More businesses than ever are focusing on water management

CDP released its Global Water Report on 7 November, which analysed data from 742 disclosing companies – including Nestle, Diageo, and Kellogg’s.

53 of those companies, which is 7% of the total, have created internal value costs associated to water that are otherwise absent from pricing and decision making.

US$23.4bn has been pledged by the disclosing firms to new water projects, such as desalination plants, irrigation systems, and drought resistance.

The sum covers 1,000 projects over 91 nations.

However, this does not match the target of $6.4trn set by the UN, which is that estimate of what is needed to prevent water scarcity by 2030.

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CDP’s report stated that there was a rise in 40% of response rates in 2016, and 70% of companies are now reporting on targets to the board.

“The stakes are high as we assess corporate progress towards a water-secure world. From brand damage to disrupted supply chains, increased operating costs to constrained growth, water security is now big business and poses increasingly significant threats and opportunities to global firms,” stated Chief Executive of CDP, Paul Simpson.

CDP asked 4,653 companies to disclose their water activity information, and received a 46% response rate.

The report itself has taken the largest 742 companies from the over 2,000 responses. These firms collectively used 5.6bn mega-litres of water in 2017.