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Spotlight On: Unilever’s Water Stewardship
As the water crisis rages on, there are now 2.2 billion people around the world living without access to safe drinking water and 3.5 billion without access to safe sanitation.
United Nations figures show that over 1.4 billion people were affected by drought between 2002 and 2021, while around half the global population experienced severe water scarcity for at least some of 2022, while a quarter face extremely high levels of water stress, consuming more than 80 per cent of the annual renewable freshwater supply.
While these stats alone should be sufficiently alarming, it seems that the future has the potential to become even bleaker if strong and urgent action isn’t taken to address the situation, with climate change predicted to increase the frequency and severity of drought, water stress and scarcity over time, representing significant risks for social stability.
Of course, it’s not just climate change and extreme weather events that we need to be mindful of. Our water usage and consumption habits will also need to change if we’re to safeguard resources for future generations.
It’s estimated that the world’s sustainable water supply is 4,200 km3 per year. Come 2030, global water demand is expected to be 6,900 km3 – which means that demand will soon outstrip supply by 40 per cent.
While individual consumption and domestic use does need to be addressed, what is perhaps more urgent is how much water industries around the world are using. For example, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development predicts that global water demand for manufacturing will rise by 400 per cent between the year 2000 and 2050.
As such, it is now becoming increasingly important for businesses across all industries and sectors, and of all shapes and sizes, to review their water footprint and consider how they could become better water stewards and start using water more efficiently to reduce pressure on supplies.
To this end, it can be particularly useful to look at larger corporations and big-name brands to see what action they’re taking in this regard, brands such as Unilever, for example.
Unilever’s water stewardship efforts
As we all know, water is essential for 21st century life, keeping everything operating as we’ve become accustomed to.
For Unilever – the world-renowned fast-moving consumer goods company that can trace its origins all the way back to 1929 – it’s also essential for running the business, used for everything from agriculture and manufacturing to how the end user enjoys the products themselves.
To help tackle the issue of water security, the company has set itself a series of climate and nature goals to pave the way, with collaboration across the value chain at the heart of all it does.
This includes partnerships between public and private organisations, as well as the collective community action being taken around its factories and the innovations required for product ingredients.
Thanks to its various water-saving measures, Unilever has succeeded in reducing the volume of water used by its manufacturing sites by approximately 50 per cent per tonne of production.
And it hasn’t stopped there, with operations undergoing continual optimisation to ensure that more can be done with less, utilising its manufacturing excellence network, supplier expertise and industry groups.
The company has worked to identify which of its sites are located in water-stressed areas, which is true for approximately 40 per cent of them. This allows them to focus their attention in the most important places, putting ambitious targets in place and providing these sites with additional support.
This is an excellent first step to take if you too want to become a more effective water steward. Knowledge is power, as they say, and you will be unable to make significant reductions to your water footprint if you don’t at first know where water is being used the most and which places are already facing resource-based difficulties.
One of Unilever’s goals is to implement water stewardship programmes in 100 of its most water-stressed regions by 2030 to help mitigate the water risks. The plan is to expand these programmes beyond the factory walls, working with the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) to drive progress in this regard.
For example, in Konya in Turkey, the Unilever ice cream factory uses a lot of groundwater, taken from a shared aquifer that other agricultural and industrial organisations also use.
Because irrigation is unregulated, groundwater levels are now in decline, but to combat this the factory is now making use of water recycling and reuse strategies, as well as applying the AWS standard to further its water security engagement with other local stakeholders.
Of course, it makes sense to look closer to home initially when first starting out on your stewardship journey and, following in Unilever’s footsteps, identifying the key water risks for your specific business will help guide you and show you what kind of action must be taken and where.
You could also consider doing as the company has done and sign the Glasgow Declaration for Fair Water Footprints at COP26, calling on governments, businesses and civil society to put the policies and incentives in place to drive sustainable, responsible use of water to ensure that local communities become more resilient by 2030.
How to become a water steward
If you are serious about reducing your water footprint, becoming AWS certified demonstrates that you have met the global benchmark for responsible water use. This provides assurances to stakeholders, internal and external alike, that your claims of being a good steward are indeed credible.
You can use your certification to demonstrate the efficacy of your practices to a wide range of audiences, everything from retail customers and consumers to wholesalers, governments, regulators, civil organisations, local communities, investors and so on.
By doing so, not only will you be able to manage the water-related risks to your business but also promote long-term water security for one and all. It’s a very real win-win!