{"id":9237,"date":"2020-10-25T01:37:59","date_gmt":"2020-10-25T01:37:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ceowatermandate.org\/site-targets-guide\/?page_id=9237"},"modified":"2020-10-25T20:41:13","modified_gmt":"2020-10-25T20:41:13","slug":"frequently-asked-questions","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ceowatermandate.org\/site-targets-guide\/frequently-asked-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"Frequently Asked Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]To facilitate knowledge-sharing among stakeholders interested in this subject, the project team has created this FAQ page in which we summarize key audience questions and takeaways. Going forward, this FAQ page will include insights from the various contextual target-setting projects around the world and will be regularly updated to reflect new findings and project learnings.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_tta_accordion active_section=”0″ collapsible_all=”true” title=”Stakeholder Engagement”][vc_tta_section title=”How did you select stakeholders to validate findings?” tab_id=”1603579806894-f423a08c-e4e7″][vc_column_text]In India, we did a thorough landscape assessment to understand who the relevant stakeholders\u00a0are\u00a0and worked with a local organization,\u00a0Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE)\u00a0on identifying this stakeholder group. We ensured stakeholders\u00a0encompassed a range of sectors, including brand representatives, facility managers, environmental NGOs, and social NGO.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”How did you ensure participation of most relevant stakeholders?” tab_id=”1603579806901-1d7d6f8b-5a95″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]In short, we sent\u00a0a\u00a0lot of emails and\u00a0held\u00a0a lot of discussions! We made sure to understand and appeal to each stakeholder\u2019s interests and show how our project can contribute to these interests and add value to their work. For India specifically, we held an in-person workshop in Coimbatore, India\u00a0early on in the\u00a0project with the objective to\u00a0ground truth the priority water challenges and discussed existing practices and potential solutions to address the priority challenges. This created a good foundation for the rest of the project. More information on the workshop and outcomes are located\u00a0here<\/a>.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”How do you create shared ownership of achieving targets with the stakeholders?” tab_id=”1603580067840-fc8f1f52-2e95″][vc_column_text]Consistent and effective stakeholder engagement is crucial for this aspect. Understanding the needs and goals of the stakeholder and involving them in the analytical process will help ensure everyone is on the same page and feels \u2018ownership\u2019 of the project and resulting targets. In India, we validated the key challenges with our stakeholder group and discussed potential solutions, both\u00a0within and\u00a0external\u00a0of\u00a0the manufacturing site.\u00a0The stakeholders were keen to work on collective action targets and solutions.\u00a0In response,\u00a0we developed a list of\u00a0collective action\u00a0targets<\/a>\u00a0addressing the\u00a0shared water challenges and\u00a0possible\u00a0collective action\u00a0projects. These targets could\u00a0then\u00a0be tailored to each\u00a0company.\u00a0It\u2019s also important to bring internal alignment\u00a0within the company. In the Santa Ana\u00a0pilot,\u00a0several companies\u00a0included both their\u00a0corporate team and site-level management team in the target setting process.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”With water challenges being interconnected and with a strong desire for collective work among the private sector, what is the role of government in this work\u2014regulatory, fiscal, other?” tab_id=”1603580069437-617fdd7f-7e1b”][vc_column_text]This would depend on the context of where you are situated. In South Africa for example, the role of government is very strong in terms of ensuring policy alignment. In many cases,\u00a0the government requires support and often the collective work among the private sector can support that. But\u00a0we\u00a0imagine that in other countries, the role of the government could be different.\u00a0Local water planning documents are critical information for understanding the catchment context and desired end state. So engaging water managers by inviting them to stakeholder convenings, sharing insights, and asking for their input in the site water targets setting process is important.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Did companies work with policy makers to craft regulations?” tab_id=”1603580163719-64128723-5a1a”][vc_column_text]It depends on the national or regional context whether this is possible or not. For example, for India, we were not able to do this largely because of the governance structure. In California however, we did work with water utilities in the region so that companies could have direct dialogue with their public agencies, mostly focused around how to best make use of their programs for commercial customers.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_accordion][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_tta_accordion active_section=”0″ collapsible_all=”true” title=”Water Target Setting”][vc_tta_section title=”Please give some examples of targets, what has worked and has not. What makes a realistic target?” tab_id=”1603580284557-387d1a13-52ca”][vc_column_text]We have multiple examples in our case studies, please refer to them here: https:\/\/ceowatermandate.org\/site-targets-guide\/<\/a>. A target is realistic if you can ensure it follows the SMART principles- ensuring it is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. We also explain this further in the overall guidance, which can be found here<\/a>.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Did companies work with each other to set targets or did they set individual targets for themselves irrespective of what other companies were doing?” tab_id=”1603580284589-44527a99-7b39″][vc_column_text]We are currently at this stage in the process, where we are working with the participating companies to decide on what kinds of targets would be most effective. Overall, there is a strong interest in setting collective targets. In Santa Ana, the pilot led to the formation of a collective working group to address the prioritized challenges through the California Water Action Collaborative (CWAC). In South Africa, the water challenges are too large to manage alone, therefore companies are trying to work together and with the public sector to share the burden of reducing water risk. Choosing the type of target will ultimately depend on the company or companies involved, and project feasibility in the local context.