Month: September 2024

We are proud to announce that the KOHLER Loope toilet was named in Fast Company’s 2024 World Changing Ideas Awards, as a finalist in the Developing World Technology category and honorable mention in the Water category.

The container-based, waterless toilet provides an accessible and affordable option for the more than 1.5 billion people worldwide who are living without safe toileting, particularly those in urban and water-depleted areas. Developed by our team of Innovation For Good engineers and designers, Loope can be easily integrated to meet the needs of people living in informal settlements where proper infrastructure is lacking. The cost-effective and thoughtful design operates without sewage systems or electricity to provide a comfortable, dignified, and gracious experience.

This recognition embodies our Safe Water For All commitment and is a testament to the bold innovators working to bring safe sanitation to all people in all communities.

Learn more about our world-changing idea: https://www.kohlercompany.com/social-impact/innovation-for-good/ifg-products/kohler-loope/

In 2023, three Manufacturing Suppliers at four facilities in the locations of Malaysia and Taiwan offered migrant workers an anonymous survey to gain insight into the workers’ recruitment experience. The surveys were voluntary and available in the workers’ native languages.

The survey responses validated information about the workforce that each site had self-reported. Most of the migrant workers employed at these facilities are women from the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia. The surveys also provided new insights, including that number of labor agents that workers use and their level of satisfaction with those agents: The vast majority reported using one agency, and workers overwhelmingly said they “would recommend the recruitment agent used to a friend.”

Other questions were designed to provide insight into the recruitment practices of the agents and facilities compared to requirements in the RBA Code of Conduct. For example, nearly all workers reported receiving a copy of their employment contract in their native language, attending a pre-departure orientation, and having access to personal documents at any time.

In all cases, the facilities provided training to migrant workers in their native languages on their rights. The aim was to reinforce that these workers should not be obliged to pay employment-related fees, as defined by the RBA Definition of Fees (2021), and should have access to personal documents, as well as highlighting how to communicate feedback or concerns to management.

At AMD, we continue to evaluate the best use cases for worker surveys, while also discussing with peers how collectively we can support our suppliers to have effective grievance mechanisms in place.

Read more at https://www.amd.com/en/corporate/corporate-responsibility/supply-chain-responsibility.html. 

Originally published in AMD 2023-24 Corporate Responsibility Report.

MELBOURNE, Australia, September 6, 2024 /3BL/ – A new survey by Black & Veatch, a global leader in critical infrastructure solutions, suggests that sustainable water management efforts are a priority for the mining sector in Australia.

In the survey, more than 80 percent of respondents indicated that sustainable water management is one of the leading sustainability priorities for their organisation.

Ensuring sustainable water use and supply, and eliminating water pollution, were identified as the most readily addressable sustainability issues.

“The outcomes of unmanaged water issues can result in significant delays to project approvals, impacts to operational productivity, flood damage to critical infrastructure, mining-related impacts to environmental and cultural values, and future closure liabilities,” said Mick Scrivens, vice president, director, Australia Pacific, Black & Veatch.

“Prioritising a stewardship approach using integrated and sustainable water solutions will return dividends for the environment, local communities, mining companies and the broader industry,” Scrivens added.

Yet, more than half of the respondents were unsure if their organisations had these types of sustainability commitments in place, and only 43 percent of respondents confirmed that their organisations had made commitments regarding the use of water.

This finding suggests there are opportunities for mining companies to improve the effectiveness of how their corporate-level water stewardship commitments are translated into well-understood, executable and impactful actions in the field.

Positive steps taken by regional and global mining companies over the years include replacing unsustainable groundwater supplies with desalination sources, improving focus on water recycling and initiatives to reduce operational water intensity, and improving tailings management practices.

“The drivers for water management in the mining industry have shifted over the last ten years, from meeting operational needs and towards solutions that deliver real outcomes in water stewardship and sustainable practice,” said Garrick Field, solutions director, Industrial Water and Mining, Black & Veatch.

An overwhelming 98 percent of respondents emphasised the importance of securing alignment and support from local and First Nations communities on project design and water stewardship initiatives, with half of those saying that such support is “extremely important”.

Black & Veatch provides lifecycle planning, design, construction, operation, and consulting expertise in water, wastewater, and stormwater management to help industrial clients, such as mining and metal processing operators, access the water they require at the right cost, the right quality, whenever and wherever it is needed.

Contact Black & Veatch for more information.

Editor’s Notes: 

The survey is based on the inputs of 63 senior industry executives from across the Asia Pacific region and readers of Australian Mining. Download the “Water for Mining in Australia” ebook here.

About Black & Veatch 
Black & Veatch is a 100-percent employee-owned global engineering, procurement, consulting and construction company with a more than 100-year track record of innovation in sustainable infrastructure. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people around the world by addressing the resilience and reliability of our most important infrastructure assets. Follow us on www.bv.com and on LinkedIn, Facebook, X (Twitter) and Instagram.

Media Contact Information: 
EMILY CHIA | +65 6335 6623 P | Chialp@bv.com 
24-HOUR MEDIA EMAIL | Media@bv.com