Annual Review 2013 - (Page 22)

Overview WATER RISK AND RESPONSIBILITY Stuart Orr, head of WWF's Water Stewardship Programme, explains how we're leveraging business risk to secure the future of freshwater ecosystems Businesses are realizing they can no longer take water for granted. One reason is the chronic problem of poor governance. Governments have failed to keep up with increased demand from growing populations. Another is climate change. With floods and droughts becoming more frequent and more severe, water risk is more acute. Business leaders are increasingly aware that water availability will affect their longterm profitability, and even viability. They can't sit on the sidelines hoping someone else will fix the problem. WWF anticipated this trend, which is why we engage the companies, supply chains and investors in our priority river basins. Companies are powerful players, and we want to influence their actions to help create long-term solutions for people, nature and economies. So we're creating tools, strategies and guidelines to help them look beyond their factory walls, forge new partnerships and catalyse change at scale. With our Water Risk Filter, for example, businesses and investors are able to assess their specific water risks, depending on their geography and industry. In the year since we launched it, more than 50,000 facilities have been assessed. That's helping companies and investors approach the problem in a more strategic and effective way, and helping WWF bring together those who share a vested interest in creating solutions. This includes governments and other organizations representing diverse water users. Our corporate partners are buying into this vision. For several years we've been working with The Coca-Cola Company on responsible water use and freshwater conservation in the Yangtze, Mekong and Rio Grande/Bravo river basins and the Mesoamerican Reef catchment, among others. We renewed the partnership this year, expanding its scope to cover multiple issues affecting freshwater ecosystems, help balance the needs of business, communities and nature, and engage others to act. OUR GOAL: HEALTHY FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS AND WELL-MANAGED RIVER BASINS THAT MEET THE NEEDS OF ALL USERS Similarly, we're working with fashion retailer H&M on a new water strategy that encompasses every area of the business - from training designers and buyers on water impacts to engaging suppliers and other garment manufacturers. But H&M understands it needs to look beyond its own operations. So we're collaborating with policymakers, NGOs, water institutions and other companies to support better management of river basins that are important production hubs for the company, focusing on the Yangtze in China and the Brahmaputra in Bangladesh. Fundamentally, water challenges are management challenges. Through our water stewardship work, we are trying to find the right incentives to bring the power of the private sector to bear on those challenges. The end goal is healthy freshwater ecosystems and well-managed river basins that meet the needs of all users. WWF-INT Annual Review 2013 page 22

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Annual Review 2013