Corporate social responsibility: sustainable water use

Abstract

Freshwater scarcity is no longer limited to sub-Saharan developing countries; also in Western society, access to unlimited amounts of freshwater is not assured at all times. It has been argued – and laid down in many national legal systems – that access to freshwater is a basic human right. What if corporate freshwater use threatens to interfere with this human right? The main focus of the article is to explore the role of today’s companies in relation to freshwater. A number of tools have been developed to attend to the necessity to reduce corporate use of freshwater. The article discusses specialised water reporting instruments such as the 2007 Global Water Tool and the ‘water footprint’ calculation method. In addition, attention is paid to a CERES report (2010) revealing that the majority of the 100 world’s leading companies in water-intensive industries still has weak management and disclosures of water-related risks and opportunities. To obtain concrete information about corporate water strategies and practices, an explorative analysis was conducted on 20 Dutch multinational companies. The article highlights various innovative practices. In sum, it is demonstrated that companies are expected to bear responsibility for their impact on water resources, in particular when it influences public access to water in areas with freshwater scarcity and/or weak government. Notwithstanding the critical conclusions of the CERES report, it is interesting to see an evolution in corporate research concerning sustainable water use and the development of greener products and greener ways of production.