That is the third of a four-part sequence taking a better take a look at how 72 corporations in 4 industries — beverage, attire, meals, and excessive tech — carried out in Ceres’ new Valuing Water Finance Initiative Benchmark report, which assesses how corporations are valuing and appearing on water as a monetary threat and driving the systemic adjustments wanted to guard freshwater programs around the globe.
Contemporary water is more and more briefly provide, and the $6 trillion meals and beverage business is on the middle of this downside.
Whereas it’s clear that the enormous business, which makes use of greater than 70 p.c of the world’s contemporary water, relies on and has an outsized impression on the world’s water provides, what’s typically much less apparent is how a lot the business additionally impacts — and relies on — international ecosystems.
Extra meals corporations are working to reverse this pattern by adopting measures to assist protect and restore ecosystems that assist freshwater provides they want.
Ecosystems and water threat
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, equivalent 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 huge meals and beverage business 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 preserve water provides corporations and communities want.
Freshwater ecosystems are additionally disappearing, with some being transformed to farmland to fulfill demand for uncooked components.
Corporations and buyers have gotten extra conscious of their important relationship with freshwater ecosystems. That is why some buyers, by Ceres’ Valuing Water Finance Initiative, are supporting corporations 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 efforts equivalent to Nature Motion 100.
The Valuing Water Finance Initiative benchmark report assessed 72 corporations, together with 39 within the meals business, on how they’re managing water to assist mitigate monetary threat. The evaluation highlights the steps some meals corporations are taking to scale 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 corporations 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 scale 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 scale back nutrient runoff. As detailed within the firm’s 2022 sustainability report, these practices assist mitigate the chance of eutrophication — an overabundance of vitamins in waterbodies that may result in dangerous algae blooms and different issues equivalent 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, equivalent to filtering and storing water, enhancing soil well being, storing carbon and defending communities from floods and drought.
Some meals corporations even have sustainable sourcing insurance policies that embody commitments to selling environment friendly water use and air pollution discount of their agricultural provide chains. A few of these commitments, equivalent to scaling regenerative agriculture, have clear hyperlinks to supporting ecosystem well being.
Basic 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, Basic Mills reported greater than 500,000 acres had been already a part of its applications.
Different corporations are participating 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 defense inside an organization plantation in Sumatra, Indonesia. The collaboration helps shield 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 corporations 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 equivalent 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 corporations must 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.