11.1.2 Methodology and study design

Section 11.2 provides general background on public and private responsibilities in regard to water on the basis of literature research. It addresses whether a link can be established between corporate water use and environmental changes, such as water scarcity or surplus. Links to European and Dutch law have here and there been included as example in order to make theoretical concepts more tangible. A few cases concerning corporate mismanagement of water resources will be discussed with a view to drawing attention to the current discussion concerning the use of water by corporations. Section 11.3 elaborates on water as a CSR-theme. On the basis of desk research study, it explores what companies' main drivers are to lower their water use. It also focuses on tools developed by the international community aimed at the reduction of corporate freshwater use, including CSR policy guidelines, water use calculation methods and annual reporting tools. This section will also reflect on a recent study on corporate reporting by 100 of the world's largest companies on water use and their dependency on water.

In section 11.4, the discussion part, the results of an explorative study searching for best practices and the extent to which companies indicate that they bear responsibility for their impact on water resources are evaluated. The purpose of the study was to gain tangible information on the subject of sustainable water use. As a Dutch researcher, the author has elected a group of multinational companies with global operations, the parent company of which is registered in the Netherlands.1 Firstly, their activities were analysed in regard to water use and pollution in order to understand the relationship between each of these companies and water. Subsequently, it was examined in which way these companies are addressing the sustainability issue of water. The research made use of publicly available information, including press releases, annual reports and sustainability reports, corporate codes of conduct, and other information. As the purpose of the explorative research was to provide concrete information on corporate water policies and examples of best practices to illustrate the theoretical part of the study, the research did not comprise testing any corporate disclosures against possible other information available from (NGO) sources. An overview of the results is included in Annex 11.1. This article ends with a conclusion in section 11.5.