Part of World Water Week held in Stockholm during August, was used by the global oil and gas industry association, IPIECA, to coordinate a session on water management within the sector from now to 2030.
IPIECA is a consensus-based organisation that with more than 60% of the oil and gas industry to build knowledge and develop good practices in water resources management, and one of its current initiatives is to take a poll within the industry in an attempt to understand what the future will look like for the industry itself as well as for society in general.
Water Management is a Key Priority for the International Oil & Gas Sector
The demand for energy, water and food is projected to grow by between 40% and 50% by 2030, which, along with population increase, water scarcity, urbanisation and extreme climate conditions, is forcing companies to start taking water issues seriously for the first time.
Companies have slowly come to realise that they face significant business risks, both directly and indirectly from water-related problems, which are reflected in shareholder value, their balance sheet, and consumer confidence.
As more impact is being felt, Business is becoming more aware of tools that developed to assist in identifying areas of water risks and of how they can develop strategies and solutions to mitigate these risks.
Some of the tools currently being used include those that allow companies to track their global water consumption and improve their decision-making processes for more positive outcomes. The Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT) is a decision-support and environmental reporting tool for screening biodiversity risks, and has proven to be very popular.
The Water Risk Filter, an extensive mapping tool developed by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and KFW DE, allows companies to ensure rapid response, initial assessments, and whole- facility and commodity portfolio-assessments that can link risk assessment with mitigation measures.
The growing awareness of companies is reflected in the need to secure a social license to operate, companies no longer exclusively considering only financing and operations as the starting point for a project, as well as project pre-planning that includes engaging communities at an early stage, especially in water scare areas where the company is placed in a position where it is in competition with the local community for water-use.
Water is global, but it also very much local, and Business needs to utilise all the available tools to ensure that it works closely with the local community in order to more fully understand and identify how water effects business profitability and value and how to use that information sustainably.
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