JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – London-, Hong Kong- and now also Johannesburg-listed diversified miner GlencoreXstrata has thrown its weight behind the impressive International Council of Mining and Metals (ICMM), a body that strives to be an agent for positive change and continual improvement in the global mining industry.

Both Glencore, headed by South African-born Ivan Glasenberg, and Chilean-based copper mining company Antofagasta Minerals, headed by Diego Hernández, were singled out for special welcome at the latest meeting of ICMM’s top-level council of CEOs in Miami on May 14.

ICMM chairperson and Anglo American CE Mark Cutifani, last year’s Chamber of Mines of South Africa president, saw their joining as a signal of a strengthening of the global mining industry’s sustainable development performance.

Both companies, which were recommended for membership by an independent expert review panel on the understanding that each company meets the full membership requirements within a two-year period, will now be required to report yearly on their sustainable development performance.

“We are very pleased to have joined the mining industry's leading sustainability body,” said Glasenberg, who regarded Glencore's membership as a new sustainability milestone since going public in May 2011.

Antofagasta is the first private Chilean mining company to be incorporated into ICMM, which was established in 2001 and which currently brings together 22 mining and metals companies as well as 33 national and regional mining associations and global commodity associations.

In its 2013 sustainability report, Glencore says its immediate goal is to eliminate fatalities and serious injuries at all its operations.

It reports investing nearly $180-million to fund initiatives that fulfil fundamental needs, such as education and health, and commits to engaging with local communities in a constructive and transparent manner.

It undertakes to practice good land management and to implement measures to mitigate direct greenhouse gas emissions.

The company puts respecting human rights at the core to its approach to business.