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ICMM publishes new water reporting guide

22 March 2017

Water management is an increasing global challenge. By 2025 two-thirds of the world’s population could be living in water-stressed areas (UN Water).

The guide includes a new minimum disclosure standard for external water reporting that will be adopted by ICMM company members as part of their commitment to ICMM's Water Stewardship: Position Statement, announced in January.

Under the new position statement, ICMM members commit to publically disclose their approach to water stewardship and report in a consistent and comparable basis using standardised metrics from November 2018.

As with most industries, there is a lack of consistency in the way companies report on their water use. ICMM’s water reporting guide will enable miners to disclose water data in a consistent way that will allow easier comparison of performance. This new will support greater transparency as the industry moves to a catchment-based approach to water management.

ICMM believes that by publicly reporting how much water the industry uses, mining companies can support more sustainable and equitable management of global water resources. The new guidance is also a vital tool in tracking how the mining industry is helping to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG6 on clean water and sanitation.

Hayley Zipp, ICMM’s Water Stewardship Manager said: “Water scarcity is a growing global challenge that requires action on every front and ICMM is committed to playing its part.

“We hope that the wider mining industry will also adopt our new minimum disclosure standard. The mining industry has been improving its water management for many years and we believe that greater transparency on water use will further enhance its performance.

“Our members’ commitment to consistent and effective disclosure of their water use is critical to supporting the information needs of governments, local communities and all actors involved in sustainable water resource management.”

Morgan Gillespy, Head of Water at CDP said: "We applaud ICMM and the mining and metals industry for taking this important next step to facilitate the consistent reporting of key water metrics.

“The role of business in delivering water security is critical and the business case for reporting on this topic clear – you cannot manage what you are not measuring. We are seeing growing interest from investors, and many that are increasingly looking at the approach companies take to understand and better manage risks and opportunities around water security.

“CDP works hard to reduce the reporting burden for companies and we are especially pleased that ICMM’s approach is aligned with other existing reporting standards, including our own".

Jason Morrison, Head of the CEO Water Mandate said: “Society will not be able to meet the sustainable development challenges of the 21st century without improving the management and use of global water resources.

“We welcome ICMM’s leadership by putting water stewardship front and centre of their work and would encourage other industries to follow this lead.”

-ENDS-

Notes for editors

  • ICMM’s new water reporting guide is available here.
  • The ICMM water position statement is available here.

About CDP

CDP, formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project is a not-for-profit organisation that runs the global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts. 

About CEO Water Mandate

The CEO Water Mandate mobilises business leaders to advance water stewardship, sanitation, and the Sustainable Development Goals – in partnership with the United Nations, governments, peers, civil society, and others.

For more information please contact

Mike Eames
Email: mike.eames@icmm.com
Direct: +44 (0) 20 7467 5598
Mobile: +44 (0) 7881 316 724