Carbon Disclosure Project 2011
Water-related risks and opportunities in direct operations and the supply chain
Exposure to risks and opportunities
100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%
23% 7% 37% 41% 38% 9% 45% 50% 45% 55% 45% 27% 14% 27% 35% 63% 8% 29%
Experiencing business impacts
• Only 14% of respondents in the Information Technology sector have experienced water-related business impacts in the past five years, which is the lowest when compared to other sectors.
• Of the impacts identified, severe weather events and water shortages are most often reported. Impacts from more stringent regulatory requirements and financial and reputational impacts are also reported by some respondents.
Seizing opportunity
• A lower percentage of companies in the sector identify opportunities (45%) compared to the Global 500 (63%).
• However, several respondents report improved brand value as a significant opportunity resulting from water conserving technologies, proactive management in water-stressed regions, and transparency in reporting.
Information Technology
Global 500
Risk in direct operations
Yes
Information Technology
Global 500
Risk in supply chain No Don’t know
Information Technology
Global 500
Opportunities
• Information Technology respondents also report opportunities in assisting business or government to mitigate, map, and understand water risk through tools such as cloud computing and water resource mapping. Hewlett-Packard’s Environment and Sustainability Management (ESM) service helps customers understand and reduce their environmental impacts.
Managing the linkages and tradeoffs between water and carbon
Responding to risk
• 23% of Information Technology companies are unable to report whether they are exposed to risk in direct operations compared to only 7% in the Global 500.
• 27% of respondents are exposed to risk in direct operations and 14% in the supply chain, compared 55% and 27%, respectively, in the Global 500.
• Despite below average reported exposure to water- related risk, the Information Technology sector report similar levels of water management and governance as the Global 500; 59% of respondents in the sector have board-level oversight of water-related plans and 59% have set concrete targets or goals.
• A lower percentage of respondents in the Information Technology sector (59%) report the ability to identify linkages and trade-offs between water and carbon compared to the Global 500 (72%).
“Marvell’s water conservation policy... recognizes water is an increasingly scarce resource and conservation is vital to ease pressure on water supplies and maintain an adequate flow of water for sustainable economic and social development.” Marvell Technology Group
Cisco Systems: reducing water use in product supply chain
Cisco Systems worked with three printed circuit board assembly partners to dramatically reduce water use in processes for Cisco Systems products. Up to 20 million gallons of water was being used each year to wash the printed circuit boards after they were soldered. By implementing a new soldering practice, the wash stage of the process became unnecessary. This led to a significant reduction in the amount of wastewater produced and requiring treatment and disposal. Cisco Systems set out to eliminate this process in mid-2010 and achieved that goal in 2011. The result is less water use and increased assembly efficiency, saving Cisco Systems over US$1 million per year with no adverse impact on product quality.
37
Percentage of respondents
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