Once a company has prepared to report (i.e., by understanding the corporate water management processes that support and inform disclosure and defining material water-related topics), it then looks to actually develop reporting content and convey it in a meaningful way to its stakeholders. The full range of water-related information companies may report is illustrated in the Corporate Water Disclosure Framework shown below. The Corporate Water Disclosure Framework Click each component of the Framework to access relevant guidance The Framework comprises three broad pillars of information: COMPANY WATER PROFILE The first pillar is an overview of the company’s relationship with water resources, offering a snapshot of water performance, risks, impacts, and response strategies that nontechnical audiences can easily understand. Profiles include the following information: The company’s interactions with water The company’s water challenges and opportunitiest The company’s commitment and response Profile metrics that provide a summary of companywide water performance and risk List of hot spot basins where risks and negative impacts are most likely DEFINING WHAT TO REPORT The second pillar is a description of the process by which a company determines which water-related content to include in its report. The company assesses 1) the significance of water-related topics and associated business risks, opportunities, and impacts, and 2) the influence that those topics may have on stakeholders’ assessments and decisions. DETAILED DISCLOSURE Finally, the company provides detailed metrics and qualitative information related to its water management, as well as to the specific water management programs and projects it implements. The Detailed Disclosure pillar is divided into three sections that illustrate the types of water-related information that companies report: Current State The status of the company’s operations and the basins in which it operates with respect to water. Reporting the Current State includes three broad categories of information: Context. What water-related conditions and trends—at the global, regional, and local levels—are relevant to the company and its stakeholders? Performance. How does the company use and affect water resources? In what ways has performance changed over time? Compliance. Do company operations comply with applicable regulations, benchmarks, and standards? Implications Interpreting the current-state information to better understand the consequences to the business and its stakeholders. Reporting on Implications includes three broad categories of information: Business risks. How do company and supplier water performance and basin conditions affect the business with respect to profitability, productivity, regulatory pressure, and reputation? Business opportunities. How do water-related trends and challenges create opportunities for the company to expand and improve its business? External impacts. Do company operations or products create negative impacts on water-related conditions, such as availability, quality, and accessibility? Response The strategies that a company may take to address the risks, opportunities, and impacts identified in the previous section. It discusses how the company responses address those challenges or generate positive impacts. Reporting responses include three broad categories of information: Policies, governance, and targets. Has the company created systems and developed plans designed to improve its water performance and reduce water-related risks and impacts? Internal action. Does the company effectively respond to and manage specific risks and impacts by making changes to its production processes, procurement practices, and product design? External engagement. Does the company attempt to respond to specific risks and impacts by advancing the sustainable management of the basins in which it operates? Cross-cutting themes Companies also seek to explore two cross-cutting themes that are applicable across these information areas. First, they make connections among the sections , explaining how, for example, business risks and negative impacts result from specific basin conditions and how response strategies mitigate those specific risks and negative impacts. Second, where possible, companies make linkages among water and other sustainability topics , shedding light on how water management contributes to other sustainability concerns and how other issues (e.g., climate change, energy use) may contribute to water-related challenges. Company Water ProfileAn overview of the company’s relationship with water resources, offering a snapshot of water performance, risks, impacts, and response strategies that nontechnical audiences can easily understand. Profiles include the following information:The company’s interactions with waterThe company’s water challenges and opportunitiesThe company’s commitment and responseProfile metrics that provide a summary of companywide water performance and riskTotal and percentage of withdrawals located in water-stressed or water-scarce areasPercent of facilities with a water-related compliance violationPercent of facilities adhering to relevant water-quality standardsAverage water intensity in water-stressed areas (as appropriate)List of hot spot basins where risks and negative impacts are most likelyResourcesExample of a Company Water ProfileLearn More or CloseDefining What to ReportA description of the process by which a company determines which water-related topics are material (and thus should be reported). The company assesses 1) the significance of water-related topics and associated business risks, opportunities, and impacts, and 2) the influence that those topics may have on stakeholders’ assessments and decisions.ResourcesGuidance on defining what to reportGlobal Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines (G4)Learn More or CloseDetailed DisclosureDetailed