SHORT COMMUNICATION

Holistic green commitment places Royal Bafokeng Platinum in the Nedbank Green Index

Johannesburg, February 2013 - Nedbank Capital today applauded Royal Bafokeng Platinum (RBPlat) for its diligent efforts to incorporate environmental sustainability into its strategic plans and operations, which has resulted in the platinum miner being listed on the Nedbank Green Index.

As a mining organization with a clear and obvious commitment to integrated environmental and social sustainability, the inclusion of RBPlat in the Index for 2013 is a well-deserved acknowledgement of the company's genuine commitment to building a better future for all its stakeholders. That's according to Laura van der Molen at Nedbank Capital, who commended RBPlat on its significant environmental sustainability achievements over the past year and thanked the organization for its obvious commitment to making a positive and lasting contribution to sustainability, not just in terms of its own operations, but also for South Africa and its communities as a whole.

'RBPlat's inclusion in the Index not only demonstrates the extent of the company's commitment and work in the green space,' van der Molen explained, 'but is also a fitting result to a compelling story of how integrating environmental sustainability considerations into organizational strategy can deliver significant value and benefits for organizations and all their stakeholders.' In September 2012, RBPlat invested its BRPM Environmental Rehabilitation Fund in the Nedbank Capital Guaranteed Investment Solution with 60% of the portfolio exposed to the upside performance of the Nedbank Green Index. Then, at the end of ast year, the organization joined the Index based on its strong Carbon Disclosure Project score of 89. 'Despite this being RBPlat's first official CDP disclosure, the score it achieved is well above the Nedbank Green Index minimum entry requirement of 75,' explains van der Molen, 'and makes it one of only 42 JSE-listed companies to be approved for inclusion in the Index.'

To remain a participant in the Index, RBPlat will now need to maintain or improve its CDP disclosure score; a requirement that, ccording to Mzila Mthenjane, Executive for Business Sustainability at RBPlat, should present no problems given the mine's stated intention to continue raising its environmental sustainability commitment in years to come.

'Environmental sustainability, from the perspective of climate change, is intrinsically linked to our business strategy. RBPlat is implementing organic PGM growth opportunities to deliver value to our stakeholders in the long term. Climate risks and opportunities are key considerations to this prospect and to ensuring that we fulfil our vision and mission: to seek and deliver the good from mining thereby leaving a lasting legacy for our stakeholders', said Mthenjane.

According to Amy Underwood, Global Markets Transactor at Nedbank Capital, the inclusion of RBPlat in the Index not only validates the organization's green efforts in recent years, but also makes indirect investment in the company more accessible to the environmentally conscious investor communities. 'In addition to being a good measure of the performance of companies with environmentally sustainable business practices, the Index is investable,' explains Underwood, 'allowing environmentally aware retail and institutional investors and corporates to benefit from the proven returns of South Africa's green-focused companies via either the Nedbank BGreen ETF, the Nedgroup Life ETF Plan or the Nedbank Mining Rehabilitation

Investment Solution. Thanks to its strong first CDP disclosure score, RBPlat now finds itself listed amongst the country's leading environmentally conscious organizations, which is no small feat for any business, but is particularly significant for a mining company,' she points out. 'The achievement offers tangible proof of what can be achieved by any organization that is willing to place sustainability and environmental concerns at the heart of its operations.'

The Nedbank Green Index serves as a benchmark for environmentally conscious investors. This rules-based index uses a clear, transparent methodology based on objective and independent data that is verified by an independent calculation agent on an ongoing basis, with daily values published on data service providers such as I-Net Bridge, Bloomberg, and Reuters. The index consists of a selection of stocks from the top 100 largest South African companies listed on the JSE. Constituents are selected and weighted based on both environmental and liquidity criteria. Environmental credentials are assessed with reference to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) and Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project databases, as supported by the United Nations. The Index uses company carbon disclosure scores for constituent selection and the performance ratings to determine relative weightings. Companies that have UN-registered Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects receive a small increase in weighting relative to non-CDM companies with the same performance rating.

Nedbank Green Index investment options

Environmentally conscious retail and institutional investors have the ability to invest in the Nedbank Green Index via the following mechanisms:

* The BGreen Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) This is a listed index-tracking unit trust registered as a Collective Investment Scheme. It is regulated by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and the Financial Services Board. The BGreen ETF tracks the performance of the Nedbank Green Index and returns on the investment are supplemented by means of quarterly dividends.

* The Nedbank Mining Rehabilitation Investment Solution This offers Mining Rehabilitation Trusts an end-to-end solution to manage their mining rehabilitation assets and liabilities. The solution makes use of the BGreen exchange traded fund in the form of customized capital guaranteed investments offering guaranteed returns and only upside performance exposure to the BGreen ETF.

* The Nedgroup Life Retail Guaranteed ETF Plan This fixed five-year investment is aimed at individual investors and includes the tax benefits of a life wrapper. The bonus rate on the investment is linked to the performance of the BGreen ETF.

Issued by Mpho Sebelebele, Tel: +27 (0)11 2944274/0825283432, Nedbank

Monday, 29 April 2013 12:48