120
Global Compact International Yearbook 2013
Water management
in action
For many years, the EDF Group has been
developing specific skills in the fields
of water resources management, mete-
orological forecast, and environment
preservation in order to better optimize
its power generation andwater resources
while protecting ecosystems. EDF oper-
ates nearly 500 hydropower plants and
has been recognized for its worldwide
experience in the design and operation
of multi-purpose hydro schemes that
deal with agriculture, drinking water,
tourism, industry, and energy issues
that involve a sustainable development
perspective.
In the field of thermal power plants (in-
cluding nuclear), water is needed for cool-
ing systems, either once-through cooling
systems or re-circulating cooling systems
(
tower). Water intake, utilization, and
thermal discharge are important param-
eters in terms of water resources. They
are factored into optimization studies for
the design, operation, and maintenance
of power plant cooling circuits. While
these circuits currently rate among the
“
best available techniques” for industrial
cooling systems, efforts are continuously
being made to improve their design and
operation in order to limit their impact
on water resources. Therefore, water
is naturally at the heart of EDF’s core
business and skills.
Being aware of the current stakes related
to the nexus between water, energy, and
food, the EDF Group was deeply involved
in preparations for the 6
th
World Water
Forum in Marseille in March 2012 –
particularly in the key priority topics
“
Harmonize water and energy” and “Wa-
ter, energy, food nexus” – and signed a
dedicated partnership agreement with
the International Committee of the
Forum and the World Water Council.
Following are the visible and strong
commitments made by EDF, in particular
regarding the assessment and manage-
ment of the Group’s water footprint (or
impacts) from its electricity generation.
To deepen its knowledge of the syner-
gies between water and electricity, the
EDF Group – in conjunction with the
scientific community–decides to invest
the necessary means in the development
of the methods and tools to estimate the
water footprint of its activities of electric-
ity production within the territories that
welcome its facilities.
The EDF Group makes a commitment
to manage the water footprint of its
activities of electricity production. In
particular:
•
to carry on the improvements in per-
formance in terms of water withdrawal
and consumption of existing and future
power plants;
•
to look for the best possible efficiency
of the use of water on the scale of ter-
ritories and catchment basins.
In accordance with its CSR commitments,
when it develops a project for electric-
ity production in a territory, the EDF
Group makes a commitment to create
some value locally and to minimize its
water footprint by integrating elements
from the design phase. In particular, the
EDF Group will use the Hydropower
Sustainability Assessment Protocol of the
International Hydropower Association
for its hydro projects.
EDF Group
Water is used in energy production and supply, and, in turn, energy is used for pumping,
moving, and treating water. As a result, in a context of climate change, the linkages between
both energy and water systems have grown more complex and interdependent.
By EDF Group