metrics and qualitative information related to a company’s water management, as well as to the specific water management programs and projects it implements. Detailed Disclosure is divided into sections and subsections that illustrate the types of water-related information that companies report. The three major sections of Detailed Disclosure are:Current StateImplicationsResponseLearn More or CloseCurrent StateThe status of a company’s operations and the basins in which it operates with respect to water. Reporting the Current State includes three broad categories of information:Context. What water-related conditions and trends—at the global, regional, and local levels—are relevant to the company and its stakeholders?Performance. How does the company use and affect water resources? In what ways has performance changed over time?Compliance. Do company operations comply with applicable regulations, benchmarks, and standards?CloseImplicationsInterpreting a company’s current-state information to better understand the consequences to the business and its stakeholders. Reporting on Implications includes three broad categories of information:Business risks. How do company and supplier water performance and basin conditions affect the business with respect to profitability, productivity, regulatory pressure, and reputation?Business opportunities. How do water-related trends and challenges create opportunities for the company to expand and improve its business?External impacts. Do company operations or products create negative impacts on water-related conditions, such as availability, quality, and accessibility?CloseResponseThe strategies and actions that a company may take to address the risks, opportunities, and impacts identified in the previous section. Response reporting discusses how the company strategies and actions address those challenges or generate positive impacts. It includes three broad categories of information:Policies, governance, and targets. Has the company created systems and developed plans designed to improve its water performance and reduce water-related risks and impacts?Internal action. Does the company effectively respond to and manage specific risks and impacts by making changes to its production processes, procurement practices, and product design?External engagement. Does the company attempt to respond to specific risks and impacts by advancing the sustainable management of the basins in which it operates?CloseContextWater is a uniquely complicated resource for companies to manage and report because its value, availability, and quality vary significantly depending on location. Context reporting describes the assessment and reporting of the basin conditions in which a company operates (e.g., water scarcity and water stress).Basic reportingHigh-level assessment of basins across a portfolio Advanced reportingDetailed, location-specific assessment of basins where water challenges are pronounced High-level assessment of basins in which key value chain actors are locatedConnected reportingAssessments of water scarcity and water stress are included within some Performance metricsUnderstanding basin conditions is an essential aspect of assessing business risks, opportunities, and external impactsResourcesDatasets and assessment tools for understanding basin conditionsCEO Water Mandate Online Capacity Platform: Assessment toolsDefining and understanding water-related terminology (including "water scarcity" and "water stress")Learn More or ClosePerformanceUnderstanding water performance (how much water companies use, how efficiently they use it, the quality of wastewater discharge, and so on) helps companies adopt more sustainable water management practices that minimize negative impacts (or create positive impacts), mitigate water-related business risks, and capture opportunities. Basic reportingWater withdrawals in water-stressed or water-scarce areasPercent of facilities adhering to relevant water quality standardsAverage water intensity in water-stressed or water-scarce areas (as appropriate)Percent of facilities with fully functioning WASH services for all workersAdvanced reportingLocation-specific performance dataWater performance in the value chainConnected reportingAssessments of water scarcity and water stress (as described under Context) are included within some Performance metricsUnderstanding company and value chain water-related performance informs a company’s understanding of its business risks and external impactsResourcesGuidance for measuring performanceGeographic/geopolitical scale of reportingLearn More or CloseComplianceCompliance with water-related regulations as well as with voluntary standards or industry benchmarks may be used as a proxy for understanding a company’s approach to managing water resources. For instance, companies that experience relatively few incidents of noncompliance over time are less likely to have negative impacts on communities and ecosystems and thus less exposure to reputational risk.Basic reportingPercent of facilities with a water-related regulatory compliance violationAdvanced reportingAdoption of internal and/or voluntary sustainability standardsWater-related regulatory compliance violations in the value chainConnected reportingUnderstanding company and value chain compliance informs a company’s understanding of its business risks and external impactsLearn More or CloseBusiness risksWater risk refers to the possibility of an entity experiencing a water-related challenge (e.g., water scarcity, water stress, flooding, infrastructure decay, drought). Many companies are exposed to water risks that can negatively affect business viability over the short or long term. Disclosure on water risks enables audiences to better understand what the performance and conditions described in Current State reporting actually mean for the company and its stakeholders.Basic reportingHigh-level assessment of risks at