Shared water challenges

We are working together on water challenges in the regions where we operate.

BHP released our Water Stewardship Position Statement in FY2019, which outlines our vision for a water secure world by 2030, an aim consistent with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

In our Position Statement, we commit to set public, context-based business level targets that aim to improve our management of water and support shared approaches to water management within the regions where we operate. This approach is designed to ensure local water resources are conserved and resilient so they can continue to support healthy ecosystems, maintain cultural and spiritual values and sustain economic activity.

A key step in this commitment is to complete a Water Resource Situational Analysis (WRSA) in relation to each of our operated assets to understand the water challenges within our regions. These WRSAs, alongside internal catchment risk assessments, inform our context-based water targets (CBWTs). For more information on how BHP has engaged Indigenous peoples regarding Water refer to our Water Resource Situational Analysis webpage.

What is a Water Resource Situational Analysis (WRSA)?

A Water Resource Situational Analysis is an independent holistic assessment of the water situation where an operated asset operates. The process is designed to describe the water challenges that partners and stakeholders share and the opportunities for collective action to address those challenges. The WRSA is funded by BHP and prepared by a credible third party. It draws on publicly available information and direct partner and stakeholder input.

Catchment risks

Each of our operated assets has identified and assessed risks (threats and opportunities) within the catchments where we operate.

Water is a ‘blue thread’ connecting our operations to the people and environments around them. We have assessed risks that could arise from our water-related interactions and use this information to improve our management. For example, this information may lead us to improve our understanding of hydrogeology or stakeholder values within a catchment, or to change our water management practices addressing a potential environmental impact. This understanding has also been used to inform the setting of our CBWTs.

For more information on the water-related risks our operated assets manage refer to the Water Webpage. For information on BHP’s Risk Framework refer to the BHP Annual Report 2025 Operating and Financial Review, 7 – How we manage risk.

Water webpage

Context-based water targets

Targets that aim to address the shared challenges and opportunities within the catchments where we operate.

Context-based water targets aim to help address the water challenges shared by BHP and other stakeholders in the regions where we operate. These targets are based on what we heard from others and our own assessment of water-related threats and opportunities.

Our targets include actions to address our own operational water performance and actions that are intended for the collective benefit of stakeholders and Indigenous peoples in the region.

Due to the regional nature of water challenges, our CBWTs recognise that water challenges vary by location due to physical and social differences. For example, in our Chilean assets where our water is now predominately sourced from desalination, marine protection and efficiency of water use are key water challenges.

We will continue to test the relevance of the CBWTs and milestones as the collective understanding of the catchments where we operate grows.

While targets are ideally measurable, this is not always practicable owing to the variable nature of these challenges. Sometimes we have to build knowledge and a shared understanding before we can set quantitative targets. This is particularly true when the actions are for the collective benefit of others or for complex water-dependent ecosystems.

Preferred practice for water targets, and nature targets more broadly, is changing as the global community builds understanding on how to set meaningful and effective corporate targets and the practical steps needed to get there. BHP has moved from a global, singular water target to targets that consider local context and stakeholder priorities. We are proud of the water targets we present here but also expect our methods and metrics will evolve further as the scientific and corporate sustainability global community test and evaluate better ways to set targets that drive performance.

For more information on our approach to context-based water targets refer to the White Paper we prepared (in FY2022) to share our experience developing the first set of context-based water targets.

Read the white paper

Informed by catchment-scale risk assessments and WRSAs, in FY2023, we released our first suite of asset-level CBWTs. We have developed CBWTs for our operating assets presented below that will apply until FY2030. We have now achieved our commitment to develop CBWTs within our operations but may release further CBWTs when appropriate for the operating, environmental and social context. Progress on the CBWTs and milestones is described below and on our main Water webpage.

Footnotes for all tabs:

All targets and milestones refer to the end of the quoted year.

FY refers to the Australian financial year, which runs from 1 July to 30 June.

All baselines are subject to adjustment for any material acquisitions and divestments, and to reflect progressive refinement of relevant methodologies, for example in water reporting.

Surplus water is groundwater abstraction to allow mining below the water table that is surplus to operational water use requirements.

Beneficial use is water used in ways that contribute to environmental resilience, social benefit or economic growth. For example, water returned to aquifers to reduce pressure on regional groundwater resources; or transfer of surplus water to another operational use to avoid or reduce the need for additional natural water resources.

Threatened ecological communities are those nationally listed threatened ecological communities determined by the process under the Australian Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.