Companies are increasingly disclosing their own assessments of their corporate water use and related risk as a way of improving transparency and fostering accountability. This practice allows various stakeholders to track and provide feedback on corporate water practices and polices.
Some of the key questions companies ask in regard to their disclosure of water-related information include:
- Are there well-established/harmonized metrics with which consumers, investors, and affected communities expect us to report our water-related data?
- What assessment methods are easily understood by non-technical audiences?
- What kind of information is most helpful for consumers hoping to make an informed purchasing decision? Do available methods provide this?
- What kind of information is most helpful for investors looking to assess water-related risk and/or to put money in an “ethical” company? Do available methods provide this?
- What kind of information is most desirable to potentially-affected communities (and therefore most helpful in maintaining our social license to operate)? Do available methods provide this?
The following tools may be particularly helpful for companies wishing to communicate or disclose their water practices and policies to stakeholders:
