Companies’ water impacts extend far beyond their four walls; they also affect other people, places and ecosystems.
Natural ecosystems hold immense value to society - their degradation has cost trillions in flood damages and biodiversity losses worldwide.
Business leaders can influence positive transformation across three spheres of influence - internal operations, supply chain health and wider basin health.
Understanding the Value of Water Management
As global water supplies become more constrained, ensuring their sustainable management should be at the top of any business’s priority list. Recent CDP disclosure figures demonstrate this risk - US$301 billion of business value stands to be lost as companies neglect their water risks; yet responding to those risks only costs approximately US$55 billion.
Water crises pose more than a business threat; they threaten the delicate ecological, social, and financial ecosystems on which humanity depends. Therefore, businesses must adopt an integrative strategy for mitigating risks related to water in all three of its dimensions: operations, supply chains and overall basin health.
Water sustainability has never been clearer for business, with some leading the way with innovative products and processes to reduce both water use and pollution. Leading examples are L’Oreal’s waterloop factories and Unilever’s no-rinse shampoos; both companies embracing innovative ways of using less water for manufacturing; eliminating hazardous chemicals altogether in manufacturing; as well as CDP reporting companies who have reduced water withdrawals due to these initiatives.
Reduce strategies have proven the most successful, yet they cannot continue using more and more water as demand for it rises. To avoid an impending crisis similar to Cape Town in 2018 when their reserves ran dry, rethinking our relationship with water is necessary in order to remain viable businesses.
To do that, it is crucial that we gain an accurate assessment of what water really means. Trucost’s Water Metric provides businesses with an invaluable way to assess its real cost and make decisions that align with its availability - something which may prove particularly useful when evaluating infrastructure investments, procurement strategies and product portfolios in areas of scarcity.
As such, businesses must take measures that enable them to reuse water they’ve already consumed - preferably near where it was taken from - through techniques such as purification, filtration, distillation, dewatering and dewatering. This practice is known as Reuse; purification filters may also help achieve it as can purified, filtered water supplies for purification purposes and purified wastewater for dewatering and other processes. Recycle can help businesses extract valuable materials such as nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus), precious metals from different water flows such as nitrogen/phosphorus), precious metals from organic matter or gasses including methane that might otherwise go wasted.
The Water-Energy Nexus
Scholars and practitioners alike have shown growing interest in the water-energy nexus over the past several years as an integral component of energy, food production, economic growth and ecological systems. It links energy with water availability while intertwining their interdependencies; further requiring an integrated approach to policy-making and management decisions.
Businesses can play an instrumental role in protecting water ecosystems by identifying and mitigating their water risks, to limit both direct operations as well as wider socioeconomic and environmental ecosystems that depend on it. Water stress can be costly for any company and comes in the form of operational, regulatory, reputational and stakeholder risks; by 2050 two-thirds of companies should be exposed to substantial water risk, and those failing to properly manage such risks will face a competitive disadvantage.
One can employ several strategies to minimize and optimize water consumption, from traditional approaches like “Reduce” and “Reuse” to more complex ones like “Avoid” and “Replace.” Avoid may be effective but remains less widely practiced due to being difficult to implement and require significant changes to business operations; replacing energy sources with alternative ones may be challenging, though.
Nexus provides an unparalleled opportunity for combining energy and water management at the supply-chain level - known as “Integrated Energy-Water Market Operation”. Water use can be tied directly to electricity consumption (such as pumping, heating or cooling) so as to quantify energy intensity of use of both elements and then develop integrated programs designed to optimize power resources while decreasing operating costs.
This research seeks to further this integrated approach by evaluating its current state and identifying areas that require improvement. More specifically, in terms of microscale electricity-water dispatch in MENA region a need and opportunity are identified alongside an optimized program sample integrated electricity-water dispatch.
