Modern Mining July 2021

GREEN MINING – WATER MANAGEMENT

Water management – a key pillar of De Beers’ ‘green’ mining drive

forefront primarily through investors demanding increased attention on environmental, social and governance-related matters and data. “ESG has become an important area of focus for mining com‑ panies, especially on the environmental side, which focuses on climate change, biodiversity and water management, among others. Investors are also start‑ ing to look beyond financial statements and now want to consider the ethics, competitive advantage and culture of a mining organisation,” he says. Van Zyl says it’s in the best interest of mining companies to invest in ESG and make sure that they are on the right track as far as their environment, social standings and corporate governance are con‑ cerned. Based on this understanding, Van Zyl says De Beers’ Building Forever framework hinges on four pillars: leading ethical practices, partnering for thriving communities, accelerating equal opportunity and protecting the natural world. Water management forms part of the fourth pil‑ lar of the Building Forever framework (protecting the natural world). “There are three components to protecting the natural world and these include water, biodiversity and climate change,” explains Van Zyl. Water management strategies To be a good water steward and meet its 2030 goals, De Beers has introduced a water manage‑ ment strategy focusing on reduction of the water footprint (volume and quality), which is supported by several pillars. The first pillar, explains Van Zyl, is the adoption of

Southern Africa is one of the water scarce regions in the world, yet mining is the backbone of the region’s economy. Through its Building Forever Framework, the De Beers Group has committed to a 50% reduction of its freshwater footprint by 2030, writes Munesu Shoko .

Dr Urishanie Govender, De Beers Group head of Safety and Sustainable Development.

Christiaan van Zyl, principal Operational Risk Management at De Beers Group.

R educing the environmental impact of mining activities is recognised as a key component of the green mining revolution. Dr Urishanie Govender, De Beers Group head of Safety and Sustainable Development, says the company acknowledges that water scarcity is a material risk in southern Africa, not only to the continuity of its operations, but also to surrounding communities. “One of the areas that we have considered for advancement within our Building Forever Sustainability Framework is water. We recognise that, as a big corporate, we have a crucial role to play in managing water from a quantity and quality perspective. We are aware of the water management challenges in the region, and through a number of ini‑ tiatives, we believe we can reduce our water footprint and go over and beyond our own water resilience to be a good water steward,” says Govender. Commenting on the significance of water management to the overall green mining revolu‑ tion, Christiaan van Zyl, principal Operational Risk Management at De Beers Group, says water is a leading ESG (environmental, social and governance) indicator. In fact, water ranks among the top three ESG concerns, according to the 2019 RBC Global Asset Management Responsible Investment Survey. Van Zyl points out that ESG has come to the

22  MODERN MINING  July 2021