Sharing experiences, technologies and good practices in water resource management is essential to advancing the water agenda. This was one of the main messages of the Water Business Day, an event organized by the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS) in partnership with the National Confederation of Industry (CNI) and the Global Compact Brazil Network. The meeting took place this Sunday (18), in Brasília, and brought together around 250 business leaders.
“The growing importance of the water agenda, its better management and the development of solutions to optimize its use and reduce costs necessarily requires the engagement of the business sector. Large companies must take on the role of leading the production sector, with actions such as sharing management systems and technologies with their production chain and customers, helping them to be more efficient and less dependent on water,” stated the president of CEBDS, Marina Grossi, at the opening of the event.
She encouraged businesspeople to join a support network for water efficiency and spoke about the Brazilian Business Commitment Letter for Water Security, signed by CEOs of large companies operating in the country. The document will be presented by CEBDS this Monday (19), on the senior leadership panel of the 8th World Water Forum. Grossi also presented the new CEBDS publication, the Circular Water Economy Guide.
For the president of the CNI’s Environment and Sustainability Council, Marcos Guerra, water is an essential factor for infrastructure. “The challenge lies in the need to overcome basic sanitation deficits. Today, 34 million Brazilians do not have access to sanitation,” he pointed out.
Carlo Pereira, Executive Secretary of the Global Compact, highlighted that companies are the UN's main partners in implementing the Agenda 2030“We need to be more ambitious, to have more initiatives like today’s. We have the challenge of expanding existing good practices to the entire market and we want to increasingly bring to Brazil the tools used by the rest of the world,” he declared.
The director of the National Water Agency, Óscar de Moraes Cordeiro Neto, highlighted the relevance of the discussion. “The issue of water is a challenge for the 21st century.” The secretary of Institutional Coordination and Environmental Citizenship of the Ministry of the Environment, Edson Duarte, added: “This is a strategic agenda, as it promotes innovation and more efficient business management.”
O Water Business Day produced a collaborative declaration, which will be presented on March 22, at a special session of the 8th World Water Forum. See more details.
The solutions found by companies
At the Leaders Panel, the audience was able to learn about experiences of good practices in water management. Braskem’s Global Vice President of Competitiveness, Roberto Bischoff, spoke about the implementation of reuse in the company. “We have made many investments to increase water reuse. In addition, we believe that we have a role to play in raising awareness, relevance and solutions for this issue, which is why Braskem has mobilized important stakeholders.”
Teresa Vernaglia, president of BRK Ambiental, presented the case of Limeira, a city in the interior of São Paulo that has been successful in reducing losses and combating waste. “Brazil loses the equivalent of 7 Cantareiras per year in water collection and distribution. The progress in access to sanitation has been much slower than in other sectors, such as telephony and electricity. In this sense, it is important to think about a regulatory model for the sanitation and water sector,” she suggested.
Luís Garcia Prieto, Vice President of Operations at Nestlé, highlighted that water resources are at the heart of the company’s decisions. “Access to water is a human right and water has been one of the fundamental chapters since we started operating in Brazil. Our factory in Montes Claros (MG), for example, is triple zero in three dimensions: water, waste and carbon emissions.”
Also participating in the panel were Olga Reyes, Vice President of Government Relations and Communications at Coca-Cola; Ruben Fernandes, President of Anglo American Brazil; and Naty Barak, CSO at Netafim.
Call to action and practical water challenges
The Vice President and COO of World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), issued a warning. “The current demand for water already exceeds the supply we have. No water, no life. No water, no business,” he provoked. On the occasion, White launched the Portuguese version of the CEO's Guide to Water, developed in partnership with CEBDS.
Jason Morrison, President of CEO Water Mandate, presented tools for water management. CDP Water Security Manager, Orlaith Delargy, showed how the data collected can help make decisions, reduce risks and capitalize on opportunities.
In the afternoon, three were carried out workshops on the practical challenges of water. The first addressed circular economy cases and clarified the current barriers and opportunities for circular water management. The second focused on the risks associated with water resources. Responsible water management to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the creation of shared value were the themes of the third workshop.
More information about the Water Business Day are available on the websites of CNI It's from Global Compact.
