Friday, July 1, 2022
The Green Market Oracle
  • Climate Change
    • Greenhouse Gas Emissions
    • Biodiversity
    • Wildfires
    • Extreme Weather
  • Energy
    • Fossil Fuels
    • Renewables
  • Politics
    • American Politics
    • Canadian Politics
    • International Politics
  • Social Change
    • Activism
    • Disinformation
    • Education
    • Psychology
    • Gender Equality
  • Business and Economics
    • Leadership
    • Decarbonization
    • Economics
    • Supply Chains
    • Investing
  • Technology
    • Carbon Removal
    • Carbon Capture
    • Transportation
    • Buildings
    • Food
No Result
View All Result
  • Climate Change
    • Greenhouse Gas Emissions
    • Biodiversity
    • Wildfires
    • Extreme Weather
  • Energy
    • Fossil Fuels
    • Renewables
  • Politics
    • American Politics
    • Canadian Politics
    • International Politics
  • Social Change
    • Activism
    • Disinformation
    • Education
    • Psychology
    • Gender Equality
  • Business and Economics
    • Leadership
    • Decarbonization
    • Economics
    • Supply Chains
    • Investing
  • Technology
    • Carbon Removal
    • Carbon Capture
    • Transportation
    • Buildings
    • Food
No Result
View All Result
The Green Market Oracle
No Result
View All Result
Home Other

New Tool Helps Companies with Water Risks

by Richard Matthews
March 29, 2012
in Other
0

A global online tool launched by WWF and German development finance institution DEG (Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH) enables companies and investors to address their water-related risks. WWF and DEG have created a practical online questionnaire that not only identifies water risk in supply chains and investment portfolios, but also provides practical steps to mitigate risk.

Roughly 40 per cent of the world’s population lives in river basins that experience severe water scarcity during at least one month of the year; more than 900 million people lack access to safe drinking water and 2.7 billion lack access to basic sanitation services. Population growth and climate change are set to increase pressure on vital freshwater resources, with serious consequences for nature, people and economies.

“Water scarcity is a concern for conservationists, communities and companies alike. But simply competing for every last drop will do no good to anyone. If water users become aware of their water risks – and work together to find solutions – we can ensure that people, nature and businesses have the water they need,” said Jim Leape, WWF International Director General.

A risk that cannot be ignored

Virtually every business sector relies on water. Yet many executives remain unaware of how water flows through their supply chains, or how the health of the environment where their facilities are located could affect long-term profitability.

WWF and DEG’s message to companies is simple: Why take the risk? DEG has established water as a critical field for its client companies, and has used the Water Risk Filter to help them identify and mitigate water risk in business operations.

“Water availability is the most underestimated critical issue for the companies we are financing, but we believe that financial institutions can help make the companies more sustainable in their performance. Our work with WWF looks beyond the risks and shows practical ways how to change them into business opportunities,” said Bruno Wenn, Chairman of DEG.

What makes the tool unique?

The Water Risk Filter incorporates WWF’s science-based approach to water stewardship. It has a number of unique features:

  • It is easy to use. Geared specifically for non-experts, it guides users through a simple questionnaire and a pre-assessment survey that uses industry and geographic information to evaluate in less than 5 minutes if additional evaluation is necessary.
  • It is global and draws on data sheets for 235 countries and territories, providing interactive maps and case studies.
  • The tool uses the best available data as well as company specific information to analyse all relevant indicators of water risk.
  • The tool goes beyond an assessment and provides a mitigation toolbox for the user.

“The Water Risk Filter will undoubtedly identify water ‘red zones’ – those places where scarcity creates investment risk. The answer is not to abandon those places; from a practical standpoint this won’t be possible. Instead we must turn red to green and manage resources within scarcity,” said Stuart Orr, WWF Freshwater Manager.

Global fashion retailer H&M was among the companies to test the online tool.

“The outcomes from the Water Risk Filter are important inputs for our new, holistic water strategy that we are developing together with WWF. It shows us where and how we can have the biggest impact, and helps improve our understanding of how sustainable our supply chain is, given the often difficult local water situations,” said Mikael Blomme, Environmental Sustainability Manager at H&M.

