500 TONNES LIGHT - M&C Saatchi

As one of the biggest mining companies globally, Anglo American has big goals to be fully carbon neutral by 2040 – one of the most ambitious targets of any mining company in the world. Big goals, a big change and a very big truck was needed to make a big start to showcasing this commitment. But the reality was that this vehicle didn’t exist, and so the company built it from scratch – a one 500-tonne mine haul truck powered by hydrogen. By making Anglo American 500 TONNES LIGHT we proved that their fleet could be light on emissions, lighter on the environment and fuelled by the lightest element on earth: hydrogen.

To us, it was not only about the truck. It was about placing our transition to a world where we leave it better than we find it at a zero base. So, we started with the biggest number. ZERO. A number with no value but that adds infinite value to other numbers and ambitions.

We positioned the initiative as 100% committed to zero, from zero fatalities to zero harm. Net zero. We convened the world’s heaviest voices to debate the future of hydrogen. The campaign got into livestreaming, AR and a live dashboard allowed us to share and respond to content in real-time. The President of South Africa and Minister of Energy added their voices to the conversation that was started – and as the wheels of the world’s largest hydrogen-powered vehicle turned, so did the perceptions of mining and Anglo American as a leader in a Just Energy Transition in South Africa.

“Mining has been, and continues to be, a vital pillar of our economy, creating value and fuelling productive activity far beyond mining areas. As a signatory to the Paris Agreement to combat climate change, South Africa is committed to taking the necessary actions to transition our economy along a low-carbon, climate resilient path. Anglo American’s FutureSmart Mining™ programme is about meeting that obligation. It is about marrying technology, digitisation and sustainability to transform the nature of mining.” – President Cyril Ramaphosa

The integrated campaign reached 1.1 billion people across all channels – 15% of the world’s population, challenging beliefs that a B2B brand could take meaningful conversations into the mainstream. On a global scale, Anglo American became the world’s first mining company to speak at a UN COP climate conference as a result of the move. And a proof of concept became proof of real change. One mine haul truck became the visible symbol of a business evolving and changing from what it could take out of the world, to what it puts back. Proving that in going 500 TONNES LIGHT with 100% commitment to net zero, mining can truly tread lightly and change the world.