A new
international report by the Carbon Disclosure Project has
investigated the impact of water scarcity and other water-related
issues on some of the world’s largest companies in water-intensive
industries.

Nearly 40 per cent of companies surveyed are already
experiencing water problems and nearly 90 per cent have developed
water policies, strategies and plans.

The demand for water is rising and has been projected to
outstrip supply by 40 per cent by 2030. With increasing awareness
of water as a key challenge to the long-term sustainability of
businesses, some have likened it to the ‘new carbon’. However,
unlike fossil fuels, water has no sustainable
alternatives.

The researchers issued a questionnaire to 302 of the
world’s largest water-intensive companies to explore water use,
water-related risks and opportunities and water strategies and
management plans, with 150 companies responding. The US accounted
for over a third of the sample (35 per cent); the next
best-represented countries were the UK, Germany and
Japan.

Nearly 90 per cent of the respondent companies have
developed specific water policies, strategies and plans, indicating
that water is already high on the corporate agenda. 60 per cent
have set water-related performance targets, of which slightly more
than half are absolute (rather than efficiency) reductions, which
is encouraging as absolute reduction targets should be considered
best practice, especially in water-scarce countries.

Overall 88 per cent of companies could identify which of
their operations are exposed to risk from water stress. There are
three main risk areas: physical risks, including exposure to
flooding, pollution and drought; regulatory risks, including higher
water tariffs and stricter regulations on water quality; other
risks, such as reputational risk and product risk (such as
decreased demand for products that require large amounts of
water).

However, only 53 per cent of companies were able to
identify water-related risks within their supply chains. Most
companies reported their total withdrawal of water, but less than
two-thirds chose to provide a breakdown and only 42 per cent
provided a figure for recycling and re-use of water.

Water is clearly a current concern with 39 per cent of
companies reporting detrimental impacts from water in the past five
years, with the worst sectors affected being Metals and Mining,
Utilities and Chemicals. More than half the companies described
risks as current or near-term (in the next 1-5 years).

Encouragingly, 62 per cent of companies were aware of
business opportunities in the water sphere, such as improved water
management practices leading to reduced operating costs, and a
growing demand for water infrastructure to support growing
populations. Moreover, 72 per cent of companies identified links
between water management and energy, i.e. reducing water use can
often result in reduced energy use.

Drawing on some of the best practices of respondent
companies, the report provided a number of
recommendations:

1. style=”margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;”>
   Create a board or executive committee specifically
   responsible for water that sets specific targets for absolute
   reductions in water use.
   
   
   
   



2. style=”margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;”>
   Conduct a risk assessment of direct suppliers and engage with
   suppliers to improve water management.
   
   
   
   



3. style=”margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;”>
   Invest in new technologies and approaches, such as site-level
   water metering, low water-use technologies, wastewater treatment
   and recycling.
   
   
   
   



4. style=”margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;”>
   Collaborate with stakeholders, such as communities, NGOs and
   government representatives, and participate in business initiatives
   that seek to address water issues, such as the href=”http://www.unglobalcompact.org/issues/Environment/CEO_Water_Mandate”
   target=”_blank”>UN CEO Water Mandate.

style=”margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;”
class=”MsoNormal”>The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)
Water Disclosure 2010 Global Report. Downloadable from: href=”http://www.cdproject.net/CDPResults/CDP-2010-Water-Disclosure-Global-Report.pdf”
target=”_blank”>www.cdproject.net/CDPResults/CDP-2010-Water-Disclosure-Global-Report.pdf