Water stewardship surfaces as a top concern among sustainability professionals

Responsible water management has emerged as a leading concern among sustainability managers. 52% of sustainability professionals surveyed already list water stewardship as one of their company’s top 5 responsible business issues, while 99% believe that water concerns will become more of a priority for businesses in the next 5-10 years.

Ethical Corporation’s brand new report, Unlocking the Profit in Water Savings, 2nd Edition, explores how big companies manage water risk – and the business opportunities in doing so.

Many companies have made significant progress in their water management strategies. Since the first edition of this report in 2008, mainly more clear lessons and twice as many solid case studies have surfaced.

Several companies interviewed, such as Rio Tinto, now have ten years of experience to draw from.

Like carbon, the initial approach to water stewardship focuses on reduction. Efficiency and simple monitoring technologies provide quick wins, often realising a return on investment within one year.



Unlike carbon, corporate water management engulfs a host of direct social, economic and environmental risks. Degradation of community access, treatment and sanitation, ecosystems, scarcity and licenses to operate have become realities for many of the sustainability managers interviewed and surveyed.

A company’s water strategy depends on the specific risks and local issues confronting its operations, and determines where to focus its activities.



For more information:

Read about water management strategies from Whitbread, M&S, Unilever, Shell, SAB Miller, Coca-Cola, Molson Coors, Intel, Rio Tinto, and many more. Visit the report web page.

Listen to a podcast on one of our case studies. Toby Webb interviews Andrew Wales about water management at SAB Miller.