This World Water Day, climate action NGO WRAP urges food & drink business to act now to address water risk

As the UN meets in New York this week to discuss the urgent action needed on water, WRAP is publishing its first progress report on the Water Roadmap since it was launched in November 2021, supported by leading UK food and drink businesses.

WRAP’s Water Roadmap helps deliver UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 and the UK’s Courtauld Commitment 2030 water target, which aims for 50% of the UK’s fresh food to be sourced from areas with sustainable water management.

The Water Roadmap’s first progress report, published on 22^nd March, is encouraging, showing that steps are being taken by the UK food & drink industry to address water risk. But there is still critical work to be done.

Awareness is growing and over the last year a number of new food and drink businesses have joined the Water Roadmap including Noble Foods, Westfalia Fruit, Lower Hope Farms, Hugh Lowe Farms and Little Freddie. This means the total number of food & drink businesses signed up to the goals of the Water Roadmap now sits at 56* WRAP aims to have over 350 businesses signed up by 2030 in order to scale up action on water risk and achieve our target.

A major highlight since initiating the Water Roadmap has been the launch of a new collective action project in Southern Spain to address water risk in the UK’s fruit and vegetable supply chain. Under Courtauld 2030 and The Water Roadmap, there are now   seven collective action projects in high-risk priority sourcing areas (including in the UK, South Africa, Kenya and Spain) supported by several UK retailers and food businesses. These projects are only made possible via their funding and participation.  These projects have reported they are now collectively replenishing more than 1.7 billion litres of water back to nature collectively (compared to 1 billion in 2020). The projects have engaged 700 farmers and put in place 37 interventions to reduce water risk

However, the progress report also shows that less than half of businesses submitting data had undertaken a water risk assessment, or set water related targets. Even fewer had identified water risk hotspots in their operations or supply chain. These are clear areas for improvement, critical to informing target-setting, investment decisions and measuring progress.

WRAP is calling on food & drink businesses to take immediate action by joining the Water Roadmap and investing in collective action projects, especially if they are sourcing from these high-risk areas. In this way they can actively play their part to address major risks like water pollution and scarcity resulting from food production.

Catherine David, Director of Collaboration and Change at WRAP:

“I’m delighted to see growing support for our Water Roadmap, and the urgency with which many stakeholders are turning their attention to the unfolding water crisis we face. Water is essential for all life, and it is a shared resource that we must learn to treat as the precious gift that it is. From a food systems perspective, we must drive a step change in the way that we manage water in the catchments we source from and operate in, both at home and overseas.  The Water Roadmap provides practical steps for food and drink businesses to start taking action. I urge all businesses to get involved and play their part in creating a more resilient food and drink system that protects this critical resource.”