspective.

The company views the transformation of the country as a strategic, business, and moral imperative. “In line with our commitment to transformation and creating a world-class economy, Sasol now has a diverse board and senior management structure,” says Deputy Chief Executive Trevor Munday. “We have superb depth of leadership with extensive local and international experience, which bodes well for both Sasol and South Africa as we expand internationally.” Sasol is the world leader in producing synthetic liquid fuels from coal and gas, and interest in its proprietary gas-to-liquid technology is worldwide. “Sasol has the leading edge in that it has the only global-scale commercial coals-to-liquid plant in the world,” adds Mr. Munday. “We take gas and turn it into fuel, and we’ve been doing it for over 50 years.”

Sasol has been named one of the top performers on the JSE Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) index

Understanding that transformation means more than just changes in leadership, Sasol has also added impetus to other initiatives. Its Tshwarisano project, which means “pulling together” in Sesotho, aims to increase and create new business and employment opportunities for a wide range of black groups, individuals, rural communities, youth groups and the disabled. “We put together a R1.5 billion transaction that has 150,000 direct and 3 million indirect beneficiaries,” says Mr. Munday. Sasol put their balance sheets behind the borrowings, and so were able to secure much lower-rate financing for the participants of the project – consequently saving them hundreds of millions of rand compared with seeking finance individually. “This is the biggest empowerment transaction in our industry to date. It has created a new benchmark in terms of innovative financing and ensuring that people are not forever incumbent to banks. There is genuine participation and sharing of the benefits of those involved,” explains Mr. Munday.

Other projects include Igoda Coal. Announced in March and worth almost R1.4 billion ($200 million), Igoda Coal is one of the nation’s largest empowered coal export companies. Eyesizwe Coal, a black-owned mining company, owns 35 percent, while Sasol Mining holds the remainder. Sasol has also recently sponsored a training program for emerging dairy farmers in Qwaqwa to help increase their competitive edge. A recent survey by Empowerdex ranked Sasol 45th out of 200 JSE-listed companies in terms of BEE. It has been named one of the six top performers on the JSE Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) index and was rated in the National Corporate Investment Survey as the petrochemical company doing most to develop South Africa and its people.