Setting a Corporate Water Strategy

Will Sarni

Leader: Corporate water strategy

How can corporations help? Join Will Sarni and explore corporate water strategies can tackle global water challenges, reduce business risk and unlock long-term value.

Water

How can corporations help? Join Will Sarni and explore corporate water strategies can tackle global water challenges, reduce business risk and unlock long-term value.

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Setting a Corporate Water Strategy

11 mins 18 secs

Key learning objectives:

Understand the role of corporations in addressing water challenges
Outline water stewardship frameworks
Identify water stewardship case studies

Overview:

Corporations play a vital role in addressing global water challenges like scarcity, poor water quality, and lack of access to safe drinking water. These issues not only affect the communities in which companies operate but also pose significant business risks, such as operational disruptions and reputational damage. Water stewardship frameworks help corporations move beyond basic compliance and efficiency to more meaningful, strategic action. There are several strong case studies showing how corporations are making a positive impact.

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Summary

What role do corporations play in addressing water challenges?

Corporations play a vital role in addressing global water challenges like scarcity, poor water quality, and lack of access to safe drinking water. These issues not only affect the communities in which companies operate but also pose significant business risks, such as operational disruptions and reputational damage. Many corporations have recognised that a proactive water strategy can align sustainability goals with business continuity and brand value.

How do businesses consider water risks?

Physical risk: ensuring they have enough water of the right quality for operations
Reputational risk: public perception and scrutiny, especially in the age of social media
Regulatory risk: current and emerging regulations that may affect both water quality and availability

What are water stewardship frameworks and how do they guide corporate strategies?

Water stewardship frameworks help corporations move beyond basic compliance and efficiency to more meaningful, strategic action. A key example comes from WWF, which developed a framework that outlines progression from water awareness to influencing governance.

What are some real-world case studies of corporate water stewardship?

There are several strong case studies showing how corporations are making a positive impact. For example, accelerator programmes have been launched to support sustainability-focused startups, targeting key challenges such as water use, agriculture, supply chain, and climate risk. These programmes offer mentorship, funding, and commercial scaling opportunities to promising innovators. Large multinationals have even joined forces to find and back startups tackling water challenges, showing a trend toward collaboration and collective innovation.

What does it mean to have a net positive water impact?

A net positive water impact means a corporation contributes more to water availability and health in a region than it uses or negatively affects. Achieving this involves supporting resilient water value chains and often participating in global initiatives that promote leadership in water sustainability.

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Will Sarni

Will Sarni, a hydrogeologist and author, has been working on water challenges for most of his career. He has focused on corporate sustainability and water strategy for the past two decades. Sarni is an optimist and believes we can solve wicked water problems. He lives in Colorado and the American West, which faces water scarcity challenges. The American West is a major agricultural region for the US, exporting crops. To have thriving cities and agriculture and manufacturing sectors in the region, we must solve water challenges. Will has written several books on corporate water strategy, energy-water-food nexus, technology and policy innovation, and a children's book on water.

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