Tag Archives: Aidan Davy

ICMM aims to align and improve mining industry water reporting with latest guide

Environmental, Mining industry recognition, Mining services, Water management, , , , , ,

The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) has launched an updated Water Reporting: Good Practice Guide to, it says, improve the quality and consistency of corporate water reporting that will enhance stakeholders’ understanding of, and ability to use, water reports and associated data.

The guidance broadens ICMM’s minimum reporting commitments to include new metrics for disclosure, such as holistic reporting of how water is used to meet operational demands and how it is actively managed; and reporting of aggregated water metrics for all sites within a company as well as a separate aggregated total for all sites situated in water-stressed areas, according to the ICMM.

“It supports mining companies to disclose water data in a consistent way that allows for easier comparison of performance by interested stakeholders,” the ICMM said.

The guide builds directly on external reporting guidance and definitions, including CEO Water Mandate, GRI, CDP Water and the MCA Water Accounting Framework. It captures practical experience from companies operating in diverse geographies, commodities and regulatory systems, and was developed in consultation with industry experts and investors, helping to make this resource a strong global tool, the ICMM said.

Aidan Davy, COO, ICMM, said: “Transparent reporting is important so that stakeholders such as investors, government, local communities and civil society have greater line of sight over mining companies’ water management practices and related data. The external reporting landscape is evolving, and ICMM’s updated Water Reporting: Good Practice Guide will help companies strengthen their management of this precious and shared resource for the benefit of all users, while reducing corporate risk exposure.”

Briana Gunn, Group Executive of Environment, Newmont, said: “The ICMM Water Reporting: Good Practice Guide was updated to support alignment between members on the information and methodologies for accounting for the inflow, use, loss, storage and discharge of water at our operations. Having a standardised method of reporting provides a higher level of comparability and increased transparency for member companies.”

Chris McCombe, General Manager – Sustainability, Minerals Council of Australia, said: “Australia’s minerals industry is proud to support ICMM’s new Water Reporting: Good Practice Guide, which reinforces the industry’s commitment to water stewardship through responsible water use and transparent and consistent reporting.”

ICMM members commit to apply strong and transparent corporate water governance, including to publicly report company water performance, material risks, opportunities and management response using consistent industry metrics and recognised approaches, the ICMM said. This guide builds on good practice principles from ICMM’s 2017 publication ‘A Practical Guide to Consistent Water Reporting’ as well as practical member learnings from its implementation, and is publicly available on ICMM’s website for use by the wider industry.

ICMM ups the ESG ante with new Mining Principles

Environmental, Mining industry recognition, Sustainable mining, Water management, , ,

The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) has launched its enhanced membership requirements – ICMM’s Mining Principles – which now include site-level validation and transparent disclosure.

These requirements seek to maximise the industry’s benefits to host communities and minimise negative impacts to effectively manage issues of concern to society, it said.

ICMM’s Mining Principles define good practice environmental, social and governance requirements for the mining and metals industry through a comprehensive set of performance expectations, the ICMM said. Validation of the implementation of the performance expectations takes place at the site-level for all members’ assets. Validation involves a mix of self-assessments and independent, third-party assessments, coupled with transparent disclosure of the outcomes.

The council said: “ICMM’s Mining Principles are aligned with the objectives of other responsible sourcing initiatives. They establish a high bar for sustainability practices that many of our member companies currently apply to manage a broad range of sustainability issues at the operational level.”

As a condition of membership for ICMM company members, ICMM’s Mining Principles will apply to roughly 650 assets in over 50 countries.

Aidan Davy, COO of ICMM, said: “Mining and metals are critically important to society – as a catalyst for sustainable social and economic progress and as essential materials for the technologies needed to address climate change – but they must be produced responsibly.

“Societal expectations of the mining industry encompass a broad range of environmental, social and governance challenges. Our aim has been to develop a holistic set of requirements that establish a benchmark for responsible mining practices.”

Davy explained that ICMM’s Mining Principles would support its members to supply the increasing demand for metals and minerals, while giving confidence to customers and other stakeholders that they have been produced responsibly.

“We encourage all mining companies to embrace good practice environmental, social and governance requirements,” he said.

In 2003, ICMM published its 10 Principles for sustainable development to set a standard of ethical performance for its members. Building on this, in early April 2018, ICMM launched a global public consultation on the introduction of a comprehensive set of performance expectations for how members should be expected to manage a broad range of sustainability issues.

The resulting enhanced Mining Principles strengthen social and environmental requirements on issues such as labour rights, resettlement, gender, access to grievance mechanisms, mine closure, pollution and waste.

To read more about the principles, click here.