Managing your water sustainability. An ERM guide for business. Delivering sustainable solutions in a more competitive world

Transcription

1 Managing your water sustainability An ERM guide for business Delivering sustainable solutions in a more competitive world

2 If present trends continue, 1.8 billion people will be living in countries or regions with water scarcity by 2025, and two thirds of the world population could be subject to water stress Asha-Rose Migiro United Nations Deputy Secretary General addressing a High Level Symposium on Water Security at the United Nations 5 February 2009

3 Contents The importance of water 2 Assessing needs 8 Programme for change 12 Sustainable water solutions 17 About ERM 20 Managing your water resources : An ERM Guide for Business. First Edition, Published August

4 This ERM business guide is aimed at organisations wishing to ensure their water resource needs are managed sustainably. It offers insights into the importance of water within your operations and gives practical pointers on how you can make progress towards ensuring the sustainability of your water resources and satisfying stakeholders that your water needs are being met responsibly. The guide covers the following key areas: Freshwater stress - why this impacts your business Assessing needs and measuring impacts - a business case for action A practical programme for tackling water sustainability The Energy-Water Carbon Nexus Whilst this booklet is focused on the issues surrounding water sustainability, the intrinsic interlinkages between water, energy and carbon should not be ignored. Energy and carbon are required to drive water supply, whilst water is needed to create energy and to sustain the biological life-forms that drive the global carbon cycle. Water Energy Carbon 2

5 Water: A Changing Resource Global freshwater resources are being placed under increasing pressure by the dual impacts of climate change and population growth. Climate Change. Whilst climate change is most often associated with shifts in mean global temperatures, it has also been linked to increases in the variability and volatility of global precipitation patterns. These changes have meant that extreme weather events such as floods and droughts are not only becoming more widespread, but are also increasing in both severity and frequency. As a result, freshwater resources are becoming more vulnerable and unstable, characteristics that are making their management increasingly complex. Population growth. In the last century, the world population has tripled and it is expected to continue on this path, rising from its current level of around 6.5 billion to 8.9 billion by The scale of this growth will clearly place greater demands on existing freshwater resource. However, the nature of this growth and the regions in which it will occur is also of considerable concern. Significant growth is, for example, expected in countries such as India and China, which are already water stressed. In addition, shifts towards greater urbanisation and development will mean that per capita water requirements will also increase. 3

6 Freshwater Stress The maps below highlight and project how much water will be withdrawn with respect to the amount naturally available, providing an indication of global regions that will be particularly vulnerable to water related risks: over 40% 20%-40% 10%-20% less than 10% Source: Vital Water Graphics, UNEP, 4

7 The Business Case for Pursuing Water Sustainability The changing characteristics of global water resources are impacting business and consumers in ever more direct and measurable ways. There are four key issues that will increase your organisation s focus on water sustainability: Increasing water costs. Global climate change and population growth are contributing to a decline in both the quality and quantity of freshwater resources. The net result of these changes will be an increase in the cost of your water supply, due to increased competition for freshwater resource, and/or increased requirements for water treatment prior to use. Potential business disruptions. Increasingly volatile precipitation patterns could mean that your operations are more frequently disrupted by extreme weather events such as floods and droughts. Such disruptions could affect your operations directly, or indirectly through your value chain. Customer expectations. Your clients and consumers are increasingly wellinformed about global environmental issues and are placing greater emphasis on such considerations when making their purchasing decisions. Whilst carbon currently has the greatest profile within the global psyche, water sustainability and water scarcity are becoming increasingly significant. Business license to operate. As public expectations of sustainability shift, your license to operate could also change. Increased community awareness and recognition of local water challenges could, for example, alter public acceptance of and support for your company s strategic plans or water-related practices. 5

8 Water Quality Risks As the global population grows, so will the use-pressures placed on global freshwater resources. The increasing number and variety of both public and private stakeholders exploiting such resources will not only decrease the amount of resource available, but will also inevitably lead to a decline in the quality of the freshwater resource. This will mean that your process effluents are placed under greater scrutiny as a result of more stringent water quality standards and growing demands for an equitable supply for local communities and other water users. Additionally, your organisation may increasingly need to seek treatment options for incoming water supplies in order to maintain the integrity of their operations. In managing the quality of both incoming and outgoing water resources, you must however take into consideration the wider sustainability context of water treatment. Many existing water treatment systems have significant carbon. energy and cost requirements for both installation and operation, which must be balanced against your company s water quality goals. Low carbon treatment solutions are available, but these are often based on chemical or biological systems that require ongoing assessment to ensure consistency in treatment levels. A good understanding of both the required clean-up levels and the available water treatment options is therefore central to managing your water quality risks. 6

