Working papers on water-related risks for mining
30 November 2015
The Columbia Water Center at Columbia University received a 3-year grant from Norges Bank Investment Management to develop a modelling platform to quantitatively assess water and environmental risks for mining and their financial implications. The research team is now 1 year into the project and have published four working papers on mining and water risks. For the initial phase of the project, the Center’s research team is focusing on water-related exposure for the mining of copper and gold.
The papers will be presented at a workshop on 30 November at Columbia University to gather input from fellow academics, and financial and mining industry professionals. During the workshop participants will discuss water risks associated with mining, the causality between environmental factors and financial performance of companies, and perspectives on legal and regulatory risks.
Norges Bank Investment Management has initiated and actively supports this academic research project to increase availability of non-financial data, the understanding of environmental risks, and their financial implications as part of our responsible investment strategy. The data and models being developed are open source, and subject to restrictions from the data providers. They will be available to for instance mining companies and investors seeking to assess, manage and mitigate a broad range of environmentally induced financial risks.