subject: Any Company That Minds A Corporate Water Strategy Is A Cut Above The Rest [print this page] Within an overall goal of sustainability, the management of water often falls far down the pecking order. Simply, companies can often not see past the need to constrain their carbon emissions. There is little wonder, as so much emphasis has been placed on the establishment of a carbon footprint that this term is very much a household word these days. Smart companies are coming to understand that they cannot be sustainable until and unless they pay attention to the management of all their resources.
Companies may not be able to understand the risks they face, nor the opportunities that are available to them, associated with your consumption of water unless they create a footprint to cover this issue as well. A water footprint will investigate how the company uses water currently and how it discharges wastewater as a consequence of doing business. There are many risks associated with the use or discharge of water and the company must be able to assess these risks as part of its total strategy.
Within an overall goal of sustainability, the management of water often falls far down the pecking order. Simply, companies can often not see past the need to constrain their carbon emissions. There is little wonder, as so much emphasis has been placed on the establishment of a carbon footprint that this term is very much a household word these days. The forward thinking companies are now able to understand that sustainability will not be achieved unless attention is focused on the management of all resources that they use in their daily operations.
As we have come to understand that carbon emissions can be generated throughout a product lifecycle, so we need to understand that our water usage liabilities extend beyond the "four walls" of the business. A corporate water strategy must investigate supply chains downstream and disposal upstream. Management may find that, because they have a lot of water embedded within their product, or a considerable amount of wastewater, that they have a much more complex analysis to perform than they might initially have thought.
Because water is such a finite resource and because we are all entirely dependent on its sustainability, a company faces particular threats and challenges over and above strict financial ones. In the entire process of assessing its performance in the sustainability agenda, an organization needs to evaluate how the other players would rely on the same water sources that it has, which can certainly have impacts to the sustainability of its water supply, and thus needs to be seriously tackled in the boardroom.
It is far better for a company to develop its corporate water strategy to exceed those of any regional or national legislative body. Any smarter organization needs to know better than the rest by making sure to develop a corporate water strategy that will help enhance its reputation the way carbon emissions mitigation helps achieve its social responsibility goals.
Like how it is shown in the recent public announcements from Wal-Mart and other organizations, suppliers' operations become subject to the scrutiny of the organization that buys from them. Packaging materials are a particular focus of concern and the company must clearly assess any water related impacts associated with the packaging used to deliver raw materials and work in progress to the production line.
Since sustainability is a relatively new agenda for most organizations, it is difficult for these companies to be convinced that they also need to take responsibility in cascading sustainability initiatives to their respective supply chain. It is highly probable that this area could represent the highest savings potential among all energy, emissions and water resource use.
If a company uses a large amount of water during the production of its goods, the size of its water footprint could be of cause for major concern. In short order, executives must initiate a procedure to investigate any and all ways of mitigating water usage on a daily basis and ensure that the corporate water strategy is as strong as its emissions strategy.
by: Daniel Stouffer
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