Point of View – by Mia Javier

[cross posted on blog.cleantech.com]

Corporations are faced with increased water risk exposure.

As drought, pollution and unsustainable water use practices gain visibility with stakeholder groups across the globe, communities are ever aware of precious water resources.

It is critical, therefore, for businesses to incorporate stakeholder engagement in their water resource management strategies.

Nitrate pollution in the state of California, for example, is gaining visibility and as a result, the agricultural industry’s fertilization practices are coming under increased scrutiny by surrounding communities.

To boot, agriculture’s overwhelming share of water use globally (and locally, in most cases) is the white elephant in the room for corporations in the food and beverage industry. How, for example, can sustainable water practices for such companies be meaningful if their wider supply chain of agricultural inputs is not engaged?

The right incentive structures remain to be seen.

Consumers, on the other hand, are increasingly aware of unregulated contaminants in drinking water by sources including but not limited to the pharmaceutical and chemicals industry. Indeed, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Regulation (UCMR) program is actively monitoring new, unregulated water contaminants in the U.S.

Public health departments are also increasingly aware of pollution, drought and storm water runoff impacts. Indeed, there is a generally push in the U.S. to address holistic approach to water policy, despite the great gains made by current legislation.

In March, the Ontario Centre for Environmental Technology Advancement (OCETA) and XPV Capital Corporation released a report featuring The Water Opportunity for Ontario. The province is actively positioning itself as a viable opportunity and indeed global leader in the water industry and is putting a stake in the ground around this precious resource.

Beyond North America, international awareness is gaining strength with organizations like the UN’s CEO Water Mandate, the UN Global Compact and the new Water Stewardship Certification. Since water shortages and disputes over water rights have historically created great political instability, I expect more organizations like these to crop up in the future.

Research institutions have likewise gained traction with approximately fifty large water resource centers receiving funding across various U.S. universities. One exception is the Water Resources Center Archives at the University of California-Berkeley, which may be dismantled by the University of California Regents—a move that has perplexed a community of stakeholders in a state in its fourth year of drought.

All said, corporations find themselves in a world where a significant portion of water risk management must be underpinned by stakeholder engagement.

For those in the food and beverage industries, engagement with its agricultural supply chain to manage use and contaminant impact is critical. For most others, protection of watersheds or raw sources of water must enter the water strategy calculus.

Successful water management strategies must get ahead of this curve.