Opinion
- One of the worlds biggest corporate air polluters, Sasol, has announced that their chairman, Mr Stephen Westwell, retires as non-executive director and Chairman on 1 June 2024 after sitting on Sasol’s board for the past 12 years.
In this time, South Africa’s petrochemicals giant has been very slow to respond to the global energy transition and made some terrible investment decisions. This includes the disastrous decision to gain a foothold in the US market with the Lake Charles Chemicals Project (LCCP). The $12.6bn project, subject to poor planning and massive overruns, made the company exceed its gearing ratio and compromised its balance sheet massively forcing it to sell half of its share to stay afloat. Read more
Sasol’s Synfuels plant in Secunda is the largest single-source point of emissions on the planet. The emissions from the plant exceed the individual totals of more than 100 countries. Image credit: GBA
Under Westwell’s chairmanship, Sasol has continued to show a culture bereft of candour and steeped in subservience. Last year, the company introduce a R35.3 billion impairment on the Secunda plant as a result of “cost assumptions and a revised production profile” based on its plans to reduce pollution from the site. Sasol’s Secunda plant is the worlds biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. The emissions from the plant exceed the individual totals of more than 100 countries. Sasol recently reported a drop in fuel production and ‘operational instability’ at their Secunda plant. Read more
As a group, Westwell led their very weak emissions reductions roadmap in South Africa that involves turning down boilers, reducing coal use and increasing renewable energy imports to 1200 MW by 2030. Their Secunda plant draws around 1.5 GW of power from coal and gas fired generation plants.
Jumping ship
Westwell’s departure announcement comes after a spate of recent high profile resignations at Sasol. Hanré Rossouw, Sasol’s Chief Financial Officer, resigned and will leave at the end of October 2024 after only two years in the job. Priscillah Mabelane, who was Executive Vice President: Energy Business at Sasol, resigned in March. Simon Baloyi recently replaced Fleetwood Grobler as CEO. Grobler leaves the company at the end of the year.
Related news: South African government continues to allow Sasol to exceed minimum emissions standards
Sasol share price has tanked around 36% in the last 6 months:
Source: JSE
Sasol has been accused of failing to transition from its dependency on fossil fuel power generation for the last decade. Civil rights groups, JustShare and the Centre for Environmental Rights, have expressed concern that Sasol has not shown any real signs of decreasing its emissions. Sasol is listed as one of 57 big companies that produced 80% of the world’s CO2emissions from 2016 to 2022, according to a new report from the Carbon Majors database.
Specifically, Sasol emits some 167 kilotonnes of sulphur dioxide (SO2) from its industrial processes every year. It emits several other dangerous pollutants and is a major contributor to the toxic air quality on the Mpumalanga Highveld, which not only violates the constitutional right to a healthy environment, it also causes premature deaths, prolonged ill health and lung desease. While the Sasol board has sung his praises, this is the real legacy that Stephen Westwell will leave the people of South Africa.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
Disclaimer: The articles and videos expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of Green Building Africa, our staff or our advertisers. The designations employed in this publication and the presentation of material therein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part Green Building Africa concerning the legal status of any country, area or territory or of its authorities.
24 Comments
Pingback: SASOL chairman steps down and leaves a poor legacy to be felt by generations to come - Just Share
Can you add that Sasol employs thousands of people, thousands more indirectly and give them proper salaries with decent benefits. I lived here for 40 years, no problems. Industrial development will add pollution, either we accept that and enjoy the economic development that comes with it, or we go back to sustenance farming and everyone is dirt poor. But them again, animals give of green house gasses as-well……, so does all farming, so what now?
I would like to come in contact with the editor of this article.
Thank you for your support. Please correspond using this email address: news@greenbuildingafrica.co.za
We treat all correspondence in the strictest of confidence.
Very biased article meant to tickle the ears of the climate catastrophy idiots.
Not one mention of why SASOL was established, or what it has meant for the SA economy since inception. Neither did he mention the world class technologies developed over so many years at the company.
Also, why blame the chairman of the board for all the bad decisions? What about the CEO and his team, or the market conditions that made certain decisions look so bad in hindsight?
The solution to Sasol’s problem is simple. Everyone’s job is under threat at Sasol if they do not stop the air and water pollution. The leadership must take responsibility for not doing this in good time but its never to late.
