In commenting on sustainability trends in 2010, SustainAbility, a company providing innovation and solutions to make business and markets sustainable, noted that water was the world's most urgent sustainability challenge in 2010. According to a recent SustainAbility and GlobeScan survey (87% of experts rated it urgent, compared with 82% for climate change), water was a more critical issue. Supporting that call for urgency are a host of new initiatives, tools and reports: CDP's Water Disclosure Project, a water risk index (http://www.wri.org/stories/2010/12/aqueduct-understanding-water-related-risks-and-opportunities); WRI, GE and Goldman Sachs, an update to the CEO Water Mandate's Guide to Responsible Business Engagement with Water Policy; Ceres and Water Asset Management's report (http://www.greenbiz.com/news/2010/10/27/growing-water-scarcity-and-its-hidden-risks-investors) on risks in the Municipal Bond Market; and Nature's study (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11435522) showing 80% of the world's population living with insecure fresh water supply, to name a few. In short, we are set for inevitable collision between water scarcity and access to energy (more to come on that in 2011) – see SustainAbility's Jeff Erikson's recent blog (http://www.sustainability.com/blog/energy-and-water-on-a-collision-course).
Water scarcity issues are an ever growing concern globally. The impacts from climate change increasingly will put further stress on water supplies. In many areas, water conservation is the key to protecting valuable water resources.
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