Global Water Usage

How Can a Company Affect Global Water Usage?

Ask a casual question about a company's need to pursue sustainability, seeking answers to justify such a pursuit. The chances are that energy efficiency and the huge problem associated with greenhouse gas emissions will dominate the conversation. After all, much publicity has been given to the damage caused by excess energy production and consumption and the need to mitigate carbon emissions.

Carbon emissions around the world must be, quite rightly, the focus of corporate attention. However, global water usage is also unsustainable and could, in fact, turn out to be an even larger problem than greenhouse gas emissions. Many experts believe that we will run out of water on our current path way before we deplete our non-renewable fuel sources.

Ask a casual question about a company's need to pursue sustainability, seeking answers to justify such a pursuit. The chances are that energy efficiency and the huge problem associated with greenhouse gas emissions will dominate the conversation. After all, much publicity has been given to the damage caused by excess energy production and consumption and the need to mitigate carbon emissions.

By current estimates, according to a collaborative watchdog group, the 2030 Water Resources Group, global water requirements will increase by more than 50% by the time that we reach 2030. This will be 40% more than our ability to supply, unless stringent measures are taken to address the situation.

Global water usage in the industrial and commercial sector will double by 2030 from its current position as 20% of total usage. While agriculture maintains a lion's share of water usage around the world, it should fall to every corporate boardroom to act swiftly. Cut back and contribute in the push for water sustainability.

Global Water Usage Lacks the Needed Attention

As an individual corporation, there is of course a limit to what can be done. For example, a company cannot alter the projection that China is likely to account for almost half of the additional industrial global water usage by 2030. However, as in the case of carbon reduction, a significant consolidation of water resource usage internally can aggregate to make a huge difference, worldwide.

The Water Resources Group gives as a stark reminder how inefficient we are, most especially when it comes to our corporate contribution to global water usage. In the 15 years ending in 2004, water usage efficiency increased by a paltry 1%. Little publicity is given to these statistics. Just imagine how much outcry there would be if our rate of carbon emission efficiency was so pitiful?

Collective Action for Global Water Usage

Collectively, we may be missing the bigger picture and failing to link our energy efforts with our water security efforts. For example, in the industrial sector, more than half of the global water usage is tied to the production of energy.

As the world's population continues to grow in an unsustainable way, it is likely that there will be increasing demand for agricultural production. This will exponentially boost the amount of global water usage allocated for that sector. This puts even more pressure on the industrial, commercial and domestic sectors to reduce reliance on this scarce commodity as much as possible.

About Verisae

Verisae helps measure, manage and reduce equipment and energy costs including the related business and environmental impacts of carbon emissions. The Sustainability Resource Planning (“SRP”) software platform improves operational efficiency, protects brand integrity and helps ensure regulatory compliance for distributed enterprises across many industries. Verisae delivers a broad range of sustainability solutions to dozens of clients globally with thousands of daily users including an extended network of third-party suppliers. Verisae’s integrated sustainability platform actively tracks millions of assets across thousands of sites worldwide.

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