Water Innovation and Sustainability Research Project

Project Scoping Ideas

IDEAS FOR SCOPE OF RESEARCH PROJECT

Potential ideas for the scope of the project include:
• Looking at water through a business-level strategic lens with a focus on:
o The trajectory of water risk and what it will likely mean to global resources companies (such at
South32) in the future from a valuation, social licence and reputational perspective;
o How we as a business can set ourselves up for long-term success in this space (building on work
we have done to date), including the opportunities that exist for us now that will unlock long-term
value for our shareholders as well as our society (community, government).
• Not operation-specific work but globally focused on our business as a whole.
• The future mine – what can we aim to achieve in terms of a vision for water? If we think about a potential
goal of zero water use for one or all of our operations, what would this look like? Other companies are
now looking at the ‘zero water mine’ (see below on Anglo American) which will require significant
innovation and technology achievements to get there (physical technology, digital technology).
o We could use Eagle Downs (a new development option at South32 in Queensland) as an example
of this to set up the vision of the future mine and inform possibilities.
• Consideration should be given to the all aspects of water including the social aspects, water access as a
human right, conflict over water in water-scarce catchments, the physical impacts of climate change now
and into the future, the economic benefit of water and critical nature of water to just about every industry
= water as a shared resource.
• The UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG6, but the interconnection of SDG6 and other
SDGs.
• Benchmarking – what are other companies doing in this space?
RESEARCH MATERIAL
For FY20, the respective South32 and functional business plans set out the following business plan items:
South32 information
1. South32 Annual Reporting suite FY18: https://www.south32.net/investors-media/investor-centre/annual-
report-suite
2. South32 Annual Reporting suite FY19 – currently drafting due for public release in Sept.
3. South32 website – Water at South32: https://www.south32.net/environment/water
4. As the team mentioned, we are drafting our first water report and will be able to share this once we
have the NDA in place

Industry Research and Memberships

1. International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) – we are a member. https://www.icmm.com/
2. Deloitte Tracking Trends in Mining – an overall view of the disruptive factors impacting Mining. There is
a section in there around water specifically.
3. HBR Barriers to Innovation – this article neatly summarises why the innovation efforts of companies fail.
We have used this article and many others, as well as feedback we’ve received internally, to help
inform the process we have recently developed. Trying to avoid the common pitfalls.
4. World Economic Forum Global Risks Report 2019 - https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-risks-
report-2019.
5. EY Top 1- business risks facing mining and metals in 2019-20 https://assets.ey.com/content/dam/ey-
sites/ey-com/en_gl/topics/mining-metals/mining-metals-pdfs/ey-top-10-business-risks-facing-mining-
and-metals-in-2019-20_v2.pdf

Registered Office Level 35 108 St Georges Terrace Perth WA 6000 Australia

ABN 84 093 732 597 Registered in Australia 1
6. World Resources Institute – Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas (tool)
https://www.wri.org/news/2019/08/release-updated-global-water-risk-atlas-reveals-top-water-stressed-
countries-and-states
7. World Water Week - https://www.worldwaterweek.org/
8. CEO Water Mandate – South32 is not a member, but this is another form of membership that many
companies and corporates are signing up to.
https://ceowatermandate.org/?gclid=CjwKCAjwzJjrBRBvEiwA867bymfk7nITUETVwv00m_oIQ4G95ZyA
9hCFjnEKhUGuklg3xpwQxZN65BoCv8wQAvD_BwE
9. UN Sustainable Development Goals: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300

Other companies
1. Anglo American:
• https://www.angloamerican.com/futuresmart/our-industry/technology/picture-this-the-waterless-
mine
• https://www.mining-journal.com/events-coverage/news/1174741/anglo-waterless
• https://www.angloamerican.com/~/media/Files/A/Anglo-American-PLC-
V2/presentations/2019pres/baml-smart-mine-conference-presentation.pdf
2. Teck Resources: https://www.teck.com/responsibility/sustainability-topics/water/
3. Other companies doing well in this space include BHP, Rio Tinto and Newmont.

KEY SOUTH32 CONTACTS

Key South32 contacts for this project are:
• Tanya McKenna, Specialist Social Performance – Sustainability (Tanya.McKenna@south32.net)
• Katrina Burke, Principal Environment – Sustainability (Katrina.Burke@south32.net)
• Tijana LaBianca, Manager Innovation and Change (Tijana.LaBianca@south32.net)
TIMING
• Kick-off – early September 2019
• Completion by mid-November 2019
DELIVERABLES
Specific deliverables still to be determined.