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Written by Alison Smith
Almost three billion people already live in areas where water is in short supply, and the OECD predicts that this is likely to increase to four billion by 2030 if no new policies are introduced.
Developing countries will be hardest hit - 63% of the combined population of
Businesses and investors are waking up to the threats posed by water shortages. A survey of 300 of the world’s largest companies by the Carbon Disclosure Project, to which around half responded, found that almost 90% of the respondents already had policies in place to address water related issues. Almost 40% were already experiencing problems including increased water prices, disrupted operations due to drought or flooding, declining water quality making expensive pre-treatment necessary, and fines or lawsuits from water pollution incidents.
As if to ram the point home, there was no shortage of water-related crises hitting the news in 2010, which saw drought in the
Food and drink businesses are amongst those most affected – 71% of world water use is for agriculture. Some are already looking urgently at the problem. The 2030 Water Resources Group, a business consortium including Coca-cola,
Forward-looking companies are already tackling their water-related threats. Water usage is increasingly reported alongside energy use and carbon emissions, and many software vendors are now adding water (and waste) features to their carbon management tools. In many ways, carbon and water are interconnected issues. Water threats will be exacerbated by climate change, as droughts and floods become more frequent and glacial melt-water supplies diminish. And water shortages in turn could create additional carbon emissions as more fossil fuels are needed to pump, desalinate and treat water.
But there is a key difference between water and carbon. Not all water is equal. It makes little difference where in the world greenhouse gases are released, but the impact of water consumption varies enormously with location, depending on weather patterns, population density, agricultural demand and surface and groundwater supply constraints. Water footprinting differs from carbon footprinting in that it is not sufficient to simply report a company’s total water usage – this must be related to the local impact of water use. Water used in a region with plentiful supply will have far less impact than that used in a drought-prone area, for example.
On top of this, water footprinters must cope with the differences between water “consumption” and water “borrowing”, in which cleaned water is released back into rivers or the sea. Not to mention the distinction between “blue”, “green” or “grey” water. Blue water is the amount extracted from surface water or aquifers; green water is rainfall stored in the soil which can evaporate or be taken up by growing crops, and grey water is the amount of surface water needed to dilute pollutant discharges to acceptable levels.
To try to clarify these complex issues, the ISO is currently working on a standard for life cycle water footprinting within the ISO 14000 environmental management series, which will probably be available by 2012. In the meantime, a number of useful free tools are available. These include:
The Environment Tools Directory, a collection of the best water software tools available with comments and reviews from previous users.
The Water Footprint Network has a useful manual recommending a consistent methodology that can be used to report corporate water footprints.
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)has produced a Global Water Tool.
The Global Environmental Management Institute (GEMI), a consortium of mostly North American companies, has issued a Water Sustainability Planner.
The UN CEO Water Mandate lists a number of useful resources including a report on Corporate Water Accounting which assesses all the available water management tools including those listed above.
The Carbon Disclosure Project has launched the Water Disclosure Project to compile a repository of data on corporate water use and encourage companies to assess the threats and opportunities related to water management.
The Guardian Sustainable Business website has a water hub containing useful articles and case studies.
In addition, a “Water Stewardship” initiative is aiming to develop certification and standards to encourage responsible corporate water strategies.
So where are the opportunities for saving water? Globally, only 5% of the water we consume is used by households for washing, cooking and drinking – the remaining 95% is used to produce food and industrial goods. It takes 16,000 litres of water to produce a kilogram of beef, 11,000 litres for a kilo of cotton, 3,900 litres for a kilo of chicken meat and 700 litres for a kilo of apples. In fact, it has been estimated that on average it takes a litre of water to produce a single calorie of food. This “embedded” water is of course exported around the world. A study based on 2001 data estimated that the
Companies are naturally looking at initiatives to reduce their water use and decrease pollution through efficiency improvements, cleaner production methods and better water treatment. But the high amount of water embedded into products means that, as with carbon, attention is rapidly turning to the supply chain. Companies in every manufacturing sector are likely to face increasing demands for data on their water usage, and evidence that they have strategies to manage water more sustainably.
The energy sector is also vulnerable to water scarcity pressures. In
Perhaps the most controversial aspect of water policy is the question of water pricing. Historically, water was viewed as a free good, although consumers in most countries now pay for their water. But privatisation of water supplies in poor countries has led to concern that many people have been priced out of the market for this essential resource. Acknowledging this, the UN General Assembly declared in July 2010 that water and sanitation are human rights. The challenge for policy makers will be to reconcile the fundamental right of all people to adequate clean water supplies with the urgent need to restrict water use to sustainable levels. Could we see tradeable water quotas on the table alongside carbon or energy quotas in future years?
Written by Alison Smith