1pm – 3pm (CEST)

Free event

The recent World Declaration on Dams and Reservoirs approved by ICOLD in New Delhi (October 2024) highlights the key role of dams in climate change adaptation and energy transition. In parallel to this Declaration, ICOLD launched the Dams and Sustainability (D&S) initiative in 2023, bringing together the efforts of several technical committees. The D&S initiative aims, first and foremost, to raise awareness among dam professionals of the need to improve the sustainability and life cycle thinking of existing and new dams. Sustainability could be described as the development of an activity throughout its life cycle without negative social, economic and environmental impacts on future generations. In the case of dams, sustainability should be analysed from the initial planning and design stage, through construction, operation and maintenance, to decommissioning and demobilisation.

A first Webinar (available here) took place in May 2024 and was an excellent opportunity to present the main sustainability goals and objectives of this new ICOLD initiative. The time has come to start investigating the appropriate tools and methodologies that can be applied to assess the sustainability of dams and reservoirs. This second Webinar is intended to introduce the general principles of a Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) methodology. The LCSA comprises not only environmental LCA, but also social and economic life cycle cost assessment. ICOLD has invited a distinguished group of experts to present the key components of the LCSA and examples of how it is applied in other sectors, with the aim of adapting it to dams and reservoirs.

PROGRAM

Introduction
Michel Lino (President of ICOLD)

Webinar presentation
Luc Deroo & Francisco Ortega (TC-T of ICOLD)

General introduction to LCSA with a focus on dam-specific aspects
Sonia Valdivia (World Resources Forum)

Sustainability criteria from the perspective of funding institutions
Nicholas Zmijewski (World Bank)

Tools and methods of the Hydropower Sustainability Standard (HSS) that are applicable to dams and reservoirs
Kimberley Lyon (World Bank / HSA Council Chair)

Sustainability framework for earthworks
Jean-Pierre Magnan (EU Working Group on Sustainable Earthworks)

Life cycle cost assessment of dams
Alena Raymond (AmSpec)

Biodiversity footprint and LCA: Case studies and analyses
Bonaventure Fontanier (EDF)

Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA): An example from the mining sector
Isabel Wolf (Technical University of Berlin)

Q&A Session
Moderation by
Steve Usher (HP&D)