Report connects water scarcity and business

Climate Change and Availability of Water?
Dateline Toronto, October 14, 2009

Creating Our Paradise in its weekly series of educational webinars recently focused on the historical, cultural and modern day use of water (http://www.creatingourparadise.org/events/webinars/culture-and-use-water...).The topic examined how water was and still is used in our lives and what impact derives from this usage.  

As of late even theatre arts, installations, and musical performances have made this precious resource a topic -  thus transcending the dry and analytical treatment scientists and technologists usually apply in reporting on conditions relating to water challenges like droughts, shortages and pollution.

Another voice can be heard in the October 2009 report by Jenner & Block where Lynn Grayson asserts that while reduction of greenhouse gas emissions is the best known and most often debated climate change challenge, water scarcity is emerging as the more significant concern confronting the international environment. She details recommendations to manage water risks and provides some practical, timely suggestions on actions that businesses may wish to consider in addressing water scarcity. Ms. Grayson reiterates the concept of ‘water footprint” explaining it to be the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the goods and services by a business. Footprinting has dual benefits as it serves not only as a means of determining a company’s basic water use but also provides a means for comparing and benchmarking water use within industry groups. Eight specific industry sectors are highlighted as water-intensive: agriculture by far in first place, apparel, beverage, biotechnology/pharmaceutical, electric power/energy, forest products, high tech and metals/mining. 

The report details how increasingly limited resources and operations that comply with federal, state and local environmental laws form a tight framework within which practical and operations-based recommendations to protect and sustain potential water resources are treated. 

With anticipated population growth of 50 million a year poses an ongoing threat for freshwater systems, availability and quality and will be a major pressure for our society and the environment in the climate change mode.

Source: Jenner & Block: Water Scarcity: A critical Climate Change Challenge for Business, reported by Lynn Grayson, adapted by Leonore Clauss, CoPoE, Canada