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”While Aqueduct-WRI (and other global water risk tools) can give a broad view, do you consider it essential to make detailed river basin-based risk assessments?” tab_id=”1603580360120-8355b006-00f4″][vc_column_text]Yes, absolutely, broad water risk tools can help to focus basins to focus efforts but also what the major challenges might be, but local stakeholder engagement and specific detailed information in addition to the broader water risk tools will be needed to really evaluate what the targets could be.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”How are water targets linked to other environmental and human rights targets?” tab_id=”1603580362036-1299ff3a-0449″][vc_column_text]There is currently a process underway called the Science Based Targets Network (SBTN), which is trying to develop a methodology to set integrated targets across water, biodiversity, marine, land, carbon and others and keeping within planetary boundaries. This project however only focused on SDG 6 on water, and so didn\u2019t directly consider carbon emissions and other environmental impacts from SBTN. It did however consider the environmental and social aspects of water under SDG 6.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Why are the water targets in absolute numbers for one of your companies and in % of decrease for others?” tab_id=”1603585434498-559da007-f8e5″][vc_column_text]The companies were provided guidance on how to create their targets. The guidance was suggestive and not prescriptive. They were not told exactly what the targets should be. As long as companies set targets that were SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound), and took into account the local context, they were accepted.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_accordion][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_tta_accordion active_section=”0″ collapsible_all=”true” title=”Driving Action”][vc_tta_section title=”Why should you care about water, especially when you operate in countries that don’t have a considerable cost associated to water use?” tab_id=”1603585497363-ed54a54f-660f”][vc_column_text]In many of our pilots the cost of water use is low. However, despite the low cost, water security remains a challenge for business. This may be because of supply interruptions, quality issues, or perhaps access to WASH. If you are a company operating in a catchment in which water challenges are faced by others in the community, this can lead to reputational risks too.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”How do you convert the formulated targets into an actionable plan for the company?” tab_id=”1603585497397-78f84165-038c”][vc_column_text]The\u00a0main\u00a0point of target setting is to create an actionable plan\u00a0for the company. This depends on company interest\/ambition, governance structure and multiple other factors. In our work, there is already strong interest from companies. Having buy-in from companies at different levels is very important in ensuring that targets will become actionable plans. The second aspect is to provide resources and case studies for different industry sectors and in different basins showing the value-add of setting targets and creating action plans. For example, our pilots in India<\/a>, South Africa<\/a>, and the United States<\/a> can help spur action in other basins. Being able to tie targets to existing water stewardship efforts can also help drive action. Throughout this process, it is also important to bring relevant internal and external stakeholders to the table; collective discussions can spur ideas on the best way to drive action and can also motivate effective action.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”How can you engage the most risk averse people in the organization, such as the engineers, who have to do the day job and meet their P&L?” tab_id=”1603585858282-16118c15-b350″][vc_column_text]The first step is to highlight the water risks and impacts on the organization. Provide examples and specific business impacts. Thereafter, provide examples addressing water risks and the results for the company\u2019s operations and supply chains and also for basins where they have operations. Usually, if you\u2019re able to make a business case, you\u2019re able to convince internal stakeholders. It\u2019s also important to remember that some job descriptions are responsible for overall strategy versus site-specific operations, and therefore it\u2019s important to engage the right people in the organization. Gaining buy-in will involve tailoring your pitch according to who<\/em> you\u2019re talking to and understanding what information they need to make an informed decision- this could be materials around financial information, stakeholder buy-in, reputational aspects, etc.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_accordion][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]To facilitate knowledge-sharing among stakeholders interested in this subject, the project team has created this FAQ page in which we summarize key audience questions and takeaways. Going forward, this FAQ page will include insights from the various contextual target-setting projects … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":15,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"coauthors":[655],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceowatermandate.org\/site-targets-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9237"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceowatermandate.org\/site-targets-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceowatermandate.org\/site-targets-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceowatermandate.org\/site-targets-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceowatermandate.org\/site-targets-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9237"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/ceowatermandate.org\/site-targets-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9237\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9254,"href":"https:\/\/ceowatermandate.org\/site-targets-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9237\/revisions\/9254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ceowatermandate.org\/site-targets-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ceowatermandate.org\/site-targets-guide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=9237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}