new study: Ranking water transparency of Dutch stock-listed companies

Published on by

Linneman, M.H., Hoekstra, A.Y. and Berkhout, W. (2015) Ranking water transparency of Dutch stock-listed companies , Sustainability, 7(4): 4341-4359.

download at:

http://waterfootprint.org/media/downloads/Linneman-et-al-2015.pdf

Abstract:

A growing world population, changing consumption patterns and climate
change are affecting water demands, water scarcity and water quality worldwide, while at
present, few companies are incorporating good water stewardship. In order to create
awareness on this issue and provide an incentive for companies to improve the water
performance in their operations and supply chain, a method for ranking companies based
on their water transparency has been developed. The method consists of a checklist that
can be completed on the basis of information from annual reports, sustainability reports
and websites of companies. This is the first time a ranking of companies regarding water
transparency has been carried out. Results show that there are large differences in
transparency between and within sectors and that companies are reporting more about their
operations than their supply chain.