@Risk

It’s becoming more and more common for me to hear companies talk about water “footprints” and other water concerns, so I’m happy to report that earlier this month, the World Resources Institute (WRI), in partnership with General Electric and Goldman Sachs, launched an initiative to develop a Water Index, a standardized assessment tool  that  I believe will go a long way to help corporations identify and mitigate their water-related risks.

According to WRI, the Index will offer one of the most expansive measures of water risks currently available. It will aggregate nearly 20 weighted factors capturing

• water availability,

• regulations,

• water quality, and

• reputational issues.

As a result, the Index will allow companies and investors to better understand the risks –and the opportunities –associated with water resource constraints.

“From a technology perspective, solutions to enable water reuse and mitigate risk already exist,” says Heiner Markhoff, president and CEO—water and process technologies for GE Power & Water. “Advanced solutions, such as membrane technology and water-efficient cooling technologies, are available to manage the risks once these are identified and measured, which is what the Water Index aims to do. We are thrilled to work with WRI and Goldman Sachs on this project.”

As I discussed in an earlier post, water is a critical raw material. And when you stop to think about it, you’ll realize it’s even more important than oil –simply because there are no alternatives.

Climate change and global consumerism are already having an impact on water availability, so now is the time to be smart. Resolve that in 2010 you will carefully consider how your company would fare in an economy constrained by scarce water. Fortunately, you’ll soon have the new Water Index tool to help you get the conversation started.