Aug 08 – CEO Water Mandate Convenes Second Working Conference

(New York, 25 August 2008) – On 21-22 August, the UN Global Compact Office, in partnership with the Pacific Institute, convened the second working conference of The CEO Water Mandate. Held in Stockholm during World Water Week, the event focused on the topics of managing water in the supply chain, and transparency. The conference brought together approximately 70 senior representatives from the private sector, civil society, UN agencies, as well as other key stakeholders. A keynote address was delivered by Ewa Bjorling, Swedish Minister for Trade.

Participants engaged in the sharing of emerging practices related to water and supply chains — including discussions on assessing, measuring, and managing water-use impacts, risks and opportunities. Day two of the conference focused on the draft Transparency Framework for The CEO Water Mandate. Developed in partnership with the Pacific Institute, the ultimate goal of the Transparency Framework is to establish transparency policies, objectives, and actions that are deemed valuable and credible by endorsers and key interests.

Launched by the UN Secretary-General in July 2007, The CEO Water Mandate represents both a policy framework for water sustainability as well as a call-to-action to the global business community. Thus far it has been endorsed by 31 chief executive officers.

A summary of the Stockholm conference will be posted on the UN Global Compact website within the next several weeks.

To access the agenda of the meeting, please click here.

To access the list of meeting participants, please click here.

Learn more about The CEO Water Mandate.

Contact

Gavin Power
Deputy Director
UN Global Compact
powerg@un.org

author avatar
CEO Water Mandate Secretariat
The CEO Water Mandate is a special initiative of the UN Secretary-General and the UN Global Compact, implemented in partnership with the Pacific Institute. These key partners work together as the CEO Water Mandate Secretariat. The Mandate Secretariat supports the initiative’s mission in many ways, including: 1) developing research, guidance, and tools that advance corporate water stewardship; 2) convening multi-stakeholder events to identify, explore, and solve key water challenges; 3) facilitating meaningful collective action to improve conditions in at-risk river basins.