Investors and funders are increasingly demanding that companies examine and report upon the consequences of their actions on the environment, their employees and local communities. This is an expensive and time-consuming exercise, inevitably encouraging many companies to take refuge in vagueness.

For example, almost every large and small mining company operating in South Africa (e.g. Anglo American, Sibanye- Stillwater, Harmony Gold Mining, Exxaro) states that it is “committed to zero harm”. But the number of people killed across the industry is still unacceptable.