The Tools and Techniques of Water Conservation
Water conservation is an essential element of any sustainable business strategy, as reducing industrial costs and environmental impact while meeting industry regulations and meeting public perception. Businesses can implement their water conservation initiatives via engineering practices, behavioral practices and demand management measures such as leak detection; eliminating wasteful uses without impacting consumer satisfaction or output; investing in appliances, processes and technologies which require less water input while still satisfying consumer satisfaction or output; treating effluents/wastewater to an appropriate quality for reuse and reallocating freshwater resources to areas of greatest social good.
Efficient water use has quickly become a top business priority, according to poll results at Anglian Water Business’s recent water sustainability conference. Sixty three percent of companies at this event set targets for reducing water usage, as compared with 88% setting energy reduction goals and 71% setting carbon emission reduction goals.
Water sustainability is a complex topic and should be taken into account across supply chains. For instance, water used to manufacture products or services could come from distant locations and groundwater sources, creating regional or global environmental risks that must be carefully managed.
Companies should evaluate their water footprint carefully in light of this complexity and take measures that reduce usage throughout their supply chains. This may involve working with suppliers to encourage them to reduce usage; working on innovative solutions collaboratively; or supporting policy that supports circular solutions.
Nike has taken steps to implement sustainability into their supply chains, working closely with water suppliers to ensure best practice is used. While this can be challenging in terms of introducing new technology and altering production processes, it also opens up possibilities for innovation and collaboration, potentially helping reduce the need for water intensive activities in the first place.
As climates shift and droughts intensify, water conservation becomes an integral component of business strategy. By prioritizing water conservation efforts within their operations, businesses can reduce how much water they use and help relieve local utilities and communities of their burdens. It also prevents non-revenue water loss - when water from the system goes wasted without reaching customers - before being used by customers.
Sustainable Landscaping and Water Savings
Water security isn’t something to address sometime down the line - it is an immediate business concern that impacts all organizations, with special concern being given to those operating in drought-prone regions. Many companies have taken proactive steps towards mitigating water risk through three spheres of influence - direct operations, supply chain and wider basin health.
First step should be identifying and mitigating water losses through metering and leak detection programs; selecting drought resistant plants and soils; decreasing energy use for irrigation (including minimising water heating); optimizing permeable surfaces; and using recycled water in landscaping purposes. These steps could cut water use by 10 percent while saving money and lessening stress on local freshwater supplies.
Demand can be decreased through education and consumer conservation initiatives like rebates for rainwater harvesting cisterns and efficient sprinkler systems that automatically adjust according to weather conditions. Companies can partner with utilities and offer classes in these techniques for employees and local residents; smart water pricing strategies that incentivize water conservation while simultaneously creating revenue can also help meet supply goals.
Finally, advocates can lobby for water-friendly policies and regulations. This may involve advocating for a fair market price for water to both stimulate conservation efforts while providing funding to cover costs associated with providing safe drinking water supplies.
As part of these measures, cities should promote the development of technologies to reduce water use by repurposing or recycling used water and working toward zero waste in all business processes. Furthermore, cities should support policies which encourage renewable energy production from water, thus helping mitigate climate change’s effect on freshwater availability and access.
Water is more than a product or service; it’s the cornerstone of society’s sustainability and prosperity. From manufacturing raw material, delivery services and biodiversity conservation purposes - to providing renewable kinetic and thermal energy sources and habitats. Water plays an essential role in humanity’s well-being.
In Conclusion
Businesses must prioritize water sustainability in their operations, supply chains, and overall basin health to minimize water consumption and optimize water management. This includes rethinking our relationship with water, gaining an accurate assessment of what water really means, and taking measures that enable businesses to reuse water they’ve already consumed. By prioritizing water conservation efforts, businesses can reduce their environmental impact while contributing to the overall health and wellbeing of the planet.
Businesses should take a proactive approach to sustainable water management in order to ensure a healthy future for both themselves and the planet. This involves understanding the value of water management, evaluating their water footprint carefully, and working with their suppliers and local communities to create innovative solutions that help reduce the need for water-intensive activities. By doing so, businesses can reduce the amount of water they use, relieve local utilities and communities of their burdens, and enhance their reputation and financial performance.