Editor’s note: This article is the second in a series about the Ceres Roadmap 2030, a vision for sustainable business leadership in this crucial decade. The roadmap provides a 10-year action plan to help companies navigate and thrive in the accelerated transition to a more just, equitable and sustainable economy. You can find the first article这里.
The water crisis is one of the greatest human, environmental, economic and financial challenges of our time. No person or business, no matter the industry, can survive without clean water — and that supply is dwindling and in danger. Scientists predict by 2030, global water demand will more than double supply.
这场日益增长的危机在这里和现在都在发生。尤其是最大的公司，可以发挥关键作用。由于其对底线具有重大财务影响，这也符合他们自身的利益。
For example, in Australia, the country’s largest agribusiness, Graincorp, saw its earnings decline by about half in 2018 due to a poor harvest caused by drought in the eastern half of the country. But too much water is also a major financial risk. Flooding in the Mississippi River Basin in 2019 submerged millions of farm acres of corn and soy, triggering a drop in stock prices in the meat industry and other agricultural sectors.
Corporations are increasingly aware of the need to change their business practices to ensure a sustainable water supply. Over the past six months, several major industry leaders announced notable new water commitments, including嘉吉,McDonalds,Microsoft和Starbucks.
But there is still a gap between commitments and the actions being taken and the actions needed. That’s where our newCERES路线图2030can help.
This 10-year action plan helps companies embed sustainability factors into how they do business, including protecting water resources and other natural resources and building a more just and inclusive economy. With water, it calls on companies to create net-positive water impacts, ensure the human right to water and to strengthen water governance and policies — with the goal of fulfilling these actions by 2030.
The future of water commitments: 3 key aspects
1. Create a net-positive water impact
It is no longer enough for companies to just reduce water use or eliminate their own pollution. Companies must focus on becoming "resource positive" — giving back more than they take from the planet — in order to outweigh their negative impacts of water and ensure a sustainable global water supply.
Some companies are already working to create a new movement towards water positivity across the economy. Tech giant Microsoft just made a new pledge to be "water-positive" by 2030, committing to replenish all the water it consumes. It is joined by Gap Inc. Given that it takes hundreds of gallons of water to make a pair of jeans, the company has承诺的水阳性冲击on areas of high water stress by 2050.
尽管这些承诺代表了朝着资源积极的趋势的令人鼓舞的趋势，但他们仍然缺乏使公司对目标负责的许多关键临时步骤。CERES的路线图不仅列出了为什么公司需要成为水阳性，还列出了他们可以采取哪些特定行动来实现这些目标。
2.确保人类的水权
Companies must help to protect the human right to water. Companies can do their part by allocating resources and developing policies that promote increased community access to clean water and sanitation.
More corporate sustainability initiatives are recognizing the importance of human rights in a water commitment: theCEO Water Mandate, a pledge signed by major companies such as Anheuser Busch, Cargill and Dow Chemical, places the goal to "recognize the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation" among other steps toward water stewardship.
一家在这一领域加紧的公司是可口可乐公司，该公司取决于其产品的水。在CERES路线图的正式发布会上，首席执行官詹姆斯·昆西（James Quincey）noted that the company has helpedto provide water and sanitation for 10.6 million people since 2010 through its water programs. It expands its efforts during the global pandemic to address the increased needs.
By placing workers and communities that feel the impacts of water stress most acutely front and center, companies can make sure that their water programs promote a more just and inclusive approach to a water-secure future.
3. Strengthen water governance and policies
即使公司对减少水影响的最雄心勃勃的行动，如果水资源的地方治理不足，也可以迅速否定。对于政策制定者来说，直接向公司听取有关更强大水管理的经济案例至关重要的是至关重要的。
为此，公司需要倡导基于科学的公共政策和关于地方，州和国家一级水管理问题的法规。这包括但不限于基于科学的分配和排放限制，基础设施资金以及旨在最大化当地供水的努力。
Ceres的一种这样的倡导合作是Connectthe Drops这项举措汇集了35多家在加利福尼亚州拥有水足迹的公司，敦促决策者推进创新的水解决方案，以可持续地管理该州压力重大且通常是不可预测的水供应。
因此，它们是 - 在未来几年帮助公司成为水领域的主要行动。Ceres准备与公司合作，以面对挑战，并帮助几代人创造可持续的水未来。
