ACCA wants water to be taken seriously

Businesses should account for their water use in the same way they account for their carbon output, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants says, as it believes government control of water supplies could become a business issue in the future.

Compiled in association with the World Wildlife Fund with comments from SABMiller's head of sustainability, Andy Wales, ACCA's paper, 'Water: The next carbon?' argues that water will join the regulatory burden on UK business. It believes the number of water extraction licences issues internationally may decrease, pushing supply prices up, impacting both the cost of business and businesses' impact on the environment.

It adds that business must consider reputational damage around water supplies citing the example of coffee chain Starbucks, which received criticism in 2008 when news broke that in keeping taps running constantly across its operations, it was wasting 23.4m litres of water every day.

The UK government announced this year that it would set targets to reduce the effects of climate change by 2050. It is currently in discussions with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, which recently published a document highlighting the need for businesses to integrate water and energy measurement tools and policies into company reporting.

ACCA's report outlines how sustainable sources of water underpin economic growth and security and can help combat the effects of climate change. It also discusses the effects water scarcity could have on business, from a financial and operational perspective.

Issues discussed include:water as a key business risk; water footprinting guidelines for companies; public-private partnerships; corporate water management best practice; and mainstream investor interest in water.

'UK businesses should be addressing and reporting on the importance of water resources and management in their operations, as well as upstream and downstrea m activities, one element of which is calculating the water footprint,' says Vicky McAllister, sustainability advisor at ACCA.