{"id":521710,"date":"2010-04-09T10:04:08","date_gmt":"2010-04-09T14:04:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.circleofblue.org\/waternews\/?p=14127"},"modified":"2010-04-09T10:04:08","modified_gmt":"2010-04-09T14:04:08","slug":"water-disclosure-project-releases-surveys-to-300-companies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/521710","title":{"rendered":"Water Disclosure Project Releases Surveys to 300 Companies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Questionnaire focuses on usage, operations and supply chains and management strategies in water-intensive sectors. <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

By Andrew Maddocks
\nCircle of Blue<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Water<\/p>\n
Photo Copyright Carbon Disclosure Project<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Carbon Disclosure Project<\/a>, a non-profit that compiles global corporate climate change data, announced the launch of a questionnaire today that will poll 300 businesses in water-intensive industries to release detailed information about their usage of the precious resource.<\/p>\n

This is the first time that the independent British-based organization is applying its model for emissions\u2019 measurements to water. Companies will measure and disclose information on their water usage, explore the risks and opportunities in their operations and supply chains, as well as water management and improvement plans.<\/p>\n

The results, which will be published in late 2010, will give the companies and their investors new tools to analyze water-related risks and bottom line opportunities.<\/p>\n

Marcus Norton, head of the water disclosure program<\/a>, said the survey\u2019s broad acceptance is a sign that companies are beginning to understand water as an important part of their supply chain.<\/p>\n

\u201cCompanies will need to operate in a water-constrained world,\u201d Norton told Circle of Blue. \u201cInvestors will be very interested in knowing that it\u2019s a part of their long-term planning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Companies participating this year are concentrated in water-intensive sectors, and includes\u00a0 Ford, L\u2019Or\u00e9al, PepsiCo and Reed Elsevier already signed on. More than 130 financial institutions with a combined $16 trillion in assets, which includes Allianz Group, HSBC, ING, and National Australia Bank, are also contributing, according to a CDP press release.<\/p>\n

The questionnaire has three general categories: water management and governance, water-related risks, and metrics. The first group of questions asks how companies work with various parties, from governments to local groups, when it comes to their water supply. Investors interested in these businesses, Norton said, want to know how companies are anticipating the dangers of operating in water-scarce regions.<\/p>\n

Norton said CDP designed the survey to collect meaningful data that doesn\u2019t create an excessive reporting burden. While it\u2019s a \u201crocky\u201d process that will develop over many years, companies have no incentive to mislead shareholders, Norton said.<\/p>\n

While carbon emissions have the same effect on London as they do on Michigan, the effect of water scarcity varies across the globe, making useful data harder to gather. This makes localized information the most valuable, according to Norton.
\n\u201cUntil you look at that I don\u2019t think the data is truly meaningful,\u201d he said.
\nCDP aims to use the project as a lens that connects local and global water issues that will, in turn, give companies and investors far more information, awareness and understanding.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an iterative process of improvement,\u201d Norton said. \u201cWe\u2019ll be developing modules for different industries and sectors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eventually, Norton will use the survey\u2019s first year to explore ways the survey should expand and hopes to prioritize two additional categories: the largest, most water-intensive companies and the regions with the worst water scarcity.
\nMeanwhile Norton says this project will advance global awareness of the water crisis in the coming years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve heard people describe us with water as where we were with carbon and climate change five years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

Companies have until July 31 to respond to CDP\u2019s survey.<\/p>\n

Andrew Maddocks is a reporter for Circle of Blue. You can reach him at andrew@circleofblue.org<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Questionnaire focuses on usage, operations and supply chains and management strategies in water-intensive sectors. By Andrew Maddocks Circle of Blue Photo Copyright Carbon Disclosure Project The Carbon Disclosure Project, a non-profit that compiles global corporate climate change data, announced the launch of a questionnaire today that will poll 300 businesses in water-intensive industries to release […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5510,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-521710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-energy","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5510"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=521710"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521710\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=521710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=521710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=521710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}