Lack of standard regulation is curb on global water quality and supply, researchers find
Researchers have found that underpricing of water and an absence of a global standard in the regulation of water strategy and reporting are holding back progress in water quality and other aspects of water stewardship, particularly in businesses.
A literature review by the National Centre for Social Research, commissioned by the British Standards Institute (BSI), concluded that, while many countries have regulation in place, the absence of internationally-applicable standards was “placing more strain on the environment and impacting water supplies”.
The researchers reported that absence of coherent international regulation was contributing to “a lack of consistency between how different organisations manage concerns around local water quantity in their operations and contribute to water quality issues, for example around approach to wastewater and use of pollutants.”
The report of the findings: Water Stewardship: Current perspectives and approaches, concluded that “A globally agreed approach to water stewardship could contribute significantly to improved water security.”
The report authors went on to emphasise that gains from greater consistency in water regulation worldwide could be especially strong in the business sector: “Standardisation could better drive corporate action on water stewardship at the enterprise level.” They added that it could “make taking action more accessible for small to medium sized enterprises, which currently lack the capacity, capability, and investment to understand or implement water stewardship.”
According to the researchers, the study mapped 27 standards and voluntary initiatives including the Alliance for Water Stewardship Standard 2.0 and the Customer Data Platform Water Disclosure reporting framework against seven stages of water stewardship action – a framework informed by the ISO Net Zero Guidelines led by BSI.
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