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Laura Ediger
- 1. Water Pollution inChina: Workshop at Nanjing University How Can Business Help? January 15, 2010
- 2. Overview 1. How isBSR involved? 2. Why companies care about water pollution 3. Current approaches in China 2
- 3. We work withbusiness to create a just and sustainable world We have worked in more than 70 Languages & Dialects Spoken: countries from six offices in Asia, Europe, and North America Cantonese Japanese Spanish Dutch Kannada Swedish San Francisco English Lao Tagalog Beijing French Mandarin Taiwanese Guangzhou German Portuguese Thai Hong Kong Guarani Russian Urdu New York Hindi Shona Vietnamese Paris Italian 3
- 4. Member Network: over250 companies from a broad range of industries Sample corporate members include: Alcatel-Lucent IKEA Pfizer Aramex International Kraft Foods Royal Dutch Shell Bank of New York Mellon John Wiley & Sons SAP Cisco Systems Levi Strauss & Co. Sodexo Group Citigroup Marks & Spencer Sony Corporation The Coca-Cola Company McDonald’s Corporation Starbucks Coffee Company Duke Energy McGraw-Hill Time Warner Ford Motor Company Microsoft Wal-Mart Stores GE Nike The Walt Disney Company IBM Novartis Wells Fargo & Company 4
- 5. The BSR Approach Research & Innovation Consulting Services Member Network Cross-sector Collaboration 5
- 6. Why Companies Careabout Water Pollution 6
- 7. Brand is everything “Gap, Levi Strauss factory pollution exposed in Africa” “Coca-Cola, Pepsi on Beijing’s worst polluter list” --AFP, 19 August 2009 Photo: http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Gap-And-Levi-Promise-Action-After- Manufacturing-Operations-Exposed-As-Causing-Pollution-In-Africa/Article/200908115351904 7
- 8. “China’s waterways payprice in textile boom” --Wall Street Journal, August 26, 2007 8
- 9.
- 10. Water Management =Risk Management Risk Impact Physical • Disruption from lack of availability • Reallocation to other needs during drought Regulation • Suspension of discharge or supply permit • Price increases driven by scarcity Reputation • Competition with community needs • Brand damage by association with suppliers’ impact on freshwater resources Source: JP Morgan. 2008. Watching Water: A Guide to Evaluating Corporate Risks in a Thirsty World. Available at http://www.jpmorgan.com 10
- 11. It’s the rightthing to do • Clean, safe water is vital for ecosystem and human health • Increased transparency and sustainability reporting is shining a light on many environmental impacts that companies hadn’t paid attention to 11
- 12. Water issues arenot going away • Competing demands from industry, residents, agriculture, recreation are only going to increase • The right to use water is going to become more and valuable, and more and more political 12
- 13. What are CompaniesDoing in China? 13
- 14. Risk Assessments • Waterfootprints • Supply chain assessment 14
- 15. Supply Chains --Compliance • Expanded environmental compliance programs • External verification of supplier performance by audit firms, NGOs • Shared standards for supplier water quality guidelines • Monitoring – Web H2O • Detailed Code of Conduct requirements 15
- 16. Sustainable Water Group Dedicatedto responsible practices around water use and wastewater discharge in supply chains using industry-developed guidelines. 1 Clear and consistent expectations for the Member Companies environmental performance of mills and Coldwater Creek, Inc. laundries regarding wastewater Gap Inc. 2 Standards are reviewed by H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB environmental and textile industry JC Penney Company experts to ensure adequacy and LL Bean technical feasibility Levi Strauss & Co. 3 Standards designed to allow individual NIKE, Inc. companies to implement a water effluent Nordstrom, Inc. treatment program that fits their business Timberland objectives 16
- 17. WebH2O: Online EnvironmentalDatabase Tool BSR-AWQWG WATER QUALITY GUIDELINES & TESTING STANDARDS Parameter 2006 2007 2008 Sampling Temperature pH Traditional Parameters: Total Suspended Solids Biochemical Oxygen Demand Chemical Oxygen Demand Chemical Constituents: Antimony Arsenic Cadmium Chromium Cobalt Copper Cyanide Lead Mercury Nickel Zinc Color Foam: Domestic Sewage: 17
- 18. Supply Chains --Support • Intensive in-person help to improve wastewater management technology and processes • Training for wastewater managers (CTI) • Occasional encouragement • Tie incentives (production orders) to performance on water issues 18
- 19. Water Resource ManagementTraining Development of education and training programs in water and wastewater management. • Providing water management training for factory managers. • Include topics such as: regulatory environment, risks and opportunities, financial expectations, and problem- solving approaches. 19
- 20. Community Engagement • Coca-Cola: – partnership with WWF to protect Yangtze River basin – rainwater harvesting in 12 villages in NW China – partnership with UNDP, MWR, MOFCOM, to improve water access and sanitation • Pepsi: – grants on Safe Water and efficiency – partnership with All China Women’s Federation on safe drinking water • Lots of interest (primarily from beverage companies), but not much experience 20
- 21. Main challenges tosupply chain work • Regulatory environment • Limited NGO / civil society pressure • Highly technical issue • Long-term horizon often necessary for investment – in most industries, neither customer nor supplier have this • Many of worst polluters are not in MNC top tier supplier base • Not a component of purchasing decisions 21
- 22. Thank you! Laura Ediger:lediger@bsr.org 22