Water poses one of the greatest sustainability challenges of the 21st Century. Water scarcity and pollution, among many other issues, threaten our ability to grow strong and stable economies, meet basic human needs, and protect healthy ecosystems (and the services they provide), while also posing severe human health problems.
Business organizations are greatly affected by – and also often contribute to – these important issues. Because of this, they are increasingly seeking more information and trying to understand how to address these challenges.
Launched in July 2007 by the UN Secretary-General, the CEO Water Mandate is a unique public-private initiative designed to assist companies in the development, implementation, and disclosure of water sustainability policies and practices.
This website serves many functions:
- Providing background information about the CEO Water Mandate, its core objectives, governance, and workstreams.
- Offering the business case for corporate water stewardship by describing global water challenges, water-related business risks, and corporate water stewardship.
- Identifying and explaining the many potential uses of corporate water assessment and analyzing the functionality, strengths, and weaknesses of relevant assessment tools.
- Acting as a repository of resources that allow companies and other stakeholders to learn more about water-related business risks, corporate water stewardship, and the many organizations and initiatives working on these issues.
The CEO Water Mandate recognizes that the business sector, through the production of goods and services, impacts water resources – both directly and through supply chains. Endorsing CEOs acknowledge that in order to operate in a more sustainable manner, and contribute to the vision of the UN Global Compact and the realization of the Millennium Development Goals, they have a responsibility to make water-resources management a priority, and to work with governments, UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders to address this global water challenge. The CEO Water Mandate covers six elements: Direct Operations; Supply Chain and Watershed Management; Collective Action; Public Policy; Community Engagement; and Transparency.
Endorsers of the CEO Water Mandate recognize that through individual and collective action they can contribute to the vision of the UN Global Compact and the realization of the Millennium Development Goals.
This site will be updated periodically as new resources, tools, and other information become available.