Water Stewardship

Developing practices that promote the equitable and sustainable management of water resources

Water, a fundamental resource for life and business operations, faces increasing challenges globally. Climate change, shifting consumption patterns, and population growth intensify the demand for sustainable water management. Increasing population and economic growth, as well as shifting consumption patterns, caused global water use to increase sixfold over the past century, growing at about 1% per year. 2030 global water demand is now expected to outstrip supply by 56%, a 40% increase over the 40% gap projected ten years ago.

Navigating these challenges requires a strategic approach, and businesses play a crucial role in driving positive change. Our holistic approach ensures that businesses not only manage water risks but also contribute to long-term water security.

Water stewardship actions help businesses strengthen continuity, protect their license to operate, save money, boost their brand value, and promote productivity in the workplace.

water stewardship journey infographic

Anthesis views water stewardship as an aggregation of many mutually supportive activities and concepts, including operational performance improvement, risk & opportunity assessment, benchmarking, target & goal setting, stakeholder engagement, governance, reporting & disclosure, and value chain performance improvement.

These activities do not represent an exhaustive list, but rather offer key considerations to minimize risk and deliver social, economic, and environmental benefits. Developing an appropriate and effective water stewardship strategy is very much an iterative process, often jumping back and forth between the various activities.

Anthesis also works to integrate water-related insights into a client’s broader sustainability strategy to maximise resource efficiency and minimise environmental and social impacts.

Water Footprinting and Accounting: Understand and quantify water-related impacts across your business operations.

Value Chain Water Risk Assessment: Identify and mitigate physical, reputational, and regulatory risks in your value chain.

Stakeholder Engagement and Supplier Surveys: Foster collective action and build community relationships to enhance water stewardship.

Water Stewardship Strategy Development: Develop and implement a comprehensive strategy integrating risk management, innovation, and community engagement.

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