Ivo Mulder, Programme Officer, Biodiversity and Ecosystems/ Water and Finance of UNEP welcomed the water risk filter and stressed the important role of risk assessment for companies in terms of competitiveness, reputation and investor confidence.

“For a long time, financial institutions have focused on climate change as the factor with the most material impact on loans, investments and insurance products. That landscape is changing quickly, with water emerging beyond reputational risk. It now holds the potential of affecting debt-servicing and the creditworthiness of clients. The Water Risk Filter helps financial institutions better understand and structure the different components of water risks, and assess these risks throughout the due diligence processes,” Mulder said.

For more information contact Gretchen Lyons tel: +41 22 364 9043/+41 79 916 0136, email: glyons@wwfint.org or Natalie Boudou nboudou@wwfint.org tel: +41 22 364 9554/+41 79 820 2898

Related Posts
Carbon Measurement Guide for Companies
Siemens Water Tool on Facebook
Caelus Releases the CurrentState Guide
Green Economy Guide for Women
Green Guide for SMEs from the Carbon
Global Green Investors Guide
Global Solar Companies Guide
Interface’s Environmental Product Declarations Guide
Major US Environmental Engineering Companies Guide
How to Make Sustainable Choices a Managers Guide
GreenBlue’s Packaging Design Guide
Small Business Guide to Social Media
Best Practices for Communicating Sustainability
Best Practices for Engaging Employees in Sustainability
Sustainability Best Practices
Sustainable Supply Chains
ISO 14020 Series: Guide to 3 Types of Environmental Labels
ISO 50001 Energy
GHG Protocol and Scope 3 Accounting
The 2012 Global Cleantech Directory
Earth Day Tool Kit
Back to School Environmental Tool Kit

ShareTweetShare
Previous Post

The War Between the Earth’s Carrying Capacity and Rising Demand

Next Post

Carbon Measurement Guide for Companies

Related Posts

Seasons Greetings from the Green Market Oracle

by Richard Matthews
December 24, 2021
0

American Courts are Defending Democracy and the Environment

by Richard Matthews
December 14, 2020
0

Despite unprecedented challenges, America's legal system has held. In recent weeks the courts have repeatedly defended democracy and in the last four years they have overturned a wide range of environmental...

Environmental Plebiscites: Municipal Referendums and State Ballot Initiatives

by Richard Matthews
November 12, 2020
0

The November 3rd election not only elected an environmentally responsible president it also gave Americans a chance to vote on environmental issues in five state ballots and two city referendums. Americans ...

Next Post

Carbon Measurement Guide for Companies

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • SoundCloud

Subscribe to the Blog

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

different types of economic systems assessed by sustainable development goals
Economics

Types of Economies and their Implications for Sustainability

by Richard Matthews
June 28, 2022
0

What are the different economic systems and what is a sustainable economy? These are important questions that need to be...

Read more
The facts about Nuclear Energy reveal that it is safe and clean but it is not renewable

Fact Check Reveals Nuclear Energy is Safe and Clean but not Renewable

June 13, 2022

Environmental Implications of Three Types of Economies: Brown, Blue and Green

June 3, 2022

Types of Nuclear Energy: Where We Were and Where We are Today

May 31, 2022

The 10 Colors of the Economy and Sustainable Development Goals

April 20, 2022
  • About
  • Climate Change
  • Energy
  • Business and Economics
  • Politics
  • Technology
  • Social Change
  • Events
  • Other

© 2021 Copyright The Green Market Oracle.

No Result
View All Result
  • Business and Economics
    • Leadership
    • Supply Chains
  • Economics
  • Energy
    • Fossil Fuels
    • Renewables
  • Climate Change
    • Greenhouse Gas Emissions
    • Biodiversity
    • Extreme Weather
    • Wildfires
  • Investing
  • Politics
    • American Politics
    • Canadian Politics
    • International Politics
  • Technology
    • Buildings
    • Carbon Capture
    • Food
    • Transportation
  • Social Change
    • Education
    • Activism
    • Psychology

© 2021 Copyright The Green Market Oracle.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In