The Water Action Agenda aims to deliver internationally-agreed water and sanitation targets, most notably SDG6: water and sanitation for all.
SDG6 is identified as a priority SDG for the industry in the Ipieca-WBCSD SDG Roadmap, which includes an impact pathway for biodiversity, land and water stewardship with actions for industry and Ipieca.
Advancing water management across the industry
Water is an essential component in oil, gas and alternative energy operations. Through a combination of practical tools, good practices and a forum for sharing industry knowledge, Ipieca enables the industry to identify potential water risks and manage water in a sustainable way.
The Ipieca Water management framework facilitates an integrated approach to water management, addressing multidisciplinary aspects of water management, both through the life cycle of an operation and across the value chain.
Identifying and managing water risks
Ipieca's Water risk assessment in the oil and gas sector supports companies to assess and respond to water risks at portfolio and site levels. Ipieca also helped develop the GEMI Local Water Tool and an e-learning course to enable companies to identify and address water risks.
Reporting on water use
Reporting on the use of water resources can help a company develop its approach to water management and address issues of water availability. The Ipieca-IOGP-API Sustainability reporting guidance includes an environment module which covers reporting on water use and treatment.
Reduce, replace, reuse, recycle
To improve water use efficiency, companies can take a 'reduce, replace, reuse, recycle' approach to water use. The Ipieca Reuse of produced water from the onshore oil and gas industry identifies opportunities, challenges and benefits of reusing produced water, presenting several cases of successful reuse applications.