New online platform gives a transparent view of our surface water use
In some places we operate, water can be scarce. In others, we have to remove water to operate safely. Everywhere we work, we share this important resource with local communities, whose health, safety and livelihoods also rely on them.
So it’s critical that we manage water at all of our operations carefully – and transparently.
Sharing our water usage
In 2019, we set ourselves a goal – by the end of 2023, we would disclose how much surface water we were allocated, and how much we were using.
Early in 2023, we launched a new, interactive platform that shows our surface water allocations and usage at our sites.
It’s kind of like Google Maps, but for water.1 No matter where we are in the world, anyone, anywhere can check how we’re using the surface water we’re allocated.
A tool of this kind is an industry first, both in the level of detail provided, and way it’s published on an intuitive geo-location platform. And surface water is just the beginning – we want to disclose more across our ESG performance, and will be working on plans to achieve that soon.
By making this information clearly and easily accessible to everyone, we’ll be able to have more meaningful conversations with governments, partners, and communities we work with about how we use water across our operations around the world.
We’re also publishing all our surface water allocation and usage data from the past five years. And we can provide additional historical data on request.
Managing different water risks across our operations
Water is a precious resource, so we know we need to balance our operational needs with those of local communities and ecosystems.
We manage a range of water risks across our business, so we’ve set targets – tailored to the specific challenges at each site – and publicly report on progress against each one.
In addition to a company-wide goal, we set six site-based targets based on their water risk profile, our International Council on Mining & Metals (ICMM) commitments, and local community and environmental interdependencies.