11.1.1 Background and objectives

Less than 3 per cent of the world's water is fresh - the rest is seawater and undrinkable. The largest part of this freshwater (83 per cent) is, however, frozen, locked up in Antarctica, the Arctic and glaciers, and is not available to man. Thus, humanity must rely on 0.5 per cent of world's water for all of man's and ecosystem's freshwater needs. Although the world is not 'running out of water', it is not always available when and where people need it. Climate, normal seasonal variations, droughts and floods can all contribute to local extreme conditions (WBCSD, 2005, p. 1). As a matter of fact, water scarcity affects one in three people on every continent (WHO, 2010). Freshwater scarcity is not limited to - stereotypical as this may seem - sub-Saharan developing countries; also in Western society, where potable water seems to come out of the tap endlessly, access to unlimited amounts of freshwater is not assured at all times (EEA, 2009). Water overuse by farmers, governments and industries is damaging the environment in many major basins and, ultimately, threatening a reliable supply of water. The situation is getting worse as the need for water rises along with population growth, urbanisation and increases in household and industrial use. Some people in water-stressed areas have the economic resources, skills and opportunities to address their water problems, but many millions, such as small farmers and agricultural labourers in developing countries do not (UNEP, 2006 and 2008).

One quarter of the global population lives in developing countries that lack an adequate infrastructure to provide water from rivers and aquifers (WHO, 2010). In 2000, the UN set the MDGs in order to make development goals more tangible (see section 1.6.2 of this book). MDG 7 (which calls for ensuring environmental sustainability), target 10 aims to halve the number of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015. Water scarcity could threaten progress towards this target (Camdessus, 2009). It has also been argued and laid down in many national legal systems, that access to freshwater is a basic human right.1 In 2008, the Netherlands also announced that it would recognise the right to water as a human right (MinBuza, 2008).

Traditionally, regional water management and the access to and the use of water by individuals and companies are considered public issues, and hence usually administered by local authorities. People and business are competing users of water. Industrial use of water increases with country income, going from 10 per cent of total water use for low-income and middle-income countries to 59 per cent for high-income countries (UNESCO, 2003, p.19). Industry is thus a substantial user of water, and is also regarded as an important contributor to water pollution (Hildering, 2004). The question emerges: what if companies use so much freshwater in a certain area that their consumption threatens to interfere with individuals' access to water (MDG 7)? As part of the answer it has been argued that water management calls for a combined approach by governments and business (WHO, 2010).

The main objective of this chapter is to explore the role of today's companies in relation to freshwater. Because business leaders make decisions every day that can affect water, it is important to identify where such decisions can also lead to improvements in the water sector (UN WWDR-3, 2009). Companies themselves have started to recognise that they can have a positive impact on preserving water resources and in granting people access to water (WBCSD, 2005). The research addresses the question to what extent and how companies can bear responsibility for their impact on water resources as part of CSR. This question is particularly relevant when their impact influences public access to water in areas with freshwater scarcity and/or weak government. What are companies' main drivers to lower their water use and to offer locals access to water? Which are the best tools to address this issue? And, what can we learn from best practices developed by Dutch companies?