Policy News - October 20, 2004

A changing “waterscape”

Corporate leaders worldwide could lose billions of dollars by continuing to ignore water-related problems, according to U.S. researchers with the Pacific Institute, a nonprofit think tank. These problems include water scarcity, new regulations that restrict water use, and intense social disputes over water between businesses and local users. In general, business leaders are unfamiliar with water-related business risks, and consequently they are unprepared to address them. In Freshwater Resources: Managing the Risks Facing the Private Sector, authors Jason Morrison and Peter Gleick stress that water is “a resource considered by many to be a human right.” The authors provide a snapshot of current global water issues, assess water-related risks most relevant to businesses, and describe the general kinds of activities companies can conduct to address them. The report presents 10 steps businesses can take to improve their water management, such as measuring the water use and wastewater discharges associated with their own operations and those of key suppliers, assessing local water conditions, and consulting with local water users. Find the paper, released in August, at www.pacinst.org.