Business for the rivers: private initiatives to promote sustainable water use
Business for the rivers: private initiatives
to promote sustainable water use
Water is vital, essential for any life on Earth, so many companies dedicate efforts to the protection of water and associated resources. This aligns them with the work of the ICPDR efforts to implement the Danube River Basin Management Plan.
Healthy rivers with high water quality not only reflect an important aspect of the environment, they are also the basis for sustainable human development. The struggle for good water quality in the Danube River Basin unites the ICPDR and its contracting parties with private players.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) can be defined as a concept of companies that leads to the endorsement of social and environmental policies, measures and targets into otherwise commercial activities. Whilst the concept as such is not new – responsible economic activities have always respected social and environmental needs – recent years have seen dynamic developments in the field of CSR.
Until a few years ago, CSR was a tool of large corporations; today, CSR plans emerge from many small and medium size enterprises. The understanding of CSR has changed, too. A decade ago, companies endorsed projects more or less arbitrarily; today, CSR plans are developed by specialised staff and define clear milestones, measures and schedules much like a business plan does. A highlight of this trend towards ever increasing professionalism was the introduction of an ISO standard for Social Responsibility (ISO 26000) in autumn 2010.
In order to meet the requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive, action of private players such as companies is vital. Here, Danube Watch introduces nine outstanding companies that give exceptional examples of how corporate action can contribute towards cleaner water and sustainable development.
For more information about some of the current projects that will help achieve the Strategy’s goals, turn to the back cover fold-out.
geNeRAl elecTRIcs RoMANIA
General Electrics is an internationally active technology company. Originally from the United States, GE expanded into the Danube River Basin a long time ago. GE Romania started its operations as early as 1984. In recent years, GE has rapidly increased its CSR efforts and incorporated social and environmental issues at the heart of its business strategy through the company’s ‘ecomagination’ strategy.
Products for the energy, water and healthcare sectors now account for 50% of the company’s portfolio. Noteworthy products include biogas engines, technology solutions for renewable energies and advanced membrane technology for wastewater treatment. These products help GE’s clients to improve their water use efficiency, lower energy consumption and increase the lifespan of water management systems. Internally, GE also sets ambitious goals: by 2015, the company aims to reduce its total water consumption by 25% from a 2006 baseline.
AgRIuM INc.
Agrium is a major fertiliser company, covering the entire chain from mining raw materials, to selling the final product to growers – small farmers as much as large agricultural corporations. Twenty-two major production facilities in North America, Argentina and Egypt, produce, market and distribute approximately ten million tonnes of fertiliser products per year, making the company one of the most important suppliers of agricultural products and services in the Americas, Europe and Australia.
As fertilisers and agricultural practice can have a direct impact on nutrient and organic substance pollution of water bodies, Agrium’s CSR entails measures that limit the over-supply of nutrients to crops. Agrium supports what is called “the 4R system of best management practice in the field”: right product, right rate, right time, right place. Its CSR works towards applying fertilisers best to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and losses to water.
cocA-colA helleNIc
A leading European producer of nonalcoholic beverages, Coca-Cola Hellenic (CCH) is also a Business Friend of the Danube and an active supporter of water protection for many years. The company has developed and continues to evolve a comprehensive approach to water stewardship across all 28 of its countries of operation.
Coca-Cola Hellenic has instituted a company-wide water stewardship policy which pursues a sustainable approach to water aimed at meeting international standards. The focus is on ensuring sustainability of water extraction, reducing water use within operations, treating 100% of wastewater, working with suppliers and others to reduce indirect water use and partnering others to protect local watersheds. Through the Green Danube Partnership with the ICPDR, CCH pursues the celebration of Danube Day and launched the Danube Box teaching kit. These projects, as well as local projects initiatives such as a plastic waste collection system in Ukraine, make CCH one of the ICPDR’s most esteemed business partners. [See article on page 10.]
AgRANA
Agrana processes agrarian commodities to produce high quality foodstuffs as well as products for technical applications. Agrana is the leading sugar producing company in central and southeastern Europe, a specialist for customised starch products and a manufacturer of bioethanol and isoglucose. In its fruit segment, it is the global market leader in producing fruit preparations and a leading supplier of fruit juice concentrates in Europe.
Agrana’s key priorities in CSR include both energy efficiency and the recovery and further use of by-products to achieve resource cycles as closed as possible. An example for this multistage processing is the bioethanol plant in Pischelsdorf, Austria. Since 2008, the facility has evolved towards full integration as a biorefinery with 100% use of raw materials. At present, the grain processed is – together with bioethanol - turned to high-quality protein for livestock. By the end of 2013, wheat starch and gluten as well as high-purity CO2 (captured, purified and marketed by another company) will also be obtained from only one soft commodity at the Pischelsdorf site.
The cocA-colA coMPANy
The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) is a beverage producer with a range of products going far beyond their flagship drink, which makes the brand well known throughout the world. As a global player in fighting thirst, the strong link between Coca-Cola and water is obvious. For years, the CSR work of Coca-Cola has focused on water stewardship. TCCC is a Business Friend of the Danube and cooperates actively with governments, NGOs, international organisations and other companies on a global scale. Through these actions, 23% of the water used for the production of Coca-Cola products can be replenished every year since 2005. Now, Coca-Cola is gaining momentum to go ‘water neutral’ by 2020.
In 2011, 96% of wastewater originating from the manufacturing was treated, a figure that will grow even further this year. Close partners include UNDP, WWF, The Nature Conservancy and the Water Footprint Network. Through the Green Danube Partnership, Coca-Cola supports activities of the ICPDR, such as Danube Day or the Danube Box. [See article on page 10.]
sIeMeNs huNgARy
Siemens is a global technology company originating in Germany. The company has an broad portfolio of green technology products and services aiming to improve efficiency and lead the trend towards renewable energies. In 2011 alone, this allowed Siemens’ customers to reduce CO2 emissions by 317 million tonnes. The company received the German Sustainability Award and leads the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for Diversified Industrials now for the fourth consecutive year.
To pursue water stewardship, Siemens became a signatory to the United Nations’ CEO Water Mandate in 2008. Here, too, Siemens uses two proven strategies: reducing its water consumption and providing the tools to customers to increase their water use efficiency. Siemens Hungary has recently opened a combined cycle power plant in the town of Gönyu˝, in north-west Hungary. This power plant is the most modern facility of its kind in Hungary. With over 59% net efficiency, Siemens views it as a contribution in helping Hungary to fulfil
its EU environmental commitments with regards to CO2 emission targets.
DReheR bReWeRIes / sAbMIlleR
Once a regional brewery from western Hungary, Dreher Breweries is now part of the globally active SABMiller corporation. The CSR activities of Dreher are therefore aligned with those of SABMiller, which are based on ten sustainable development priorities. These include environmentally friendly water management. SABMiller aims to reduce its water use by 25% from its 2008 baseline until 2015. It is also a founding member of the United Nations’ CEO Water Mandate.
In 2010 and 2011, Dreher Breweries alone saved more than 870,000 hectolitres of water – the equivalent of the annual water use of nearly 1,600 people. The brewery’s sustainability strategy won the company the Greennovation Award of the fast moving consumer goods sector. Dreher Breweries uses water from its own wells and has developed a monitoring system that ensures that groundwater wells are not overstrained. Wastewater treatment, too, receives a lot of attention. Over all, the company aims to use only 3.5 litres of water for the production of one litre of beer by 2014.
boReAlIs
Borealis is an international corporation with headquarters in Austria, and a provider of chemicals, plastics and raw materials for a broad range of industrial products. Many of these play a role in water management, ultimately being processed into fertilisers or plastic pipes such as those used for water transport.
As a Business Friend of the Danube, Borealis supports activities of the ICPDR. Its commitment to water, however, goes much further. ‘Water for the World’ is Borealis’ flagship CSR programme, improving the lives of more then 250,000 people since the launch of the programme in 2007. Water for the World rests on three main pillars: improving access to water and sanitation in emerging and developing countries; advancing best practices and research in sustainable water management; and education and awareness raising. Borealis promotes a sustainable use of fertiliser and is co-founder of the Stockhold Water Prize. It also supports “Waste Free Oceans”, an initiative that works on cleaning up the European coastlines, and the development of European Water Stewardship Standard.
cARgIll
Cargill is a food and agricultural company. Human food and animal feeds depend on clean water, soil, air and light. Cargill’s CSR starts with its own supply chain: freshwater efficiency was improved by 6% from a 2006 baseline, exceeding the goal of 2%. Of the energy Cargill uses, 11% originates from renewable sources. Cargill works actively to reduce its environmental footprint by partnering organisations that demonstrate global leadership in protecting natural resources.
Cargill support projects that protect and improve accessibility to water resources, provide environmental conservation and preservation education, and promote sustainable agricultural practices. One such example is the Danube’s Liberty Island project. In 2011, the company donated 56,500 USD to support a project that would reduce alien plant species, replenish natural forests, open the dam by relocating a water pipeline, and remove the build-up of silt on Liberty Island.
