YtDl2r

In response to a real demand, WWF created a “pull” of interest from companies and
the WWF network rather than a “push” of strategy from the top. Through numerous
examples of successful private-sector partnerships, companies trust and are willing to
turn to WWF for guidance, even when that means they have to admit they don’t have
a perfect track record. WWF’s established presence in priority river basins has also
earned the trust and respect of river basin authorities, water managers and business
leaders; we are seen as an honest broker and can therefore convene diverse groups.
The AWS Standard is just one initiative and together with our water stewardship
programme, we have been able to achieve results and make an impact in key places -
including disseminating information to and leveraging other companies and investors.
For priority WWF publications on footprint, water risk, public policy guidelines, and
collective action, visit http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/how_we_work/conservation/
freshwater/water_management/
Side Note 7. GIZ’s Water Futures Partnership
In many of the countries it works in, GIZ L considers water risks to be largely a
consequence of governance problems. Good water management regimes can help
society adapt to ensure a sustainable water supply-demand balance. In GIZ’s view,
while many companies are taking steps to reduce their water impacts and address
reputational risks, many are missing the opportunity to address the causes of water
risks: weak capacity for sustainable water management.
Through the Water Futures Partnership, a strategic alliance between SABMiller, WWF,
GIZ (on behalf of BMZ), EDEKA, The Nature Conservancy, and the BMZ/DFID-funded
International Water Stewardship Programme, GIZ supports governments, companies,
and civil society organisations to partner in order to catalyse improvements in water
use, management capacity, and governance. GIZ helps to coordinate partnerships,
commissions participatory water risk assessments, and develops multi-stakeholder
action plans. It focuses on helping partnerships find the most strategic interventions,
while leveraging resources and building the capacity of actors to develop and
implement their own solutions.
For example, in South Africa, GIZ is partnering with Sasol, the Emfuleni municipality,
Department of Water Affairs, and the transboundary basin office ORASECOM to
reduce abstractions from the highly stressed Vaal River system. While Sasol has
made years of on-site investments to improve water efficiency, the upstream Emfuleni
municipality lost 44% of its water before it was paid for by customers. GIZ supported
Sasol in redirecting its investments to help reduce water losses in Emfuleni. Water
Conservation Warriors in distinctive uniforms raised awareness and local plumbers
repaired water leaks. With about €1 million, 2 million m³ of water were saved, avoiding
5% of the total municipal losses in one-third (68.000) of the house holds. The savings
of around €800,000 in the first year alone are being used to scale up the project to
another 49,000 households.
GIZ believes that businesses wanting to address their water risks at the watershed
level should partner with a locally trusted broker and water sector specialist to understand
how they can make the most strategic intervention to catalyse change with the
limited resources they have. German companies could be facing substantial water
risks through their imports. Building on GIZ’s existing partnerships with WWF and
other companies, GIZ sees a substantial opportunity for German companies to join
initiatives like the Water Futures Partnership in order to address water risks in their
value chains, bringing German technologies and good water management practices
to the areas where companies are being affected the most.
L
GIZ is the German International Cooperation Agency, a publically owned company. It provides
technical assistance to governments to build capacity and support reforms in sectors like water,
agriculture, energy, health, natural resources and financial governance.
THE IMPORTED RISK Germany’s Water Risks in Times of Globalisation | 63