Primary Functions
- Outlines the ten principles on water that companies must implement as a condition of ICMM membership.
Detailed Description
This position statement sets out ICMM members’ approach to water stewardship. Water stewardship is the use of water in ways that are socially equitable, environmentally sustainable, and economically beneficial. Effective stewardship requires collaboration and concerted action from all parties, including government, civil society, business and local communities through inclusive stakeholder engagement.
The commitments in this position statement require members to:
- Apply strong and transparent water governance
- Manage water at operations effectively
- Collaborate to achieve responsible and sustainable water use
Background on ICMM principles and position statements
All ICMM member companies implement the ICMM Sustainable Development Framework as a condition of membership. This includes commitments to implement 10 principles throughout their businesses, to report in line with the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Framework and to obtain independent external assurance that the ICMM commitments are being met.
ICMM principles of particular relevance to water stewardship are:
- Principle 3: Uphold fundamental human rights and respect cultures, customs and values in dealings with employees and others who are affected by our activities.
- Principle 4: Implement effective risk-management strategies and systems based on sound science and which account for stakeholder perceptions of risks.
- Principle 6: Pursue continual improvement in environmental performance issues, such as water stewardship, energy use and climate change.
- Principle 7: Contribute to the conservation of biodiversity and integrated approaches to land-use planning.
- Principle 10: Proactively engage key stakeholders on sustainable development challenges and opportunities in an open and transparent manner. Effectively report and independently verify progress and performance.
In accordance with the principles, ICMM has also developed a number of position statements that further elaborate member commitments to particular issues. Company members comply with these statements by incorporating them into their operational practices.
