Water is a resource under increased stress, with its management now cited as one of the greatest risks to business continuity and growth. This concise guide for professionals offers strategic steps for developing a corporate water stewardship strategy. It will enable you to: define business water risks, and the opportunities associated with those risks; explore, through sector-specific profiles, risks associated with regulation, reputation, external response and engagement, and physical incidents; develop a clear plan and process for creating, managing and mainstreaming a corporate water strategy; identify several initiatives and new risk tools that your company can use to stay on top of best practice in water management. With the advent of risk tools, and a growing list of testaments around business risk from water, we are now able to respond more appropriately to how this resource is impacted by and impacts upon business. Use this book as your guide as you begin to build your company's strategy around water.

In the past businesses have viewed water as a minimal operational cost and not a strategic issue. This innovative book provides up to date information on global water issues, describing how companies can not only address the challenges of increased water demand, climatic risks and potentially negative impacts on brand value, but also implement high value global water strategies.

As business risks associated with water intensify – for example risks to oeprations, supply chains and reputation – many corporate sustainability professionals are seeking practical tools to help them understand and assess these risks. Water Footprint Assessment tools developed primarily by the research sector are gaining attention in this context. However, there is debate among experts and non-experts about the merits of this approach. Water Footprint Assessment: A Business Guide is a concise and comprehensive digest of emerging concepts, tools and arguments around water footprint approaches. Specifically aimed at business audiences, this definitive short guide to the issues distils the latest in scientific and policy literature, helps sustainability leaders understand what they can, and can't do with water footprint tools, includes practical experience and case studies and outlines the pros and cons of using Water Footprint Assessment and similar approaches.

Providing food, clean water and energy for a growing population is one of the greatest challenges facing public and private sector professionals. While there is widespread recognition of the complex feedback loops between energy, water and food, there has been less focus on viable solutions. This guide by Will Sarni – an internationally recognized thought leader on corporate water stewardship and water tech innovation – frames the key issues and challenges for business professionals, and then outlines emerging solutions which include both "soft path" and technology innovation approaches. The book includes case examples of multinational companies who are abandoning business as usual and moving beyond traditional thinking. It also highlights crucial new partnerships or 'collective action initiatives' where NGOs, multinationals and the public sector come together to forge practical solutions to meet the needs of their stakeholders. Solutions to the energy–water–food nexus will need to be disruptive, not incremental, and will require technology innovation, new public-private partnerships, and changes in public policy. Beyond the Energy–Food–Water Nexus shows organizations how they can play their part in improving the quality of life for an urbanized global population while preserving the ecosystems that sustain us all.

This book provides a comprehensive assessment of how local corporate water strategies influence global water governance objectives. In various geographies, companies spearhead a quest for more sustainable water management within and beyond their own operations. This book critically examines such strategies and provides an overarching analysis of the effects that mounting corporate involvement has had on the global water discourse. More specifically, it explains why companies from the food, beverage, textile, and mining sectors have started to incorporate water management objectives into their business strategies, how companies work in partnerships with other stakeholders to realize these objectives, and how these actions acquire wider political legitimacy. It presents insightful interview material from business leaders and other high-level stakeholders. Readers will gain the necessary knowledge to develop a critical view and respond appropriately.

This book examines the role played by business in urban water governance by analyzing the evolution of the global private water sector along with four public-private partnerships in Mexico and the U.S. The local nature of water services often hides the global developments behind the rise of transnational water corporations, which have gone from being local operators to becoming dynamic and powerful actors within an interconnected transnational space for water. This book focuses on the French groups Veolia and Suez, two of the most prominent private actors in global water governance, and the development and adaptation strategies of both companies in the cities of Aguascalientes, Mexico City, Atlanta, and Milwaukee over the past 30 years. Drawing on over 100 interviews conducted with corporate executives, public authorities, and local users of water services, this book moves beyond the simplistic dichotomy of the public-private debate and develops a theoretical framework that analyzes the economic and political power wielded by transnational business actors in global water governance. Not only does the book explain how Veolia and Suez strategically mobilize resources at difference scales in order to expand their global operations, but it also provides a nuanced picture of how state regulation remains of central importance to understanding the dynamics and evolution of the global water sector. Students and scholars interested in business and the environment, including public-private partnerships, business management and transnational corporations, and water governance, will find this book of great interest as will professionals and policymakers working in these fields.

Straightforward strategies for achieving sustainable practices and business success in the modern organization In Clean: Lessons from Ecolab’s Century of Positive Impact, a team of veteran sustainability experts delivers a practical toolkit for creating a forward-looking and sustainability-focused business. From Ecolab’s origins in sustainability 100 years ago to its ambitious 2030 environment and social impact goals, this book lays out a roadmap for business transformation and continued growth – today and for the next 100 years. You’ll explore the principles and methods required to build and lead a sustainable company. You’ll discover how to evolve your focus on sustainability over time, as your organization transforms and grows. You’ll learn to: Build and maintain momentum for sustainability initiatives and cement your firm’s commitment to new practices through iteration and aligning business units around core, shared sustainability goals. Embed new sustainable practices into your organization’s governance and operations DNA Identify and leverage specific sustainability levers that impact a wide variety of key performance indicators Create a set of business processes that enable sustainable future and engage your employees in a higher purpose An essential playbook for students of sustainability and business, this book is a must-read for the modern manager, executive, or director seeking to solidify their business strategy and future-proof their company. Clean: Lessons from Ecolab’s Century of Positive Impact describes the holistic and comprehensive approach to responsible business that we’ve all been waiting for.