Giving Compass' Take:

• Will Sarni and Hugh Share lay down the law to ensure corporate water conservation efforts drive real change towards availability and sustainability.

• How are you asking yourself the tough questions about your own corporate water conservation efforts? What can we do to ensure that water conservation efforts are focused on real impact rather than image?

• Learn about the critical role of leadership in driving impactful corporate water conservation efforts.

We have decided to craft this brief manifesto to challenge the status quo, accelerate innovation, solve wicked water problems and achieve United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, "Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all."

The pandemic has strengthened our resolve to do better.

Our observations and point of view for 2020 so far are:

  • The pandemic has been an accelerator of trends, such as the digital transformation of the water sector, attention on lack of access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, and the appalling underinvestment in water infrastructure in the U.S. and globally.
  • The recent interest and commitment to water pledges has diverted scarce resources and funds from actions such as watershed conservation and protection, reuse, technology innovation and adoption, public policy innovation, etc.
  • The corporate sector has too narrow of a view of the opportunities to solve wicked water challenges.
  • We no longer can be silent on the tradeoff between pledges versus actions. The belief that more of the same is unacceptable.

So, consider the questions below and let’s do more, invest more and scale efficient and effective solutions. Less talk, more action.

  • Is sustainability and water stewardship integrated into your business or is it a fringe activity from a sustainability, corporate social responsibility or water team?
  • How many "non-sustainability" colleagues from other areas of your business participated in sustainability or water-related conferences/webinars over the last five years?
  • Do you have a water replenishment/balance/neutrality/positive goal? Did you commit to these goals because your competitors have done so, for communications, or to drive the needed improvements at the local level?
  • Can you more effectively use your resources to improve water policies or leverage resources by working collaboratively with others?

Read the full article about corporate water conservation efforts by Will Sarni and Hugh Share at GreenBiz.