Read the full story from the World Resources Institute.
Many agribusinesses already measure and manage water risks, but generally concentrate on risk in their direct operations. Less than half of the largest food sector companies have conducted comprehensive water risk assessments for their agriculture supply chains, and only one in four have targets to reduce water use where their ingredients are sourced, according to a recent Ceres evaluation.
Setting targets for the supply chain can be a daunting process because there may be many suppliers for each food manufacturing or processing facility. However, through strategic prioritization, these targets can help to mitigate risk and prioritize action where it is needed most. And the process to do so may be less complex than you would think. Global datasets and models can help businesses understand risks to their supply chains and set water targets, even if they don’t have full traceability of their supply chains. WRI’s new paper, Developing Enterprise Water Targets Informed by Local Contexts: Cargill’s Approach, provides an in-depth look at how Cargill is setting water targets. Additionally, WRI has developed and updated their suite of Aqueduct tools for water risk assessments that allow companies to map supply chains. Combined with global footprint data, this can be enough to determine the strategic priorities in the agricultural supply chain. Read on to learn more about why this makes good business sense.
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