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Vereeniging - Multinational companies serious about sustainable development and protecting their working environments will in future publish more information about water consumption, as in the case of their carbon footprint.
Shareholders and other interested parties can use this information to decide whether the company is conducting a sustainable business.
This is the latest initiative by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), which has since 2000 been encouraging companies to measure and publicise their carbon emissions in this era of climate change.
According to a CDP statement, its water project is supported by several of the world's major financial institutions.
In recent months the CDP has approached 306 of the world's biggest multinational companies (three of which are in South Africa), asking them to answer 60-odd questions about their water consumption.
According to CDP CEO Paul Simpson, the purpose of the water disclosure project (WDP) is to promote transparency among companies. It is also an awareness campaign about the risks in a world where water resources are under pressure.
The WDP will use the same system as the CDP to tackle water scarcity.
Simpson says that for a decade the CDP has served as an assessment tool for shareholders and the business sector to determine companies' ability to help inhibit climate change and adapt accordingly.
In all, 137 institutions, including the Allianz Group, HSBC and Mitsubishi which are together worth $16 000bn, have indicated they are prepared to participate in the project.
In South Africa Sasol, AngloGold Ashanti and Anglo Platinum have been asked to take part.
The recent McKinsey report Charting our Water Future indicates that water availability could decline 40% by 2030, according to the statement.
- Sake24.com
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