Agriculture and Environment: Corporations taking action in river basin management

The forum was organized by the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR), which has a lot of experience in facilitating public private partnerships through its "Business Friends of the Danube" network. Participating corporations included The Coca Cola Company and Coca Cola Hellenic, Agrium, Agrana, General Electrics, Dreher and Cargill Hungary as well as other international businesses with a high impact on agriculture and the way water is used in the Danube River Basin.

At the forum, participants discussed what companies already do for water protection and how support for these efforts can be provided. Companies can take steps to improve their environmental management practices to reduce their impact. They can implement a wide variety of actions to demonstrate their corporate social responsibility (CSR), voluntarily assisting the ICPDR and countries of the Danube River Basin in their efforts to protect water resources and improve water quality.

For combating agricultural pollution, the ICPDR has compiled recommendations on best agro-industrial techniques (BAT) for all relevant point discharges of agriculture. These are designed to serve as a reference for decision-makers and local environmental or agricultural authorities to control pollution and improve water quality in the Danube. Another important topic of the forum is the EU Strategy for the Danube Region and the opportunities it creates for both businesses and the environment.

The forum united decision makers from governmental water management and agriculture authorities, representatives of international companies with a special interest in water use or with a great impact on water resources, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

All presentations that were given at the forum can be downloaded below, where you can also see some pictures from the forum.