Mining council commits to water stewardship

The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) has announced new commitments to water stewardship, recognising that industry can play an important role in tackling this global issue.

ICMM’s 23 member companies, which account for around a third of global mining activity, pledged action to support the responsible use of water with the launch of ICMM’s water stewardship position statement. The position statement is binding on ICMM members and requires them to:

• apply strong and transparent water governance (including robust public reporting);
• manage water at operations effectively;
• collaborate to achieve responsible and sustainable water use.

The council will also continue to develop guidance and toolkits to support effective water stewardship, which will be available to the wider mining industry as well as other industry sectors.

“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,” said ICMM CEO Tom Butler.

“Water is vital for local communities, the natural environment and for businesses, so leadership on water stewardship is required from all parts of society. We are pleased to be playing our part and we are happy to share our work with other sectors and the wider mining industry too.”

The ICMM water position statement is available at www.icmm.com/water-ps.