Case study: How LW Bogdanka SA protects water resources
LW Bogdanka SA is one of the largest and most advanced hard coal mines in Poland and one of the leaders of the domestic market for power coal producers. In order to minimise water consumption by its mine, LW Bogdanka SA has been using the circular economy model for many years. Tweet This!
This case study is based on the 2019 Integrated Report by LW Bogdanka SA published on the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Disclosure Database that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
Abstract
LW Bogdanka SA takes effective measures to prevent and eliminate the negative impacts of its activities on nature, especially its most valuable resources. In order to protect water resources LW Bogdanka SA took action to:
- launch a Water Treatment Station
- monitor discharged water
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) LW Bogdanka SA has identified;
- How LW Bogdanka SA proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by LW Bogdanka SA to protect water resources
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2019 Integrated Report LW Bogdanka SA identified a range of material issues, such as employee health and safety, anti-corruption, energy and emissions, impact on biodiversity. Among these, protecting water resources stands out as a key material issue for LW Bogdanka SA.
Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.
Key stakeholder groups LW Bogdanka SA engages with:
To identify and prioritise material topics LW Bogdanka SA engaged with its stakeholders through the following channels:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Employees | · Mailing · Cyclical meetings with the Management Board · Announcement boards · Multimedia boards · Bogdanka company newsletter · Intranet · OHS communications · OHS screens |
| Investors | · Regular contacts · Meetings with representatives of the Management Board · Publishing of periodic reports · Participation in industry meetings · Conferences |
| Local communities | · Regular meetings twice a year with representatives of the public administration · Educational initiatives · Press releases · Interviews · Investor relations website · Sponsored articles · Partnerships · Letters of intent · Meetings · Cooperation within the framework of sponsoring · Donations · CSR actions |
| Customers
| · Ongoing communication · Meetings |
| Industry regulators | · Contacts depending on current needs |
| Suppliers and subcontractors | · Regular contacts on operational level depending on the current needs · Audits |
| Natural environment | · Contacts depending on current needs · Meetings |
What actions were taken by LW Bogdanka SA to protect water resources?
In its 2019 Integrated Report LW Bogdanka SA reports that it took the following actions for protecting water resources:
- Launching a Water Treatment Station
- Since 2015, in the context of the circular economy model, LW Bogdanka SA has been operating a Water Treatment Station. Thanks to this environmentally-friendly initiative, which was accompanied by modernisation of the sewage treatment plant in Bogdanka, the mine significantly reduces consumption of water. Benefits of the Water Treatment Station at LW Bogdanka SA include the following:
- Potable water is produced from mine water and treated storm water, which secures the mine’s current and future needs (the water not only meets the applicable legal requirements, but also has better physical and chemical parameters than water from deep intakes).
- Process water is produced from mine water and treated sewage and storm water, which secures current and future demand for various types of water, for example for fire-extinguishing purposes or for the Bogdanka field air-conditioning system.
- Circulation of water, sewage and storm water is closed within the Bogdanka mining field, resulting in a decrease in groundwater withdrawal in Bogdanka and Stefanów by about 260,000 m3/ year and a decline in removed treated wastewater by about 300,000 m3/year.
- A sewage treatment plant is now operating in accordance with applicable legal requirements and in a much more efficient manner.
- Water for the firefighting water cooling system is to be produced – this project is due to take place in 2021–2022.
- Water production at the Water Treatment Station in LW Bogdanka SA is based on state-of-the-art technologies. This process includes pre-treatment of water, sedimentation, filtration, and demineralisation. In 2019, construction began and the next stage of the expansion of the Water Treatment Station and the sewage treatment plant was launched to fully close the water and sewage circuits. The last stream of filtrate from the Water Treatment Station was fed into the new treatment system and will no longer be returned to raw or mine waters. Therefore, the Water Treatment Station, together with the sewage treatment plant, is ready to generate only solid waste, apart from the production of process and potable water, and to feed all process leachates into the technological processes of water treatment or sewage treatment.
- Monitoring discharged water
- Unused mine water is pre-treated by LW Bogdanka SA in a tank before being discharged, in a controlled manner, along with any leachates from the mining waste treatment facilities, to the Świnka River through the Żelazny Ditch. In 2019, about 14,738 m3 was discharged a day. LW Bogdanka SA monitors the quality and quantity of the discharged waters in accordance with the guidelines contained in the discharge permit. Tests show that the maximum permissible parameters specified in the permit are not exceeded. Furthermore, coal mining does not pose any direct hazard to the nearby environmentally valuable lakes. Meanwhile, sewage from the Bogdanka field is treated and then added to process waters (there is no discharge of treated sewage into the environment). On the other hand, sewage from the Nadrybie and Stefanów fields is treated and then discharged into the drainage ditch.
Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?
The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 303-4 Water discharge
Disclosure 303-4 Water discharge corresponds to:
- Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: Ensure access to water and sanitation for all
- Targets: 6.3
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References:
1) This case study is based on published information by LW Bogdanka SA, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original, please revert to the original on the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database at the link:
http://database.globalreporting.org/
2) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/
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