02.11.2021
The debate around sustainability has mainly focused, so far, on carbon neutrality,
namely the removal of CO2 and other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere
through technologies, reforestation and other carbon sequestration methods. Carbon neutrality is
also one of the main points of discussion of COP26, which is being held these days
in Glasgow: among other issues, leaders from all over the world will have to
understand how to meet the target of net-zero emissions by 2050, a goal established
by the 2015 Paris Agreement.
There is, however, another fundamental environmental concern that companies and
the businesses industry are now starting to face: the issue of water. Their pledge,
called “water positive”, focuses on both increasing the efficiency of water-intensive
processes and on restoring water levels where these companies operate. They don’t
just want to control and avoid water depletion across the whole productive system,
but their aim is also to replenish the geographical areas they operate in with more
water than what they use. These approaches are becoming more and more crucial
for our future world, a world where, according to the UN, there will be a 40% shortfall
in freshwater resources. Many are the companies adhering to this view; from
PepsiCo to Meta, enterprises are becoming more and more aware of the
The key concept of the water positive pledge is collaboration. Sustainability, to them,
should be a feature to promote collaborations and collective solutions. On one hand,
alliances and coalitions are arising. Among these, the most important one surely is
the 50L Home platform, a coalition of companies coordinated by groups including
the WEF and the WBCSD, whose name is a call for action to reduce daily water use
per person to 50 liters. In order to improve the collective water footprint, companies
are also starting to engage with users and customers in different ways. For instance,
Ikea, who has recently joined the coalition precisely because of the need to
cooperate with its client, is currently developing a water-positive home offer in the