a portfolio levelAdvanced reportingDetailed assessment of risks based on extensive, location-specific analysis at the facility levelValue chain risksConnected reportingAn assessment of business risks is based on the performance, context, and compliance data discussed under Current StateResponse strategies should react and respond to the specific risks a company faces, among other thingsResourcesDefining and understanding water-related terminology (including "water risk")Resources for assessing risksCEO Water Mandate Online Capacity Platform: Water-related business risksLearn More or CloseBusiness OpportunitiesFor many companies, water may present opportunities to drive positive business value. For example, customers in water-stressed areas may have more loyalty to companies that are known to have very water-efficient operations, to sell water-efficient products, or to invest in improving local water resources. A description of a company’s water-related business opportunities, especially those related to operations, brand value, and new markets, is an important component of comprehensive water disclosure. Basic reportingHigh-level assessment of opportunitiesAdvanced reportingDetailed assessment of opportunitiesValue chain opportunitiesConnected reportingAn assessment of business opportunities is based on the performance and context data discussed under Current StateResponse strategies ideally react and respond to specific opportunities presented to a company, among other thingsLearn More or CloseExternal ImpactsA company's water practices may harm people and ecosystems, causing risk to the company, undermining sustainable water management, and potentially impinging on human rights. Key environmental and socioeconomic conditions that can be impaired by industrial and agricultural water practices are manifested in the three components of water stress: 1) water availability, 2) water quality, and 3) access to water and WASH services. Basic reportingN/A (compliance used as proxy)Advanced reportingImpacts on water availability, water quality, and access to water resources and WASH services (including human-rights-related impacts)Prioritizing impactsConnected reportingExternal impacts typically result in business risks related to a company’s reputationAn assessment of external impacts is based on the performance, context, and compliance data discussed under Current StateResponse strategies should react and respond to specific external impacts caused by, contributed to, or linked to the companyLearn More or ClosePolicies, Governance, and TargetsOne key element of Response reporting is a discussion of the company’s policies, governance, and goals related to water management. This enables disclosure audiences to better understand and evaluate whether companies are adequately addressing water-related challenges.Basic reportingCommitment to water stewardship and human rights to water and sanitationGoals and targetsAdvanced reportingPolicies, strategies, and governanceRespecting the human rights to water and sanitationConnected reportingA company’s overarching water strategy, and the policies and targets that underpin it, should address and manage the company’s water-related risks, opportunities, and impacts where possibleLearn More or CloseInternal actionsCorporate water management programs, strategies, and goals are effective only insofar as they drive meaningful change at the facility and basin levels. One aspect of such change is action that improves the company’s operational performance and mitigates the negative impacts associated with the company’s operations and those of its suppliers.Basic reportingImprovements in direct operationsAdvanced reportingProduct innovationValue chain prioritization, engagement, and improvementsConnected reportingInternal actions should advance a company’s water strategies and seek to make progress toward established targets (which themselves should address the company’s risks, opportunities, and impacts)Learn More or CloseExternal EngagementMany water-related business risks stem from the water-related conditions outside a company’s fenceline. Because of this, companies are increasingly pursuing (and reporting) external engagement strategies geared toward improving water resource management at the local, regional, and national levels, thereby potentially mitigating water risk.Basic reportingParticipation in global initiativesConsumer/public engagement and awareness buildingAdvanced reportingPolicy advocacyPlace-based collective action (e.g., community engagement, basin restoration, data sharing)Connected reportingExternal engagements should advance a company’s water strategies. External engagement should seek to manage the company’s risks and impacts which cannot be adequately addressed by means of internal actions Learn More or CloseConnections Between Sections and SubsectionsOne of the most important aspects of effective water disclosure relates to a company’s ability to make connections among the information areas (the sections and subsections) within the Disclosure Framework. In some instances the connections are inherent and are made automatically. In other instances, making the connections adds relevance and meaning to the information provided. For instance, response strategies should explicitly address the water-related risks, impacts, and opportunities the company has identified as material.Learn More or CloseLinkages Across Sustainability IssuesThough practice in this area is quite nascent, companies also endeavor to consider and report the linkages between water and other sustainability topics, such as food production, energy use, land use, and climate change. Related considerations include the extent to which water-related challenges contribute to other corporate sustainability issues and how other sustainability challenges may affect the company’s approach to water management.Learn More or Close ×Close Large Modal ...