Message from the Head of the Centre

Water is regarded as one of the most precious resource, due to its paucity and dependence on it for survival. In India, we face major challenges regarding the availability and quality of water and its accessibility in several districts and regions. Observational records and climate projections provide abundant evidence that freshwater resources are vulnerable and have the potential to be strongly impacted by climate change, with wide-ranging consequences for human societies and ecosystems.

The current need is in harnessing and using water judiciously and resourcefully. Indian Industry has been proactive in formulating and adopting measures to improve the efficiency in the use of water and more effective management of water resources. For instance, adoption of water neutral and water positive technologies and voluntary disclosure of the water footprint are being done at the enterprise level. Other initiatives at the grass root level like rainwater harvesting, artificial groundwater recharge, watershed protection have been taken by many companies.

Government's response on this issue is commendable, with National Water Mission under National Action Plan on Climate Change focusing on water conservation, equitable distribution and minimization of waste. The National Water Mission provides a framework for industry to shape its active response along with the creation of business opportunities.

Regards,
Seema Arora

Sustainability Business Trends Update
"Water footprint" enters corporate vocabulary

"Carbon footprint" is used commonly by consumers and business managers alike now - a - days, although few years ago there was lack of awareness on it. Likewise, the term "water footprint" is now gaining broad acceptance amongst business community. The sum of the direct use and the indirect use of water is known as "Water Footprint".

In the past water issues were overlooked by the industry; but now, with increasing concern over climate change and resource scarcity, the issues related to water on the business radar, often form part of Corporate Social Responsibility and reflected in the Environmental Management Systems. Apart from reputation and regulatory effects, water issues also affect business operations, through supply chain bottlenecks arising from water shortages.

Increased awareness on water issues is partly due to the recognition of problems related to energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. A lot of energy is being utilized for pumping, treating, filtering, chilling and heating water hence wastage of water in such industrial processes results in increased use of energy.

Businesses still have to cover a lot of ground to improve their water use efficiency and water conservation by integrating water into core & strategic business planning and governance structures. Disclosure of the water footprint by companies is another important step in improving transparency associated with water related issues. Corporate Water Footprinting outlines the risks and opportunities water poses to businesses and presents practical advice on mapping and reducing water consumption across the supply chain and thereby, reducing water footprints by adopting advanced technologies (improving efficiency and water rating), increasing industrial water productivity, and undertaking mandatory industrial water audits and conservation measures like rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge.