That is the third of a four-part collection taking a more in-depth take a look at how 72 firms in 4 industries — beverage, attire, meals, and excessive tech — carried out in Ceres’ new Valuing Water Finance Initiative Benchmark report, which assesses how firms are valuing and appearing on water as a monetary danger and driving the systemic modifications wanted to guard freshwater programs world wide.
Contemporary water is more and more briefly provide, and the $6 trillion meals and beverage trade is on the heart of this downside.
Whereas it’s clear that the enormous trade, which makes use of greater than 70 p.c of the world’s recent water, will depend on and has an outsized impression on the world’s water provides, what’s typically much less apparent is how a lot the trade additionally impacts — and will depend on — international ecosystems.
Extra meals firms are working to reverse this development by adopting measures to assist protect and restore ecosystems that assist freshwater provides they want.
Ecosystems and water danger
The financial worth of water and freshwater ecosystems is immense: about $58 trillion yearly, equal to 60 p.c international GDP.
The necessity for water to irrigate crops could also be simple, however most advantages or “ecosystem providers” are much less seen, akin to filtering and storing water, enhancing soil well being, storing carbon and defending communities from floods and drought.
The connection is round. The quantity of water the large meals and beverage trade and its suppliers use, together with the water air pollution they churn out, is threatening ecosystems that want clear water to thrive, and ecosystem providers that assist keep water provides firms and communities want.
Freshwater ecosystems are additionally disappearing, with some being transformed to farmland to satisfy demand for uncooked components.
Firms and buyers have gotten extra conscious of their vital relationship with freshwater ecosystems. That is why some buyers, by means of Ceres’ Valuing Water Finance Initiative, are supporting firms working to unravel these challenges. These buyers have laid out six Company Expectations, together with utilizing much less water, stopping air pollution and defending ecosystems. Traders are additionally appearing on nature-related monetary dangers extra broadly by means of efforts akin to Nature Motion 100.
The Valuing Water Finance Initiative benchmark report assessed 72 firms, together with 39 within the meals trade, on how they’re managing water to assist mitigate monetary danger. The evaluation highlights the steps some meals firms are taking to cut back their impacts on freshwater ecosystems and strengthen sustainability methods that assist each water sources and nature.
Sustainably sourcing components
A lot of the meals firms evaluated within the report disclose efforts to supply components sustainably. This contains working with suppliers on sustainable agricultural practices that may assist cut back the impacts that elevating meals and animals has on water sources and ecosystems.
For instance, Kerry Group companions with its milk suppliers to cut back how a lot air pollution they discharge into close by waterbodies. This contains utilizing nutrient administration practices for the crops grown to feed dairy cows to cut back nutrient runoff. As detailed within the firm’s 2022 sustainability report, these practices assist mitigate the danger of eutrophication — an overabundance of vitamins in waterbodies that may result in dangerous algae blooms and different issues akin to water high quality degradation and biodiversity loss.
The necessity for water to irrigate crops could also be simple, however most advantages or ‘ecosystem providers’ are much less seen, akin to filtering and storing water, enhancing soil well being, storing carbon and defending communities from floods and drought.
Some meals firms even have sustainable sourcing insurance policies that embrace commitments to selling environment friendly water use and air pollution discount of their agricultural provide chains. A few of these commitments, akin to scaling regenerative agriculture, have clear hyperlinks to supporting ecosystem well being.
Common Mills goals to advance regenerative agriculture on 1 million acres of farmland by 2030. The corporate is partnering with native organizations in areas the place it sources its key components to assist farmers — each inside and outdoors of its provide chain — transition to regenerative agriculture programs. Implementing regenerative agriculture helps fascinating outcomes, together with soil well being, water amount and high quality, and biodiversity. In 2023, Common Mills reported greater than 500,000 acres have been already a part of its packages.
Different firms are collaborating in tasks aimed instantly at defending or restoring particular ecosystems.
Singapore-based Wilmar Worldwide, for instance, works intently with Indigenous communities in areas designated for cover inside an organization plantation in Sumatra, Indonesia. The collaboration helps defend riparian zones and protect water high quality in a river that is a vital supply of water and fish for the communities.
Setting clear targets to guard ecosystems
This work feeds into the implementation of bolder steps: setting targets aimed particularly at defending or restoring ecosystems supporting freshwater provides and aquatic biodiversity.
Danone is amongst a handful of firms assessed within the benchmark report which have finished this. By 2030, the corporate goals to develop and implement plans to protect the 55 high-stressed watersheds the place it operates utilizing nature-based options akin to agroforestry and wetland preservation. These approaches will assist assist biodiversity, soil well being enchancment and sustainable water administration, as detailed within the firm’s 2022 CDP water safety report.
Water and ecosystems play a basic position in meals manufacturing. Meals firms have to deal with water shortage and air pollution and ecosystem loss as joint issues with joint options.
Kirsten James is senior program director for water on the nonprofit sustainability group Ceres.
