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Corporate Water Strategy Information
Definition
As the global demand for freshwater increases, corporations have begun taking more proactive water-use strategies to navigate threats to business and supply chain operations.
2030 Water Resources Group predicts that according to current trends and assuming no efficiency gains, demand for water will exceed supply by 40% by 2030, and closing this gap could cost up to $60 billion per year up until 2030
[1]. Companies have begun to consider their water footprint in their business strategy due to social, economic, environmental, and stakeholder implications. These implications are very complex and interconnected, just as water scarcity is tightly related to water quality. When formulating the water strategy companies break up the water into distinct groups;
greywater; blue water, surface and ground water; and green water, rainwater stored in the soil as soil moisture.
History
Recently a number of high profile events have brought water scarcity into the public eye, in the coming years companies will need to adopt to policies to adapt to water scarcity concerns. Companies will need to react due to increased stakeholder awareness of water scarcity, as its effects continue to grow. The
2000 Cochabamba protests Known as the "Water War" in Bolivia, the government eventually relented and the water supply became publicly distributed again. Other recent projects have brought water issues to the public discourse such as the Three Gorges Dam, Narmada Dam, and Nestle's use of water during the California drought. Due to the increased awareness of water scarcity and quality, water issues have a much greater impact on brand image than they use to.
Methods
The first step in corporate water strategy is often some sort of analytic tool. By using a tool to analyze their water use a corporation can more accurately see where their water-use risks and opportunities lie. Here are several example of the types of analytic tools used:
- WBCSD Water Tool [2]
- Water Footprint [2]
- Life Cycle Assessment [2]
- GEMI Water Tool [2]
- Use of a ‘payback curve’, which evaluates end user returns of any given measure [1]
Current methods that companies are using to regulate their water intake include:
- Baseline groundwater testing
- Wellbore construction
- Flowback fluid reuse
- Recycle and disposal
- Water footprint reduction targets
- Providing safe drinking water for employees, which improves employee morale and productivity
- GWT (Global Water Tool), which identifies corporate water risks and opportunities
Problems
When companies are formulating their water strategy and getting a better idea of water in their supply chain they run into different issues. Some companies may see their problems with water as a result from external factors. Their water strategy may require working within departments or other companies. A lack of harmonization can prevent the problems that need to be solved together from being resolved. Inadequate data can inhibit a company from acting on a particular issue or can cause a company to act in an improper way that the problem requires. Water often requires local approaches, as each watershed a company operates in is different.
Reporting Initiatives and Policy
-
Global Reporting Initiative includes Total Water Withdrawal, Water Sources Significantly Affected by Withdrawal, and Percentage and total volume of water recycled and reused
- G4-EN8-10
-
Carbon Disclosure Project - Water Program
- 573 Companies representing 60 Trillion in assets participate in CDP’s Water Program
- UNEP DTIE
- CEO Water Mandate Secretariat
- UNEP Water Footprint, Neutrality, and Efficiency (WaFNE)
Industry Examples
Encana, a natural gas and oil company based in Canada has been very proactive about their water strategy. They publish a water management strategy that shows their methods for being responsible with the water they use in addition to disclosing the chemicals they put into the ground.
ConocoPhillips is another natural gas and oil company. They too publish a report on water usage with focuses on risk assessment, but are less proactive than Encana at reporting actual chemical discharge data. They also have a Global Water Sustainability Center that researches new technology to more efficiently use and preserve water.
After controversial water quality issues in India, The Coca-Cola Company publishes a water stewardship statement. It includes goals and water usage by type and area. The company focuses on water efficiency with efforts to recycle waste-water and to protect access to watersheds.
PepsiCo, as with the other companies listed publishes a report talking about their water usage. In addition to that using a partnership with a variety of different groups PepsiCo is working to expand access to safe water sources in areas currently lacking them.
References
External links
http://www.2030waterresourcesgroup.com/water_full/Charting_Our_Water_Future_Final.pdf
http://ceowatermandate.org/files/corporate_water_accounting_analysis.pdf