Companies committed to sustainability are finally getting serious about environmental challenges beyond carbon emissions.
Companies committed to sustainability are finally getting serious about environmental challenges beyond carbon emissions.
Water stewardship is emerging as the hot topic among sustainability professionals, with a strong focus on reducing water use and increasing water efficiency.
Water initiatives can be easy wins compared to other environmental issues such as biodiversity, where there is not always a direct link to corporate operations, and can require long-term commitments.
Ethical Corporation’s 2010 report ‘Unlocking the Profit in Water Savings’ surveyed 96 sustainability professionals about their company’s approach to water.
With 99% of respondents believing that water-related concerns are going to be an increasing priority for business in the coming five to ten years, many companies will be willing to go beyond the quick wins.
And some already have.
Take Unilever for example. They began setting targets for reducing water use, and successfully reduced total water use per tonne of production by 65% between 1995 and 2009.
In 2008, they included product water footprinting to their water strategy because the most water intensive processes happen upstream, by their suppliers. Unilever helps these farmers set targets for water reduction, and provides technical assistance to help them meet these targets.
For many corporate operations – 13% of those surveyed - the context-specific risks are not navigable, and require local partnerships. Another 3% are in the process of looking for a partner.
Ethical Corporation’s report reveals the key business risks stemming from water management. Disruptions in community access, sanitation, supply insecurity, government permission to operate and reputational threats are at the top of this list for most professionals.
Other respondents expressed concerns for rising water costs and saw governmental water regulations as probable.
Despite the local nature of water challenges, globally coordinated actions can help. In fact, 58% of the respondents engage some form of partnerships or initiative.
Of the chosen partnerships, the UN Global Compact and CEO Water Mandate were the most mentioned in Ethical Corporation’s survey. Many other respondents were member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) with the Water Footprinting Network.
Contact:
Pamela Muckosy, Head of Research
Ethical Corporation
pam.muckosy@ethicalcorp.com
+44(0) 207 375 7554