SUSTAINABILITY Gold Fields 2030 ESG Targets

Our 2030 ESG targets


In December 2021, we published a comprehensive set of 2030 targets for its most material environmental, social and governance (ESG) priorities. The targets included a commitment to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 30% on a net basis and by 50% on an absolute basis by 2030. As a signatory to the Paris Agreement on climate change, Gold Fields is committed to Net Zero carbon by 2050. We have also committed to reducing our Scope 3 emissions by 10% on a net basis by 2030, which will require collaboration with our suppliers.

Gold Fields also set ambitious new goals for its water and environmental stewardship, the management of its tailing facilities and to creating value for its stakeholders, particularly host communities. For its employees, Gold Fields is seeking to further improve safety, health and wellbeing, and to achieve greater inclusion and diversity, by targeting a 30% female workforce by 2030.

At the same time Gold Fields embedded ESG as one of the three pillars in its strategy. The three pillars are:

The company’s Purpose and Vision statements also reflect the strengthened commitment to ESG. Learn more at This is Gold Fields

2030 priorities and targets:

Priority 2030 Targets
  • Decarbonisation
  • Net zero emissions by 2050
  • Scope 1 and 2: 30% net emission reduction from 2016 baseline by 2030; 50% absolute emission reduction needed @2.8Moz
  • Scope 3: 10% net emission reduction from 2022 baseline by 2030
  • Tailings management
  • Compliance with the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM)
  • Reduce the number of active upstream raised TSFs to 3
  • Water stewardship
  • 80% water recycled/reused
  • 45% reduction in freshwater use from a 2018 baseline
  • Safety, health, wellbeing and the environment
  • Zero fatalities
  • Zero serious injuries
  • Zero serious environmental incidents
  • Gender diversity
  • 30% women representation
  • Stakeholder value creation
  • 30% of total value created benefits host communities
  • 6 flagship projects benefiting host communities
Progress so far

Sound corporate governance and a commitment to transparency underpin Gold Fields’ work on ESG priorities. For the past ten years Gold Fields has been ranked among the top five mining companies on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. It reports against the leading global reporting and sustainability frameworks, including the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board and the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

We report progress against these targets as part of our annual results reporting each year.