8 April 2010 | Luca Del Buono
Climate Change, Construction, Energy, Food and agriculture, Water

 

Some of the world's largest companies will be submitting water usage for the first time to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). Water scarcity figures to be an issue that dominates the 21st century unless businesses and people learn better water management practices.

As of now, 302 companies will submit information to CDP-the newest company to agree being Molson Coors-Ford, Pepsi Co, Coca-Cola, HSBC are included in the long list of corporate powerhouses who are participating in the project.

A recent McKinsey report titled Charting our Water Future reveals that in just 20 years water resources will decrease by 40%. Water scarcity is a burgeoning business risk; companies will likely face increased cost while manufacturers and agriculture will face a threatened supply line. Yet, water scarcity, water monitoring and management has not yet received the attention or coverage deserved. Companies and investors need far better access to information, increased awareness and improved understanding.

CDP plans to gather information from each company participating and compile a report that will be released in the fourth quarter of 2010.

A variety of water-intensive sectors are a part of the 300+ companies that will submit to the CDP report. Sectors include automotive, construction, electric utilities, fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs), food and beverage, mining, oil and gas, and pharmaceuticals.

As water becomes an increasingly important issue for people and business alike, reports such as CDP's will build the foundation of future water management-despite the gravity of the water management, water conservation in business is still in its infancy-science shows that it will need to grow up fast.

Michael Good | Climate Action Image Provided by:
Joe Schlabotnik | Flickr

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