Two weeks ago I was shocked by the appalling pollution and devastation in the Mpumalanga coalfields and industrial behemoths like Secunda and the old, Highveld Steel plants etc. The countryside has been turned into a moonscape by irresponsible surface mining techniques, and the roads congested and constantly being pounded by 50 ton truckloads of ore and coal to and from Maputo and Richards Bay amongst others. It is an absolute doomsday scenario! As a long time visitor and businessman to this area for the past forty years, I have sadly been witness to the incredible degradation and destruction of this part of Mpumalanga. I was shocked beyond belief! How do all these people manage to live in such a foul world? The incidence of serious lung disease and chronic illnesses must be crippling! Sadly, South Africa and its government focuses on money being the answer to everything, so our gross domestic product is largely of a financial nature and criminal activities like gambling, scamming and financial fraud. And to address Andreas’ comment on employment, if South Africa were to build creative businesses, employment would follow on. However, we should not look the other way in creating a healthy mind and body when employing people, and just throw them into a pit and use a whip to keep them on the job.
Yes we’ll, at least the people got paid and could pay for food, housing etc. You want lush green grass and veld all over? Nice grass and leaves which all the people can eat? Not so sure you realise heavy industry is not clean. Go Woke, Go Broke!
In September 2022 at the Evander Regional Court, Sasol was charged with unlawful disposal of hazardous waste as well as unlawful dismissal as a whistle-blower: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-01-21-former-sasol-employees-challenge-petrochemical-giant-on-environmental-compliance-at-agm/
In September 2022 at the Evander Regional Court, Sasol was charged with unlawful disposal of hazardous waste as well as unlawful dismissal as a whistle-blower: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-01-21-former-sasol-employees-challenge-petrochemical-giant-on-environmental-compliance-at-agm/
Agree we lived in Secunda for 43 years. We had food on the table and n roof over our heads. I am n well looked after pensioner now , Thank you Sasol
True to that, Sasol has given better lives to most of the ppl in Mpumalanga an surrounding provinces
Andreas could I share the truth with you regarding what needs alsovto be added. You will be shocked 😲 I can’t make it public, even though the matter is already published in the public domain internationally….
I couldn’t agree more with you Andreas. Where were these extremists fundamentalists environmental activists, who all of a sudden see Sasol as the worst thing that ever happened to human kind. These are the same people who have been screaming about Eskom using fossils to generate energy and forced the country to abondon coal power stations when we were not ready to do so. They represent foreign interest that would like to see us failing at all cost. Transitioning to clean energies will happen, but would probably take 50 years from now not even 20 years. In the meantime we can improve technologies and have cleaner coal energy
I trust and believe that our 10 years investment shares won’t be affected by the decision of him
It May be hard to reach a better balance between industrial activity and pollution. ZHowever Sasol needs to do better. Drastically better.
A former Sasol employee has endured “five years of hell” after blowing the whistle on how the petrochemical giant allegedly, through gross negligence, pumped hazardous chemicals into the Vaal River system because of broken chemical sewer valves at its Secunda operations: https://mg.co.za/the-green-guardian/2021-03-27-its-absolutely-terrifying-to-be-a-whistleblower-in-sasol/
Embalenhle community is facing this problem I think everyone who’s staying there and around Secunda must be compensated every month
A former Sasol employee has endured “five years of hell” after blowing the whistle on how the petrochemical giant allegedly, through gross negligence, pumped hazardous chemicals into the Vaal River system because of broken chemical sewer valves at its Secunda operations: https://mg.co.za/the-green-guardian/2021-03-27-its-absolutely-terrifying-to-be-a-whistleblower-in-sasol/
I am a Sasol employee. And I can see the initiatives to improve emissions. I can see Sasol giving back to the community Fixing roads and lights and even supplying dump trucks to the minicipality. Sasol is the reason so many of us have food on the table. And our company goes so much further to invest in all of us. I am proud to be part of the Sasol team.
This is absolutely true , everyone is always talking crap about Sasol but when our town is in need Sasol is the one who helps. As well as Secunda would have never existed if it wasnt for sasol. Everyone complains but forgets that most of the people here works for sasol from contractors to permanent employees
The solution to Sasol’s problem is simple. Everyone’s job is under threat at Sasol if they do not stop the air and water pollution. The leadership must take responsibility for not doing this in good time but its never to late.
The solution to Sasol’s problem is simple. Everyone’s job is under threat at Sasol if they do not stop the air and water pollution. The leadership must take responsibility for not doing this in good time but its never to late.
Why always concentrate on the negatives ? What about all the positives that SASOL did ?