GEMI Releases New Solution Tools, "GEMI Local Water Tool™ (LWT) and the GEMI LWT™ for Oil and Gas"

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI) released two new solution tools, GEMI Local Water Tool™ (LWT) and the GEMI LWT™ for Oil and Gas.

"GEMI is very pleased to announce the release of its new tools, GEMI Local Water Tool™ (LWT) and the GEMI LWT™ for Oil and Gas," said GEMI's Chair, Bill Gill, Assistant Vice President, Environmental Affairs, Smithfield Foods.  "These new tools are the result of a collaborative effort and leadership of GEMI member company representatives as well as GEMI LWT™ Project Participant company representatives in cooperation with WBCSD and IPIECA," Gill continued. 

GEMI's Communications Chair Heather Tansey, Sustainability Manager, 3M, said "GEMI was pleased to work in cooperation with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) as well as IPIECA, the global oil and gas industry association for environmental and social issues, to ensure that the GEMI LWT™ and the GEMI LWT™ for Oil and Gas tools are fully compatible with the WBCSD Global Water Tool© (GWT) and the IPIECA Global Water Tool for Oil and Gas respectively. All of these tools are mutually compatible and provide best practices and water risk assessment for sustainable water management at the global, regional, national and local levels," she added.

"Responsible water management in business is coming into focus as global freshwater supplies dwindle.  By collaborating with GEMI and IPIECA we have leveraged our strengths to develop an information rich suite of tools," said Mr. Peter Bakker, President of the WBCSD.  "The WBCSD's Global Water Tool©, which offers comprehensive water risk assessment across a company's global portfolio, is complemented by GEMI's local water tool and oil & gas sector customized versions from IPIECA," he added

"The GEMI LWT™ for Oil and Gas will be an excellent complement to the GWT for Oil and Gas, providing the sector with a set of tools for assessing both global and local water risk; IPIECA will be supporting its members and the wider industry with uptake and implementation. This relationship between GEMI, WBCSD and IPIECA has provided a valuable opportunity for collaborative progress in the arena of water management," said Brian Sullivan, IPIECA Executive Secretary.

"The GEMI LWT™ and the GEMI LWT™ for Oil and Gas are free interactive, downloadable modules," said Karl Fennessey, Director of Water and Biodiversity, ConocoPhillips and Co-Chair of the GEMI Water Sustainability Work Group.  "These tools help companies and organizations identify the external impacts, business risks and opportunities related to water use and discharge at a specific site or operation." CH2M HILL assisted GEMI in the development of the tools and also supported the creation of the WBCSD GWT and the IPIECA GWT for Oil and Gas, Fennessey also noted. 

"The purpose and functionality of the GEMI and WBCSD tools, and the GEMI and IPIECA tools are mutually supportive," said Work Group Co-chair Bill Lechner, Vice President, Global Environment Health and Safety & Security, Scotts Miracle-Gro.  He added, "Companies can utilize the WBCSD GWT or the IPIECA GWT for Oil and Gas to identify and prioritize risks in their portfolios.  Companies can then employ the GEMI LWT™ or the GEMI LWT™ for Oil and Gas to further evaluate the high risk locations and plan actions to manage the risks."

"The GEMI LWT™ and GEMI LWT™ for Oil and Gas, like all of the GEMI solution tools are for self-assessment and an individual company's / organization's use, and are not for use as a code of conduct/standards or as a common platform for public disclosure.  Each user chooses at their discretion on how best to use this tool and disclose the knowledge gained by implementing it," said Co-chair of the Work Group, Maurice (Moe) Bechard, Vice President, Environment, Health, Safety and Product Stewardship, Sealed Air Corporation.

"Unique to this GEMI project is that for the first time, non-member companies were able to participate in the development of a GEMI solution tool as a Project Participant," said Steve Hellem, Executive Director of GEMI.  "GEMI is pleased and appreciates the participation of the following companies that were GEMI LWT™ Project Participants: AkzoNobel; BP; Chesapeake Energy; Chevron; ExxonMobil; Greif; Intel; ITT; Maersk Oil; Nexen Inc.; Repsol YPF S.A.; Shell; Statoil; Suncor Energy Inc.; Talisman Energy, Inc.; and TOTAL," said Hellem.

"GEMI is considering additional sector-specific solutions tools, with the GEMI LWT™ for Oil and Gas as the first.  GEMI would welcome additional sector-specific GEMI LWT™ projects as well as other topic areas," added Tansey.

"On behalf of GEMI, I would like to thank the three co-chairs for their leadership, for the combined knowledge, insights and support of the GEMI member companies and LWT project participants, for the collaboration support from WBCSD and IPIECA, and for the technical and development support of CH2M Hill to making the GEMI LWT™ and the GEMI LWT™ for Oil and Gas a success," concluded Gill.

GEMI members include: 3M; Abbott; Ashland Inc.; Biogen Idec; BNSF Railway Company; Carnival Corporation & plc; ConAgra Foods; ConocoPhillips; CSX Transportation; DuPont; Eni SpA; FedEx; Halliburton; Johnson & Johnson; Johnson Controls, Inc.; Kraft Foods Inc.; Legrand; Merck & Company, Inc.; Occidental Petroleum Corporation; Perdue Incorporated.; The Procter & Gamble Company; Scotts Miracle-Gro; Sealed Air Corporation; Smithfield Foods, Inc.; Southern Company; and Union Pacific Railroad.

For more information about GEMI and the GEMI LWT™, please visit www.gemi.org.

For More Information Contact:
Amy Goldman (202) 296-7449

SOURCE Global Environmental Management Initiative