9 Flood Risks Water scarcity is only one half of the changing water resource equation. The increased volatility of global weather patterns will also lead to a greater incidence of localised flooding. Flood risk management will therefore become an increasingly important component of your overall sustainability initiatives to prevent infrastructural damage and operational disruptions. Greater emphasis on flood risk assessments, to both inform investment decisions and review the sustainability of value chain operations, will also be key to reducing your organisation s exposure to flood risks. In June 2007, the UK experienced one of its wettest months on record, with some areas receiving a month s worth of precipitation in 24 hours. These unprecedented levels of rainfall led to wide-scale flooding across the country, particularly in South West England, resulting in around 3b of damage and widespread disruption to services. Water company Severn Trent for example was forced to close its Mythe water treatment works in Gloucestershire and initiate emergency procedures such as the distribution of 50 million litres of bottled water. Severn Trent estimates that the 2007 floods cost them in the region of 25-35m. 7

10 Assessing needs and measuring impacts All services and products have some elements of water risk and water impact associated with their provision. The question is how do you quantify these risks and impacts so that you can address them appropriately? 8 2

11 Looking at your organisation s water footprint will help identify the water related risks and impacts associated with your operations. Business Water Footprinting The water footprint of a business is defined as the total volume of freshwater used directly or indirectly to run and support its operations. The water footprint consists of two parts: the operational footprint and the supply-chain footprint. The operational footprint is the amount of freshwater used at specific business units, i.e. your organisation s direct freshwater use. The supply-chain footprint is the amount of freshwater used to produce all the goods and services that form the production input at each specific business unit, i.e. the indirect freshwater use. Water footprints are also widely acknowledged to comprise three key water types: blue, green and grey water. The blue water footprint is the volume of water removed from the global surface water and ground water resources. The green water footprint is the volume of water removed from rainwater resource stored in the soil as soil moisture. The grey water footprint is the volume of freshwater required to dilute contaminants in wastewater streams to agreed water quality standards. By calculating and analysing its business water footprint, your organisation can: 1. Identify the water related impacts of its operations on its social and natural environment; 2. Create transparency for stakeholders; 3. Assess water use in comparable business units for benchmarking and target setting; and 4. Identify and support the development of policy to reduce business risks related to freshwater scarcity. 9

12 Which Water Tool? Whilst the benefits of better understanding an organisation s water footprint and the general characteristics of a business water footprint are relatively well recognised, a standard methodology for calculating water footprints has yet to be developed. The lack of a universal methodology stems from a range of factors including the relatively recent emergence of the concept of water footprinting and the difficulties associated with characterising certain elements of an organisation s water footprint, such as the regional and socioeconomic contexts of water sustainability. The absence of a standard water footprinting methodology has lead to the development of a range of approaches and supporting tools focused on addressing business water risk and water sustainability, each with their own particular scope and associated limitations. Various publicly available tools have also been released, such as the Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI) s Water Sustainability Tool (see and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) s Global Water Tool (see opposite). Efforts to standardise water footprinting have however been catalysed through the establishment of the Water Footprint Network ( and recent work towards the development of an ISO standard on water footprinting. 10

13 World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Global Water Tool The WBCSD Global Water Tool, launched during the 2007 World Water Week in Stockholm, is a freely available Excel based tool that allows companies and organisations to map their water use and assess risks relative to their global operations and supply chains. The tool does not provide specific guidance on local situations, which requires more in-depth systematic analysis, but can help you: compare water use (incorporating aspects such as staff presence as well as industrial/supply chain usages) against validated water and sanitation availability information on a country and watershed basis; calculate water consumption and efficiency; establish relative water risks in its portfolio to prioritise action; create key water Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) indicators, inventories, risk and performance metrics and geographic mapping; and effectively communicate with internal and external stakeholders on the company s water issues. Further information on the WBCSD Global Water Tool is available from 11

14 12 A practical programme for ensuring the sustainability of your water resources

15 The following section provides a framework for developing an integrated sustainable water strategy to meet your ongoing water resource needs. This will allow you to: Generate fewer impacts and deliver enhanced performance; Adapt to changes in water resource availability; Integrate operational issues relating to water, carbon and energy; Respond to potential regulatory developments focused on water sustainability and water quality; and Meet client expectations of corporate responsibility and sustainability. 13

16 A simple six step programme to get you started Strategic Phase Implementation Phase Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6 Measure your business water footprint across your entire value chain Engage your stakeholders Assess risks & opportunities associated with your water footprint Align the assessment with your organisation s energy & climate change assessments Integrate water issues into your business strategy Apply practical solutions to resolve major issues & explore significant opportunities Water footprinting Review water use, sources, impacts & associated costs Survey key organisations Gather input from employees, stakeholders & regulatory organisations Prioritise physical, regulatory & reputational risks Identify key opportunities for branding, efficiencies & stakeholder relations Assess the relationship between energy & water Integrate water & energy strategies Develop the business case Align water management programme with business strategy & strategic direction Determine key roles Water audits & monitoring Compliance & permitting Modelling Stormwater management Water/ wastewater engineering 14

