Preparation now needed for the global water crisis

Business needs to get wise about water, and fast. You can’t talk about climate change and ignore water – the two are umbilically linked. That’s the message from Anders Berntell of the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI). “Water is the bloodstream of our planet. What we mean by that it’s something that affects all activities of our planet and societies, including the business community.”

The business community is vital in the critical water debate since they are key decision makers. What Berntell urges is much greater debate and action about the issue. “Water is the one resource which cannot be substituted; no growth – economic, human, or ecological – comes without it. When you affect climate change you also affect water. We will experience climate change through too little water in some places and too much in others. Water at the wrong time or in the wrong place. It’s not about the increase in global temperatures necessarily, it’s the effects on changing water conditions.” Of course, plenty of companies now know a lot about climate change – but how much do companies know about their own water foot print?

• To feed the nine billion people expected on Earth in 2050, there might be a need for an additional 50 percent of water to produce the food, with current levels of water efficiency in agriculture.

• Already today, 1.4 billion people live in river basins where water resources are over-exploited. By 2025, three billion people might live in countries with water stress.

• An additional two billion people will live in urban areas by 2030, many in developing countries.
• Climate change is water change too – with very dramatic consequences
• Governments and key decision-makers need to act urgently so that access to water and sanitation can be secured for future growing populations.
• Failure to deal with the issue will have serious effects on water availability and pollution, possibly leading to food insecurity, bad health, environmental degradation and detrimental effects on the economic development of countries.

Is water the forgotten story?
You could be forgiven for thinking so. There’s plenty of talk and debate about a low carbon economy and CO2 emissions in today’s business climate. But when did you last hear business leaders talk about access to water? “The issue affects just about everyone,” says Anders Berntell. “We’re seeing developed areas like Europe and North America now start to experience problems, in addition to the existing ones in, for example, Africa. California has big water problems, as does Nevada. Parts of Europe increasingly are experiencing water shortages, though the situation is not as bad in the Middle East. The issue for the business community is huge.”

This will be a massive issue for food producers in particular, where a company’s water foot print can be very high indeed. “People are realising that behind every cup of coffee there is a water foot print of 140 litres of water needed to grow, produce, package and ship the beans. One kilogram of grain∞fed beef requires 15,000 litres of water. So it’s becoming more obvious to food production and also to those involved in fibre production, textiles, all which have a water foot print.”

The issue is also one for many electrical products too we typically take for advantage, like microchips in mobile phones. All have a water foot print. Certainly some companies are beginning to recognise the importance of their water foot print in annual reports, for example, but the numbers remain low. Too low.

Know your corporate water footprint
There is plainly a need to increase the energy-efficiency in water management. Too much energy is used to transport water. But this of course can be turned in to a business opportunity for some companies. “We do not use the potential of energy in the waste water from cities and other human activities,” says Anders Berntell. “This can be converted into biogas that can be used, which is a double win situation, cutting emissions of the greenhouse gas methane as well as reducing the use of other sources of energy.”

Just as people talk about a ‘low carbon’ economy, what is needed is thinking on “water wise” economy says Berntell. “And just as people have been unaware of the serious impacts of their emissions, they are still largely unaware of the impact of water use.”

In future many businesses and individuals will want to become “water neutral” by reducing their own water foot print. Business can do this by adapting and adopting technologies that use less water per unit of product production. Other strategies could be shifting water-intense production lines away from places where water is scarce to areas of higher water availability (at least for water intensive production), thereby promoting greater global water efficiency.

Individually, consumers will need to cut their own water foot print with familiar existing off∞set arrangements that have worked for lower carbon consumption.

Consider this:
• More people on our planet – from 1.6 billion in 1900 to six billion now to nine billion 2050; less water available per capita with rising demand. There is room for improvements in water use efficiency across the board.

• Investment in drinking water and sanitation provision needs to be prioritised. Still. This is the most important issue, life or death, for more than two billion people. It requires billions more dollars of investment, but it is a cost-effective investment that stimulate growth in developing nations.

Your company check list:

• Do you understand your own water foot print?
• Have you considered the productivity of employees dependent on the water and sanitation situation in the area they operate?
• Companies must also factor in production issues – that their production might be at risk due to the water availability in the area they operate.
• Can you determine your operation-wide water foot print and the embedded water in key products?
• Identify the ways to reduce water use (direct and indirect).
• Consider local water ‘offset projects’ in collaboration with local/global NGOs.
• Consider the physical, regulatory and perception risks with direct and indirect water use – these risks will increase in future.

Running dry – in detail
Many rivers around the world are running dry and are not any longer reaching the ocean because of overuse. It’s particularly the case with agriculture. The end result is that cities and industry are suffering. “Cities downstream in a river basin suffer from the lack of water due to upstream use in agriculture,” says Berntell. “There’s tension between the various conflicting demands for water. Cities are starting to pump for longer distances to support their citizens. Adding to this are increasing populations that have increasing demand for domestic supply of water.

On top of this – a big dilemma – is the potential use of water for bioenergy production. This is already happening in Africa where big companies are starting to buy land for future production of bioenergy for the growing of corn, wheat or sugar cane for the production of ethanol. “Companies are starting to calculate about the impact of future energy crisis,” says Berntell, “which will increase the price of ethanol and make it a prominent commodity. We will have a competition for food or bioenergy production.” So the big question is whether water will be used for food production or for ethanol to feed cars? “That’s an issue where governments need to take political decisions, otherwise the market will make the decisions for them.”

Further information: Anders Berntell, Executive Director, Stockholm International Water Institute, anders.berntell@siwi.org; www.siwi.org