Human life depends on water, yet as global water availability declines and climate change intensifies, we can expect the water crisis to get worse.
As of 2024, a UNESCO report reveals that nearly 2.2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water. For many communities, this can lead to disease and famine but as water scarcity continues to rise, the United Nations warns worse could yet occur with tensions over water potentially exacerbating conflict worldwide.
Thankfully, there is now an increasing awareness that freshwater resources are limited and need to be preserved. Individuals, communities, and governments can all play a role in improving the situation through responsible water stewardship. This helps to ensure that water use is environmentally sustainable, socially equitable, and economically beneficial.
For businesses, this means assessing your water use, catchment context, and shared risk in terms of water governance and quality. To do this, you will need to consider:
- How water is used within your direct (operational) and indirect (supply chain) operations
- How your water consumption and use impact the watershed
- How the conditions of the watershed impact your operations
In this article, we explore how ESG software can simplify this process so you can enjoy the benefits of good water stewardship.
streamline water data collection
One of the biggest challenges in tackling water stewardship is data. With water used across multiple parts of your organization, collecting data is not as easy as simply tracking a water utility bill.
The right software solution can simplify this process, automating data collection from multiple locations, facilities, and systems. This reduces the time needed to manually gather water data including water consumption, usage, waste, and more. Centralizing this data to one platform makes monitoring and managing your organization’s water footprint easier.
automate water footprint calculations
Once all your water data is available on one platform, the next step is to put that information to work. Sustainability software can automatically track, calculate, and assess your organization’s green, blue, and gray water footprints, making it easier to assess and evaluate where you can reduce water usage.
Using the AMCS Sustainability Platform, you can also automate reporting using globally recognized water stewardship frameworks and standards such as CDP – Water, SASB, Water Footprint Network, and more.
This ensures the accuracy of any disclosures with the added benefit that using the same criteria as other companies to measure, calculate, and report water use can help you to benchmark and track progress against competitors.
reduce water-related risks and impacts
Armed with data on your water footprint, you will be equipped to prepare for and mitigate water-related risks. Effective ESG software can identify water hotspots within your operational processes where water consumption has suddenly increased or become more costly.
Information such as this can help to identify opportunities to reduce your organization’s impacts and work towards better water stewardship. Using this data to run scenario analyses can also help understand the potential impacts of water scarcity on your business or operations in future.
demonstrate good water stewardship
In the world of sustainability, attention is often focused on carbon, but water is also vitally important to the health of our communities. By acting as a good water steward, your organization can demonstrate a future-focused approach with a commitment to reducing its impact on the planet.
What’s more, with concerns around greenwashing plaguing all industries, you’ll have the data to back up these commitments, providing a tangible advantage over those making grandiose claims. In fact, with one central platform to manage all your ESG data, including water stewardship, you’re all set to illustrate your progress towards a whole host of sustainability goals.
If you’re ready to become a water champion, or you need help managing your water impact, we can help. The AMCS Sustainability Platform tracks, measures, and manages water risks and impacts across your entire organization. Speak to an AMCS expert today.