11.3.3 General CSR guidelines and water management standards

In today's world there are many general guidelines setting forth how companies should behave in order to be good, socially responsible corporate citizens. When it comes to the technical management of the environmental impact of business operations, a widely followed standard is the 'ISO 14001' certification (Marinova et al, 2006; Fresner, 1999).1 One of the environmental factors taken into account is water. In the field of CSR standards, the most commonly used

are the OECD MNE Guidelines (OECD MNE Guidelines; Chapter V concerns

Environment) and the UN Global Compact Principles (UN Global Compact Principles; Principles 7-9 concernr environmental challenges). The Global Compact started the so-called 'CEO Water Mandate' (see section 11.3.4).2 Companies also draft their own codes or guidelines. Furthermore, the 'ISO

26000 Guideline' will offer a comprehensive set of practical guidelines on social responsibility for both public and private organisations. The current working document refers to waste water management as well as water conservation.3 The levels of detail and commitment differ per guideline -obviously ISO 14001 certification requires more commitment than meeting the Global Compact requirements. However, all mention water management, comprising of water waste management and freshwater consumption, as a key action for reducing a company's impact on the environment.