To improve understanding of water scarcity and pollution among the coal industry, China’s leading pollution transparency NGO, the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE), has created a Corporate Water Risk Assessment Tool.
The water needs of China’s coal industry — including 2,769 power plants and more than 130 coal-conversion plants — are particularly challenging, because most of the country’s coal is located in the dry north, particularly the northwest.
IPE has developed numerous tools that promote open information around pollution in China, such as searchable pollution maps and indexes that evaluate pollution emission transparency of cities and supply chains of corporations.
IPE used its tool to evaluate the 30 top-earning coal companies listed in the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, finding that most face substantial water risks.
The China Environment Forum interviewed Mingxuan Wang, the lead author of IPE’s report on its Corporate Water Risk Assessment Tool, to learn how it works and what are the next steps for IPE.
Q: With this tool, you and your team at IPE are not just looking at the risks caused by poor water management by coal companies, but also at risks associated with national and local policies.
IPE has published this information in a yearly Pollution Information Transparency Index (PITI), which has helped educate municipal governments on their progress in complying with China’s open information regulations.
The most challenging part is that a company is not likely to disclose anything against them in its annual report.
The key to reducing regional water risks is to understand local water policy and the water usage of stakeholders.
We hope this new water risk tool and the report we have produced will provide the government with some insights into the coal industry, especially from the perspective of water management, and present companies with guidance on the importance of water consumption, reuse, and conservation measures and on meeting wastewater discharge standards.