In this Emerging Issues Analysis, E. Lynn Grayson of Jenner & Block reports that while a 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. This article highlights the work of Ceres and the Pacific Institute in Water Scarcity & Climate Change: Growing Risks for Business & Investors. It details recommendations put forth by Ceres and the Pacific Institute to manage water risks. Lastly, it provides some practical, timely suggestions on actions businesses may wish to consider in addressing water scarcity concerns, present and future.
“Industry sectors face differing water risks based in large part on the water footprint of each. The simple definition of water footprint is the total volume of freshwater that is used to produce the goods and services produced by a business. According to the (Ceres/Pacific Institute) report, footprinting has dual benefits,” Ms. Grayson writes. “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. In this regard, the report identifies risks specific to eight water-intensive industry sectors including: agriculture; apparel; beverage; biotechnology/pharmaceutical; electric power/energy; forest products; high tech; and, metals/mining. For these water-intensive industries, the report details physical, reputational and regulatory risks.”
“More so now than ever, it is difficult for businesses to independently assess a growing number of challenges associated with our changing environment as well as to maintain operations that comply with a myriad of federal, state and local environmental laws. Businesses must direct increasingly limited resources to environmental concerns that matter most and to those items that are time critical.” With these priorities in mind, Ms. Grayson provides practical, operations-based recommendations for protecting against and responding to potential water scarcity threats.
“The Ceres/Pacific Institute report concludes that climate change will exacerbate these water risks, especially as the world population grows by an expected 50 million a year. This report supports other recent findings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluding that global warming will lead to changes in all components of the freshwater system and that water and its availability and quantity will be the main pressures on, and issues for, societies and the environment under climate change,” Ms. Grayson notes.