17 Pay particular attention to the following areas: What do stakeholders actually want? Consider the expectations of your clients and investors not to mention key opinion formers within your own organisation. Will your customers care enough to pay a premium for products and services founded on sustainable water supplies? Do investors believe that greater sustainability will produce a better financial return? Considering market drivers and stakeholder expectations is critical. Prioritise issues for action. What are you trying to achieve and in what timescale? Set realistic targets that can be sensibly integrated with your overall strategy development and implementation process. Consider proposed initiatives in the context of your commercial priorities and market pressures. Make the leap. Now you should be ready to implement your integrated sustainable water strategy. Internally, you should be clear who is involved and how the programme impacts other areas of your business. Independent assurance. Even though you are doing all the right things, will your stakeholders trust you? Gaining assurance on your performance and claims has become a key area of sustainability programmes as organisations seek to add credibility to what they are doing. 15

18 Support the message with an awareness building programme Highlighting water related issues both within your organisation and externally along your value chain can significantly increase the likelihood of successful integration and enhance the impacts of your sustainable water strategy. ERM s Water School Founded on the principles behind ERM s pioneering Carbon School, Water School provides a starting point for organisations seeking to identify and mitigate threats to the sustainability of its water resources. An ERM Water School introduces your staff to the emerging concept of water neutrality and trains them in the relevant areas. Water School is tailored towards your organisation s specific needs and can also be extended to incorporate the education of your suppliers in order to minimise your overall exposure to changes in the global water resource. ERM s Water School programme will enable your staff and your suppliers to answer questions such as: What are the fundamentals that we need to know? What direct and indirect risks will changing global water resources pose to our business? Should we be undertaking water footprinting studies, and if so, why? What are the financial benefits of being proactive in managing our water resources and moving towards water neutrality? What are our competitors doing in this area, and how can we close the gap or be one step ahead? How can we manage our water footprint credibly and communicate it effectively? How do we monitor and maintain the quality of the water used in our business? 16

19 Sustainable Water Solutions Building a cohesive sustainability strategy is just one component of your overall water risk management programme. The implementation of sustainable water solutions is another integral element. 17

20 Sustainable Drainage Rainwater and stormwater are two resources that are often neglected by businesses looking to reduce the water related impacts of their operations. Better management, or even harvesting, of these resources can not only reduce the organisation s reliance on increasingly variable municipal water supply options, but could also reduce the water quality impacts of site run-off. In order to harness these potential water resources, you must first ascertain the characteristics of these site-specific resources, such as the consistency and quality of supply. Once these characteristics have been defined, the viability of implementing more sustainable management and/or harvesting solutions can be determined. Various sustainable drainage options are available, from simple retention ponds and sediment traps, to filtration units, rainwater tanks and green roofs. The technology profile of these solutions, incorporating aspects such as spatial requirements, capacities and treatment capabilities, must be matched against both the nature of supply as well as the water use requirements embedded within your organisation s sustainable water strategy. 18

21 Wastewater Recycling and Reuse Wastewater streams also provide a significant opportunity for organisation seeking to improve their water sustainability. Such streams can again provide a valuable secondary water resource if managed and treated appropriately. Treating wastewater streams for reuse can also improve the overall environmental performance of your company by facilitating the management of contaminated wastewaters. An array of wastewater treatment technologies currently exist, ranging from green remediation biological systems, such as wetland treatment or anaerobic digestion, to conventional chemicophysical methods. These options can also be combined to ensure the treated wastewater streams are suitable for reuse either within existing process streams, or across other aspects of your organisation. Wastewater Reuse at the Reficar Refinery, Colombia ERM was asked to design a 2,100 gallon per minute (gpm) raw water treatment system with the recycle/ reclaim capacity of 1,000 gpm for the Reficar refinery in Cartagena, Colombia. The reuse system would receive various process and utility wastewater streams to purify and reuse within the cooling tower makeup, thus reducing raw water consumption at the plant. ERM s cost estimates showed that pay back of the US$900k capital investment through water savings related cost efficiencies would occur within two and a half years. 19

22 About ERM Operating in more than 40 countries, ERM is a leading environmental and social consultancy, delivering sustainable solutions worldwide. 20

23 Our breadth and depth of expertise and experience enables us to offer you unparalleled project and boardroom advice at each stage of your value chain, anywhere on the globe. ERM and Water Sustainability Globally, ERM offers a number of key services in support of clients who are seeking to ensure the sustainability of their water resources. These include: Business and product water footprinting Supply chain and employee awareness building Water resource modelling Flood risk identification and characterisation Water use minimisation Water quality assessment Water and wastewater engineering Sustainable drainage solutions and stormwater management 21

24 ERM Contacts Water Sustainability Velislava Ivanova T: E: Alec Tang T: +44 (0) E: Other Global ERM Services Tom Woollard T: +44 (0) E: