The issues
Restoring habitats, protecting soils, increasing carbon storage, conserving water, reducing pollution and protecting against flooding
In many of the world’s food and drink growing regions, a stable supply of good-quality water can no longer be relied upon. Investors and customers increasingly expect companies to respond and adapt to risks posed by water scarcity in order to improve food security.
70%
Agricultural supply chains use 70% of global freshwater resources. UN projections are that global demand for fresh water will exceed supply by 40% by 2030.
$38.5bn
Size of financial hit taken by companies due to water challenges in 2018 alone, according to the World Economic Forum's 2019 Global Risk report.
Water use in food and drink
- Water pressures disproportionally affect the food and drink sector because of the importance of water for agriculture. Climate change will increase pressures on farmers, with more unpredictable weather and the disruption faced from both water scarcity and flooding.
- Security of supply in this context is a real commercial – and national – concern for the UK food and drink sector. Suppliers need the means to become more resilient to water pressures. This can mitigate future risks – but also have positive effects. For example, it is estimated that better water management could boost crop production by 20% globally.
- There are also wider risks and opportunities. Food and drink businesses share their water needs with communities and wildlife. Food and drink businesses are exposed when their supply chains are linked to practices that negatively affect these water resources. Examples include the spotlight placed on avocado production in Chile, and asparagus production in Peru, and free-range egg production in the UK.
The Courtauld Commitment 2030
The Courtauld Commitment is WRAP's flagship voluntary agreement for food and drink. The new Courtauld Commitment 2030 has the following target for water:
As well as businesses continuing to increase water use efficiency in their own operations, our combined objective is that, by 2030, the UK food & drink industry will have helped to achieve sustainable water management to improve the quality and availability of water at catchment scale in the top 20 most important product & ingredient sourcing areas in the UK and overseas.
With an overall target by 2030 that: 50% of fresh food is sourced from areas with sustainable water management.
What can my organisation do?
Join the Water Roadmap
This sets out a vision and key pathways to address the challenges we collectively face in protecting critical water resources for food supply, for nature and for local communities. It is a joint vision for the outcome we are seeking across the UK food & drink industry as a whole: to deliver the Courtauld Commitment 2030 water target.
Join our collective action projects
A framework of collective action projects has been established under the Water Roadmap to reduce water stress in key food and drink production areas in the UK and overseas.
Strategic partners
WRAP and the Courtauld Commitment 2030's work in reducing water stress is made possible by the close collaboration of the following strategic partners: