Publications by Tag: Water
Blog
In the Spotlight: Wastewater in China’s Textile Industry
Andy Chen, Associate, Advisory Services
With the rapid growth of China’s economy, textile exports tally about US$212 billion, accounting for 34 percent of total market share. Accompanying this development is (quite literally) an unwanted byproduct: wastewater—approximately 2.5 billion tons annually, according to one report. Read more
A Sustainability Compass for Ocean Issues
Laura Ediger, Environmental Manager
Last week at the Economist World Oceans Summit in Singapore, it was widely noted that oceans don’t get much attention, perhaps in part because we humans are (now) a highly terrestrial species. But the topics were clearly relevant to the humans in attendance, who ranged from representatives of conservation NGOs, to leaders of small island states, to people from companies like Google, Tiffany & Co, Shangri-La Hotels, and Electrolux, and ocean-oriented businesses such as Maersk Line, APL, Norpac, and China Fishery Group. Read more
In Your Words: Ocean Conservancy President and CEO Vikki Spruill on Leadership
Vikki Spruill, President and CEO, Ocean Conservancy
This guest blog is part of BSR's ongoing series exploring what leadership for sustainability looks like in today's world.
Water, Water, Nowhere?
Linda Hwang, Manager, Research
It’s impossible to read the news these days without coming across an article about water scarcity: Read more
One Vision of China’s Water Scarcity [Photo]
Mark Little, Director, Health Care, Advisory Services
A provocative image by Shanghai artist Zhao Xian Feng, who exhibits dozens of works with water scarcity as the central theme. Throughout China, he says, water scarcity is a looming issue—one tied to the country's enormous population boom. Read more
Debating the Future of Sustainability at the IFC
Julia Nelson, Manager, Advisory Services
This week marks the close of the third and final public consultation period for the review of the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) Sustainability Framework. The policies, standards, and guidance notes in the Framework set expectations on social and environmental performance for the financial institutions and companies who receive funds from the IFC (the private sector investment arm of the World Bank Group). Read more
Out of Africa: Water Access & Safety [Photo]
Wei Dong Zhou, Vice President, Broad Group
I just returned from the China-Africa Enterprise Development and Ecocomic Transformation conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. While there, I visited a village about 50 kilometers from the center city to understand local living condition and, in particular, water access and safety. Water access is big issue for most Africa countries, especially in rural areas. Outside the capital of Addis Ababa, each family has access to water only once a day. In addition, the water quality needs to improve significantly since there is no basic canal sanitization system. Read more
Water as a Human Right: Good for Business
Faris Natour, Director, Human Rights
On Wednesday, the UN General Assembly declared that access to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation is a human right. While not directly legally binding, this step will end the longstanding debate about the status of water as a human right. With almost 900 million people worldwide without access to clean water this long-overdue declaration reflects the importance of water as a sustainability challenge. It is also good news for business. Read more
Water Numbers for Real People
Linda Hwang, Manager, Research
In preparation for my participation in a water scarcity risks and footprints conference in San Francisco this week, I’ve been thinking about the data that bring life to corporate water footprints. These footprints typically include a company’s water usage and wastewater discharges throughout a value chain, and allow companies to effectively account for water use and impacts. However, collecting meaningful water-related information is difficult at best, and today there is no clear guidance on what information should be collected, especially when it comes to a company’s supply chain. Read more
Provide Access to Water and Sanitation? That’s the Easy Part
Linda Hwang, Manager, Research
How much water does it take to make development happen? Read more
The Glass is Filling Up
Linda Hwang, Manager, Research
As a member of BSR’s Research & Innovation team—which frequently considers the business implications of environmental and human rights issues (as well as the intersection of the two)—I have found the ongoing debate between Fiji Water and the U.S. investigative magazine Mother Jones to be an exciting conversation. Read more
What’s in a Label? Gap’s New Clean Water Wash Messaging
Stop by any Gap Inc. store this month, and you’ll come across their new jean line—the “1969 Premium Jean”—a brand touted as “born to fit.” While these new jeans are marketed to fit and feel better, there is something extra special about this denim line: Turn the jeans inside out and you will see on the inside pocket a new “Clean Water Wash” label including a message stating that the water used to wash and dye the jeans was treated to meet safety and quality standards before being returned to the environment. Read more
Field Notes: No, Not “That” Crisis!
Linda Hwang, Manager, Research
It’s been raining all day here in Istanbul on this fourth day of the 5th World Water Forum. As I dodge puddles and armed security, I keep thinking about the poor timing of this rain. Not because I—along with 20,000 other Forum participants—am getting soaked, but because rain never seems to fall where or when we need it. And where it does fall, we get too much all at once and then can’t use it. Read more
BSR Conference Session Summaries
The Power of Clean Air and Water: What If Your Employees Are Divided About Climate Change?
BSR Conference 2011
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In Conversation With Bea Perez, VP and Chief Sustainability Officer, The Coca-Cola Company
BSR Conference 2011
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Global Water Crisis Solutions: Moving From Charity to Catalytic Philanthropy
BSR Conference 2011
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From Conservation to Restoration: How Investing in Water Can Deliver Concrete Business Value
BSR Conference 2011
Read moreBSR Insight Articles
What’s the True Value of Water?
Linda Hwang, Manager, Research
Two thousand years before Adam Smith compared water and diamonds to differentiate between two separate meanings of “value,” Plato observed: “Only what is rare is valuable, and water, which is the best of all things … is also the cheapest.” Both were expressing that the market price of an item does not reflect its true value. Market price reflects the fluctuating circumstances of daily life, whether the vagaries of supply or demand, while the true value is something more basic, enduring, and stable. Read more
Report Calls on Global Apparel Companies to Address Water Pollution in China
Five environmental organizations—including China’s Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, founded by Ma Jun, who was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize on Monday—sent letters to the CEOs of 48 apparel companies, calling on them to address wastewater pollution and the inefficient use of water in their Chinese supply chains. Read more
Scaling Up Payments for Watershed Services
Linda Hwang, Manager, Research
Watershed Connect, a new online platform by Forest Trends and Ecosystem Marketplace, helps water managers, policymakers, and other stakeholders involved in investing in watersheds share information and resources to help solve the global water crisis. Read more
KPMG Report Picks 10 Sustainability ‘Megaforces’
Population growth, material resource scarcity, climate change, and energy and fuel are among the issues in sustainability that could have significant impact on the business landscape over the next 20 years, according to a recent report by KPMG International. Read more
New Water Risk Tool Helps Companies Get Local, Strategic
During last week’s Sustainability Matters webinar, BSR Manager Ryan Flaherty and Betsy Otto, director of the World Resources Institute’s (WRI) Aqueduct Program, discussed how companies can develop corporate water strategies using WRI’s new water-management tool. Read more
Business: Blue and Green
By Michael Sutton, Vice President, Center for the Future of the Oceans, Monterey Bay Aquarium
Tomorrow, the Economist’s World Ocean Summit in Singapore will highlight for an audience of global business leaders the latest concerns about threats to our oceans, and how business activities are impacting this ecosystem. While all of us can play a role in caring for our ocean resources, perhaps the only force powerful enough to reverse the decline of our global environment is commerce itself. Read more
Business’ Role in Ocean ‘Custodianship’
BSR President and CEO Aron Cramer will lead a discussion on how companies can be “custodians” of the oceans at the Economist’s World Oceans Summit in Singapore later this week. Read more
Using Water-Risk Information for Greater Impact
Ryan Flaherty, Manager, Advisory Services
Business continuity depends on access to clean water, a resource that is in higher demand as scarcity increases, quality declines, and distribution remains unequal around the world. As more companies recognize their dependence on clean water, they are turning to different tools to assess risks and provide context for their direct operations and supply chains. Read more
The New Reality of Water in China: Informed Activism and No Guarantees
Laura Ediger, Environmental Manager; Ryan Flaherty, Manager, Advisory Services
While the carbon dioxide emissions of China’s manufacturers may receive international attention, water pollution and scarcity hit much closer to home. Local governments, communities, and consumers in China are putting more pressure on factories to clean up their waste streams and use less water. Read more
WEF Report Reveals Top Global Risks
Elissa Goldenberg, Associate, Advisory Services
Based on a survey of 469 experts from industry, government, academia, and civil society, the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) new “Global Risks 2012” report examines 50 global risks across five categories: economic, environmental, geopolitical, societal, and technological. Read more
New Tool Helps Companies, Investors Assess Water-Related Risks
The Ceres Aqua Gauge, an Excel-based tool to help companies and investors assess water-related risks and opportunities, allows investors to score a company's water-management activities using a four-tiered rating system: no action, initial steps, advanced progress, and leading practice. Read more
Re-Scaling for the New Local
Linda Hwang, Manager, Research
In the next decade, rapidly growing urban regions will need redesigned infrastructure, goods, and services to match peoples’ needs and work within planetary constraints. New efforts to track well-being and happiness, ecological systems under stress, and community and culture shocks like forced water restrictions and food-safety scares are driving people to pursue more resilient solutions such as low-impact housing, off-grid water and energy, seed-sharing programs, and community-supported agriculture. Read more
Water in an Urbanizing World
The World Wildlife Fund’s new report explores the implications of rapid urbanization on water supply and availability. The report analyzes issues such as water scarcity, decreasing quality and pollution, overuse, and salt-water intrusion, as well as infrastructural, institutional, and social challenges in Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Nairobi, Karachi, Kolkata, and Shanghai. Read more
The Long Journey of Corporate Water Stewardship
Water has become a key strategic issue for global companies: 39 percent of companies are already experiencing detrimental impacts related to water issues, according to the CDP Water Disclosure’s first report. As more companies assess their water-related risk, they’re recognizing that corporate water stewardship entails much more than conservation and efficiency. Read more
Increasing Costs, Water Scarcity Top Business’ Climate Change Concerns
According to a recent report by the Global Compact, UN Environment Programme, Oxfam, and World Resources Institute, water scarcity and the increasing costs of raw materials and natural resources are business’ two greatest concerns about climate change risks. As the report notes, climate change impacts—including rising temperatures, floods, and extreme weather events—present a variety of risks to companies’ operations and value chains, including: Read more
Social Impact Assessments Help Companies Manage Risks and Opportunities
Alison Colwell, Manager, Advisory Services
With growing stakeholder expectations and increasingly complex operating environments, leading companies recognize the need for a more comprehensive approach to understanding and managing project risks and opportunities that moves beyond regulatory requirements. Social impact assessments (SIA)—the process of analyzing, monitoring, and managing social issues such as resettlement and access to water—can help companies reduce risks, enhance operational decision-making, improve stakeholder relations, maximize community benefits, and secure a company’s license to operate. Read more
The Human Face of Water-Related Risk Assessments
Linda Hwang, Manager, Research
At the CEO Water Mandate meeting in Copenhagen last week—which focused on corporate water disclosure—one participant reminded us of the connections between water, healthy populations, and corporate performance. Despite the growing number of tools to help investors and companies assess water-related risks, companies will miss a critical factor when evaluating their long-term risks if the tools do not link physical-, regulatory-, and reputational-risk frameworks to people’s ability to participate in the growth of healthy economies. Read more
Water as an Unequal Human Right
A recent posting on Visualizing.org—a creative community that provides graphical representations of data on complex issues—looks at the differences in how "consuming" countries and developing countries use water and are affected by the lack of clean water. The visual representation—created by Tuduyen Nguyen and Cameron Reynolds-Flatt—was created to encourage people to conserve water resources by pointing out facts such as the number of bottles of water consumed each year in the United States and the percentage of the world’s population that lives without basic sanitation. Read more
Coca-Cola Announces US$6 Million Investment in Clean Water Programs
According to the World Health Organization, African women and children spend up to 40 billion hours per year collecting water. Because they often travel long distances to retrieve clean water, women frequently resort to using unsafe water sources, putting themselves and their families at risk of life-threatening diseases. Read more
Understanding and Managing Water-Related Risks
Linda Hwang, Manager, Research
Last week, visualizing.org and Circle of Blue opened their World Water Day data visualization challenge, calling on designers and data experts to create visualizations on the topic of urban water issues. The challenge highlights the difficulty shared by many sectors in presenting the complexity of water issues in simple, easy-to-understand ways. For companies, the challenge is compounded by the need to present information on different types of water-related risks for multiple locations and to a variety of audiences. Read more
The Business Case for Water
Linda Hwang, Manager, Research
Last week, BSR and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development co-hosted a forum in Washington, D.C. on corporate water strategies. JPMorgan Chase's James Fuschetti delivered the event's keynote address on the business case for investing time and resources into activities linked to water stewardship. He noted that having a clear understanding of the physical water risks for global facilities and meeting local stakeholders' expectations for water use are just two benefits of a proactive water strategy. Read more
State of Green Business 2011
GreenBiz's fourth annual "State of Green Business" report presents the top 10 trends and 20 indices for measuring how well companies are improving their environmental performance. According to the report, green business did not die during the recession; rather, companies are diving deeper and investing in longer-term sustainability initiatives. Read more
Companies Report on Water-Related Risks and Opportunities
The Carbon Disclosure Project's (CDP) latest report summarizes the results of its first annual water disclosure questionnaire that was distributed to 302 of the world’s 500 largest companies in the FTSE Global Equity Index Series. The survey asked companies for information about their water strategies and management plans, water-related risks and opportunities, and water use within the context of local scarcity or abundance. Read more
Mitigating Water Pollution Risks in Electronics Supply Chains in China
BSR's new report, "Electronics Supply Networks and Water Pollution in China</a>" provides global electronics companies with context for China's water challenges, discusses results of a supplier risk assessment conducted on behalf of Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC) member companies, and presents recommendations and resources for identifying water pollution risks in the global electronics supply chain. Read more
Water in the 21st Century: Shared Risks Demand Shared Action
By Gavin Power, Deputy Director, UN Global Compact, and Jason Morrison, Program Director, Pacific Institute
Today, people around the world identify water issues as the most serious sustainability challenges facing our planet. Read more
Experts Rate Top Sustainable Development Challenges
Globescan and SustainAbility's "Sustainability Survey 2010" polled approximately 1,200 sustainability experts globally from the corporate, government, academic/research, and service sectors on critical sustainability issues, climate change, and what is required to be a sustainability leader. Read more
Business Considers Broader Impacts of Sustainable Water Management
Linda Hwang, Manager, Research
At the fifth working conference of the CEO Water Mandate last week, representatives from business, NGOs, the investment community, and water research organizations discussed emerging corporate water accounting methods and tools, and identified those that would benefit from more company field testing. While the accounting tools—such as the Water Footprint Network's Decision Support System—are still in early development stages, it is clear that many companies now have a broader understanding of their role in sustainable water management. Read more
Nestlé Waters’ Design for Communities: Reorienting From Water to People
Julia Nelson, Manager, Advisory Services; Linda Hwang, Manager, Research
When we work with companies to integrate sustainability into their operations, we usually provide actionable advice that corporate managers can put into practice the very next day. Yet, in some ways, focusing on the tactics means losing sight of the “lived experience” of the individuals who are trying to envision and advocate for a new way of doing business. Indeed, achieving sustainability is a cultural transformation that reshapes the way corporate managers think about their daily responsibilities. Read more
New Web Portal Helps Investors and Businesses Understand China’s Water Crisis
The Asia Water Project (AWP) is a collaborative web portal that provides investors and businesses with information on China's growing water crisis, which is thought to be responsible for direct economic losses of US$35 billion every year. Read more
A Commitment to Communities: Case Study of Nestlé Waters North America’s Water-Siting Plan
Julia Nelson, Manager, Advisory Services; Linda Hwang, Manager, Research
In a northeastern U.S. town of about 1,000 people, at the first public hearing to discuss Nestlé Waters North America’s (NWNA) interest in bottling water from a local spring, the company listened as citizens outlined their primary concerns about the project: increased costs to the town, negative impacts to residents, and feuds among neighbors. Read more
Reducing Water Pollution in China and Beyond
At a recent Nanjing University workshop on how to reduce water pollution in China's Yangtze River Delta, BSR joined researchers, NGOs, and government to provide insights on what business can do to address water pollution in their supply chains. There are several opportunities: Read more
New Report Urges Policymakers to Protect Ecosystems
Linda Hwang, Manager, Research
According to a new report from The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) initiative, policymakers can increase economic returns, jobs, and livelihoods by investing in ecological infrastructure; integrating ecosystem services values into price signals; and creating adequate institutions, regulatory frameworks, and financing opportunities to protect ecosystems. Read more
Business Leadership Needed for Sustainable Water Solutions
Speaking last week at a conference on worldwide industrial and urban challenges for sustainable water management, Professor Jeffrey Sachs, director of Columbia University's Earth Institute, emphasized the need for business to work with scientists and civil society to find solutions for the world's global water challenges. Read more
The State of Sustainable Business
For a snapshot on the state of sustainable business, take a look at our brief report from the BSR/GlobeScan survey of nearly 300 business leaders at the BSR Conference 2009. Highlights include: Read more
Sustainable Business Models: Time for Innovation
Imagine that when you buy a pair of jeans you’re offered an agreement to sign before you pay: “I hereby promise to cold-wash, line-dry this clothing item, and own it for at least three years or ensure it is given away for someone else to enjoy.” When you sign, you are rewarded instantly with a coupon for cash back. The rebate is the estimated financial value of the carbon-dioxide emissions you save by avoiding hot-water washing, and by machine drying your jeans over the lifespan of the item. The clothing company is able to provide this discount by aggregating its consumers’ carbon credits and selling them on the open market. This model provides financial incentives for both the clothing company and the consumer to alter behavior. Read more
Another Year, Another Drought: Water Scarcity in China’s Manufacturing Zone
Reports that 50,000 people in southern China (and at least a million more in the western and central regions) are suffering from a severe drought underscores a perennial question about the impact of water shortages in the country: How can companies with supply chains and manufacturing in China reconcile the water needs of their business with competing demands from industry, agriculture, and local residents? Read more
Hero for Troubled Waters: A Q&A with Sylvia Earle
Interview with Sylvia Earle by Eva Dienel, Communications Manager, BSR
The ringtone for renowned ocean explorer Sylvia Earle’s royal blue mobile phone is the hollow ping of a sonar device, a constant but unnecessary reminder to its owner that the world is mostly ocean, what Earle calls our planet’s “life-support system.” Earle, a 2009 TED Prize winner who will be speaking at the BSR Conference 2009, recently sat down to talk with us about her new book, The World Is Blue (released today by National Geographic Books), and why business should put nature—and especially the world’s water resources—on the balance sheet. Read more
Behind Gap’s New Label
Linda Hwang, Manager, Research
As a member of BSR's Sustainable Water Group (SWG), Gap Inc. has spent the last five years creating and evolving its Clean Water Program for its denim laundries worldwide. Last week, the company’s Gap brand launched its new denim collection—1969 Premium Jeans—which, for the first time, features a "Clean Water Wash" label indicating that the water used to wash and dye the jeans was treated to meet safety and quality standards before leaving the denim laundry. Read more
New Resources from World Water Week
This year's World Water Week—taking place right now in Stockholm—has brought forth many useful resources related to the event's theme, "Responding to Global Changes: Accessing Water for the Common Good." Described below are three of the best. Read more
As the CEO Water Mandate prepares for its fourth working conference as part of World Water Week i
This year's World Water Week—taking place right now in Stockholm—has brought forth many useful resources related to the event's theme, "Responding to Global Changes: Accessing Water for the Common Good." Described below are three of the best. Read more
Responsible Engagement on Water Policy
By Gavin Power, Deputy Director, UN Global Compact
As the CEO Water Mandate prepares for its fourth working conference as part of World Water Week in Stockholm this week, we believe it is important to reflect on the broader context in which water resides—specifically, its role as a global security issue, and its relation to other critical environmental and social issues. Read more
Corporate Engagement with Public Water Policy
As water resources become more stressed, the ecological, economic, and social risks increase, requiring a shift from technical solutions to integrated, multidisciplinary, stakeholder approaches, as illustrated in the chart above, moving from the bottom left to the upper right quadrant. Companies operating in complex environments are beginning to engage public policy processes to communicate their interests in stability and cooperation, rather than compete over a resource that is becoming scarcer over time. Read more
Events
BSR Conference 2011: Leadership Required
Leadership in business is changing fast. In today’s global, integrated, and transparent world, business is expected to do more than deliver shareholder returns. At its best, business is a creative force and an integral player in delivering prosperity for 9 billion people, applying game-changing technologies for social benefit, and radically reducing our use of natural resources. Learn more
Webinar: Payments for Ecosystem Services in Agriculture
There is divergence of opinion about how we can feed 9 billion people adequately by 2050 while conserving natural resources, securing food supply, and bolstering rural incomes. Increasingly, attention is focusing on viable economic models which:
- Pay farmers to preserve agricultural biodiversity
- Help efforts to mitigate/adapt to climate change
- Protect watersheds
- Alleviate rural poverty
The Business Case for Corporate Water Stewardship
Water has become a key strategic issue for leading global companies: 39 percent of companies are already experiencing detrimental impacts related to water issues, according to the CDP Water Disclosure’s first report. To prepare for increased water scarcity and growing consumption needs, water must be tracked, assessed, reduced, and reused. Companies today must understand their water footprints and develop an appropriate set of responses that address water-related risks within their direct operations as well as in their supply chains and in the watersheds in which they operate. Learn more
The Business Case for Sustainable Water Management
Join BSR and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) for a panel discussion with leading companies to explore how they are building strategies—ranging from technical to financial—to manage the external impacts of water use on local watersheds and communities.
Learn moreReports
Electronics Supply Networks and Water Pollution in China: Understanding and Mitigating Potential Impacts
Electronics manufacturing has become an important economic contributor to China’s success, but its rapid growth has come with environmental costs as well, including negative impacts on water quality. Read more
Electronics Supply Networks and Water Pollution in China: Understanding and Mitigating Potential Impacts
Electronics manufacturing has become an important economic contributor to China’s success, but its rapid growth has come with environmental costs as well, including negative impacts on water quality. As governmental enforcement of wastewater standards improves, along with public awareness and civil society engagement on environmental issues, global companies have a growing need to effectively understand and mitigate potential risks. For this study, BSR worked with the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (EICC) to better understand the environmental performance of a sample of China-based suppliers to EICC members in relation to wastewater management. Read more
Investing in Women for a Better World
Our 2010 report on HERproject confirms that our factory-based women's health initiative has provided positive benefits for women and business. The report summarizes the impacts of HERproject programs to date, which have touched approximately 50,000 women in China, Egypt, India, Mexico, Pakistan, and Vietnam. Read more
Sustainable Business Models: Time for Innovation
Business leaders face not only the economic fallout of the financial crisis, they face the substantial challenge of transitioning to a low-carbon economy that is constrained by dwindling natural resources. These pressures also represent opportunities to innovate new business models—including ones that help consumers make sustainable choices. Read about four categories of innovation that, with more development and experimentation, will ensure business success in a reset world. Read more
Water Quality and Environmental Health in Southern China
The Pearl River Delta in southern China combines abundant freshwater resources and high population density with one of the most intensive export manufacturing zones in the world. The rapid development of the area over the last 20 years has created a similar boom in water pollution discharge, which provincial environmental protection officials have been scrambling to contain. Read more
Measuring Corporate Impact on Ecosystems: A Comprehensive Review of New Tools
Learn how to integrate new ecosystem services into your corporate planning and daily decision-making. This report on ecosystem services—the collective benefits provided by a community of animals and plants interacting with one another and with their physical environment, such as clean water and pollination of plants—allows you to compare the various tools that measure and assess the value of ecosystem services. Read more
Word from the Street: Water
This brief includes a set of guidelines, described in the Water & Finance Workstream of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Finance Initiative publication “Half Full or Half Empty?”, which companies can use to evaluate their level of risk exposure to water constraints in order to respond to the growing community of investors and financiers who are including water criteria in their investment decisions. Read more
Water Management in China's Apparel and Textile Factories
This report summarizes the activities and findings of the first phase of the Water Quality Initiative in China. A joint effort by Business for Social Responsibility and the Center for Water Research at Peking University, the Initiative has two expected outcomes: 1) improvements in water quality management and water use in apparel factories (textile manufacturers, dye houses and laundries/washing facilities); and 2) decreased water risk in the China-based supply chains for global apparel companies and retailers. Read more
Beyond Compliance: Assessing Water Management Practices and Opportunities in Chinese Apparel Factories
Drinking It In: The Evolution of a Global Water Stewardship Program at The Coca-Cola Company
This report explores the role of the private sector in responsible management of global water resources by providing an overview of the development and implementation of The Coca-Cola Company’s (TCCC) global water stewardship program. By summarizing the journey of TCCC over five years, this report aims to demonstrate how companies can be proactively involved in water management along their supply chains and within the walls of their own facilities. This report profiles one company’s experience in advancing an integrated water strategy throughout its global operations and across the many networks in which it participates. It provides a brief review of the parameters of TCCC’s commitments and highlights the complexity of true water stewardship. Read more
The New Markets for Environmental Services: A Corporate Manager's Resource Guide to Trading in Air, Climate, Water and Biodiversity Assets
The natural environment provides society with essential services—such as clean air and reliable flows of clean water—which are increasingly being valued in financial terms. Environmental markets— some regulatory and others voluntary—are now trading credits as well as derivatives. Regulatory environmental markets are operating in Europe, the U.S., Australia and other countries around the world. Voluntary markets and business-to-business “payments for environmental services” (PES) deals are also underway, in both industrialized and developing countries. These markets and transactions are sending price signals about environmental values. The result is that businesses can place a financial value not only on environmental compliance, but also increasingly on voluntary actions. Read more
Environmental Markets, Executive Briefing
A shift is occurring in how environmental issues are understood and what corporate environmental expectations exist. The current focus on incremental improvements and discrete issues is becoming outmoded. Key regulators’ and stakeholders’ approaches to environmental issues are broadening to include the overall function of ecological systems as well as the application of market-based of incentives for environmental performance. Read more
A Glimpse into the Future: A Survey of Food and Agriculture Industry Key Trends
This report reviews some of the key CSR trends emerging for the industry in the coming three to five years and point to implications for company practices. Read more
At the Crest of a Wave: A Proactive Approach to Corporate Water Strategy
Dipping Their Toes In
Some see carbon as merely the first of a whole range of markets for ecosystem services. But, as Sissel Waage and Emma Stewart found, the corporate world is approaching with caution Read more
Environmental Markets: Opportunities & Risks for Business
A shift is occurring in how environmental issues are understood and what corporate environmental expectations exist. The current focus on incremental improvements and discrete issues is becoming outmoded. Key regulators’ and stakeholders’ approaches to environmental issues are broadening to include the overall function of ecological systems as well as the application of market-based of incentives for environmental performance. Read more
Sustainable Investment in China Articles
Impacts of Water in China for Investors
BSR has a long-standing focus on supporting company efforts to reduce their impacts on water quality and availability. Recently, many investors have started considering how water shortages might affect business, and how companies should mitigate their impacts. We spoke with BSR’s Laura Ediger to learn more about water trends and their implications for investors. Read more
Case Studies Report
Driving Innovation Through Partnerships
Since BSR’s founding, we have been strongly committed to achieving our mission through powerful partnerships. BSR’s Partnership Development team is dedicated to catalyzing collaboration between business and social and environmental innovators in the public and nonprofit sectors to make progress on systemic sustainable development challenges. Learn more
Cleaning Up Industrial Water Pollution in Southern China
In industrial regions of southern China, water pollution is an increasingly serious problem. According to the Nanfang Daily, 12.62 billion tons of polluted materials and 8.3 billion tons of wastewater were discharged into the waters off Guangdong in 2007—up 60 percent from five years ago. Perhaps most distressing, according to Guangdong officials, more than 40 percent of the province’s rural people do not have access to safe drinking water. Learn more
Sustainability Matters
Emerging Trends in Corporate Water Stewardship
In this webinar, learn how the Bonneville Environmental Foundation's Water Restoration Certificates program creates a framework for companies to both shrink their water footprints and restore freshwater ecosystems. Learn more
BSR Review
Water and Business: Opportunities in Stewardship
Although we live on a water-covered planet, only 1 percent of the world’s water is available for human use—the rest is locked away in oceans, ice, and the atmosphere. And yet this 1 percent must help feed, clothe, and provide energy for 7 billion people. Our challenge is clear: How can we stretch our shrinking supply of water to satisfy the needs of the additional 2 billion people who will join the planet by 2050? View email publication
Other Publications & Events Tagged, Water
- Blog [ 13 ]
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- BSR Insight Articles [ 42 ]
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- Case Studies [ 1 ]
- Events [ 4 ]
- Research Reports [ 17 ]
- Sustainable Investment in China Article [ 1 ]
- Sustainability Matters [ 1 ]
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