Businesses, communities, and ecosystems everywhere depend on clean freshwater to survive and prosper. Global demand for freshwater however, continues to grow, while many water sources are showing signs of stress.

Companies that understand these trends shaping the global business environment will be better positioned to identify new market opportunities, mitigate risk, develop sustainable strategies, and create shareholder value.

While water is a global issue, the impacts are felt locally. The value of water on communities and the understanding of this value vary widely based on water availability, climate, culture, industry, the local environment and the infrastructure in place. The value of water can even vary extensively within one community with alternative water uses resulting in competing interests such as jobs versus food.

Water is an issue for both the developed and developing worlds. Today, many in our developed world take water for granted; they assume that it will always be available at minimal cost and that their activities will have no lasting effect on future access. This seems to be mainly due to the perception of an abundant water supply and the low cost of water in many countries. Research has shown that even in countries that experience water shortages, water is usually one of the cheapest raw materials. Water may be well understood but it is certainly not well enough valued. It is only by raising awareness that change can be brought about in behavior and attitudes.

It is becoming ever more apparent that all of us need to take action toward conservation now! Business is part of any sustainable water solution and requires all employees from the shop floor to top management to understand the value of water. Water is a human right not a business right. If business is going to continue to use fresh water over the long term, we need to understand our own impacts, and how we can reduce them. To gain this understanding, organizations should be encouraged to look at the water footprint of their products and services including buildings, services, manufacturing and the amount of water used in the life cycle of any products. This information can then be used to identify areas of high water impact, develop new solutions for improving water efficiency and reduce overall water usage.

Corporate principles

GLI Systems, Inc. has adopted the following set of principles as a guide to the future management and use of water resources.

• Our corporate water use shall be accounted for throughout the entire GLI value chain (suppliers, administration, manufacturing, distribution, use and post-use).
• Our water sources will be protected from contamination and careful consideration given to efficiency at every point of use.
• Potable water should, to the highest extent possible only be consumed for life-sustaining functions.
• Waste water shall be returned to the earth in a safe and beneficial manner using organic treatment systems as needed to accomplish this.
• No ground water contamination shall result from any use of water resources related to the construction or operation of our facilities.
• Rainwater and surface run-off water shall be as much as possible considered a cyclic resource for our building systems.
• Our facilities shall minimize impermeable ground cover.
• Gray water shall as much as possible be treated and applied to practical or natural purposes suitable to its characteristics.
• Water used in any of our manufacturing process-related activities shall be put back into circulation and all discharges of shall meet drinking water standards.
• Water within our control and used for sewage treatment or transportation, shall be restored to drinking water standards prior to distribution or reuse.

Corporate goals

1. Determine, understand and monitor our water footprint.
2. Minimize our negative effect on water ecosystems.
3. Develop innovative solutions through educating and empowering employees to improve our use of water resources.
4. Share our best practices and innovation with others.
5. Encourage others (suppliers and customers) to adopt our water principals.
6. Develop good measurement and reporting standards

Perspectives

• 450 million people in 29 countries suffer from water shortages.
• 1.1 billion people still lack access to safe drinking water and 2.4 billion lack access to improved sanitation.
• Lack safe water and sanitation results in hundreds of millions of cases of diseases, and 5 million deaths, every year.
• In less than 25 years two thirds of the world’s people will be living in water stressed countries.

"Water is the most basic element of life on the planet—it will be celebrated as a fundamental life-giving resource. Opportunities to create understanding and enjoyment of water will be encouraged throughout the design or buildings, infrastructure and landscapes. Elements which celebrate the profound value of this resource on both material and spiritual levels deserve serious consideration. Designs will recognize the communal, cultural, historical, spiritual and poetic possibilities of the use of water and its central role as a precondition for life.

"Sustainable Development is a very simple idea. It is about ensuring a better quality of life for everyone, now and for generations to come."

~U.K. Department of the Environment, Transport, and the Regions (1)

"Water is a key to sustainable development, crucial to its social, economic and environmental dimensions. Water is life, essential for human health. Water is an economic and a social good, and should be allocated first to satisfy basic human needs. Many people regard access to drinking water and sanitation to be a human right. There is no substitute for water: without it, humans and other living organisms die, farmers cannot grow food, businesses cannot operate. Providing water security is a key dimension of poverty reduction."

~International Conference on Freshwater, Bonn, 2001 (2)

"Water scarcity may be the most under appreciated global environmental challenge of our time."

~World Watch Institute (3)

"Water is needed in all aspects of life. The general objective is to make certain that adequate supplies of water of good quality are maintained for the entire population of this planet, while preserving the hydrological, biological and chemical functions of ecosystems, adapting human activities within the capacity limits of nature and combating vectors of water-related diseases.”

~United Nations: Agenda 21 (4)

"All human beings have an inherent right to water in quantities and of a quality necessary to meet their basic needs. This right should be protected by law. The right to water is satisfied when every person has physical and economic access to a basic water requirement at all times.”

"Satisfying the standards of [the UN Declaration of Human Rights] cannot be done without water of a sufficient quantity and quality to maintain human health and well-being. Meeting a standard of living adequate for the health and well being of individuals requires the availability of a minimum amount of clean water.”

~Peter Gleick, President, Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security (5)

"One cannot preserve the life of a place and not protect the waters that run through it. Historically, The Nature Conservancy has targeted terrestrial species through protection of the habitats that they need to survive. We have had great success on this front, owning and managing the world’s largest system of private nature preserves. But our thinking and methods have evolved over time and we recognize the connection between land and water is elemental: one cannot preserve both the terrestrial and aquatic life of a place without protecting the waters that run through it.”

~The Nature Conservancy Freshwater Initiative (6)

"Forests are vital to this country’s water supply. The largest volume and the cleanest water in the United States flows off our forested landscapes. Forests cover one-third of the continental United States but supply two-thirds of the runoff…Water is perhaps the most under-valued and under-appreciated forest product. Watershed health and restoration should be the over-riding priority for forest management. We can leave no greater gift to our children than to leave the watersheds entrusted to our care healthier, more diverse, and more productive."

~Mike Dombeck, Former U.S. Forest Service Chief (7)

"Doing more with less is the first and easiest step along the path toward water security. By using water more efficiently, we in effect create a new source of supply.”

"In short, we need a water ethic – a guide to right conduct in the face of complex decisions about natural systems we do not and cannot fully understand. The essence of such an ethic is to make the protection of water ecosystems a central goal in all we do…Living by such an ethic would mean using less whenever we can, and sharing what we have."

~Sandra Postel, Director of the Global Water Policy Project (8)