Blog Spot
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Leigh Stringer
Is business developing a drinking problem?
Growth can be a dangerous thing when
you've got a consumption problem. The
more money in your pocket the less
of an issue it is to go out and heavily
consume. The two go hand in hand;
and to maintain this level of cash flow
you have to consume more - it's simple
economics.
One of the results is, like an alcoholic,
businesses are struggling to cut their
liquid consumption. Unlike the majority
of alcoholics however, their wallets are
growing. Despite the economic troubles of
the past few years, many major businesses
have strategically expanded as well as
driving growth on the bottom line.
The latter has, in part, been driven by
efficiency initiatives, with many businesses
highlighting their sliding CO2 emissions.
Water consumption, however, like the
bottle in the bottom drawer, is a topic on
which many are far more reticent. And
for those who are transparent on usage,
it's not always the same reduction story
we are seeing for energy and carbon.
holic,
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nesses ar
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cut their
struggling to ption.
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liquid con
The reasons behind this vary, but the
trend is plain to see.
In June, global business and financial
information provider Bloomberg reduced
its 2013 water reduction target by 6.3 million
gallons after the company concluded that
the initial goal was 'too aggressive'.
Major diamond company De Beers
recently announced that it used 42.9
million cubic metres (m3) of water in
2012, a 5.8% increase on 2011.
Another increase was announced by
Johnson Matthey who reported an 11%
increase in water consumption in 2012/2013
compared with 2011/12, primarily due to
an increase in production and new plants
coming on-line in India and the US.
Last
month
Australian
telecommunications company Telstra
announced that its water consumption
rose by 7.5% year-on-year in 2012, mainly
due to increases in data load in the network
and associated use of air conditioning.
It gets worse. Telecommunications
giant Orange revealed that its water
consumption actually increased by 7.8%
in 2012 from 2011, despite the company
officially reporting a reduction of 36%,
an error uncovered by edie in June.
Some worrying tendencies from some
of the world's largest firms but it's not all
bad news, as on the other side of the coin
some of the particularly water-intensive
industries are making some considerable
progress.
Ahead of the pack, for obvious reasons,
is the beverage industry (here we put
the alcoholic analogy aside for obvious
reasons!). Coca-Cola, Diageo and Bacardi
have made substantial dents in water use.
Diageo announced that it is on-track to
reach its water efficiency improvement
