The CDP report is based on the analysis of 70 European companies that responded to CDP’s 2013 water information request. 48 of the companies were targeted by CDP’s “Global 500” sample
In 2013, institutional investors calling for greater transparency on corporate water issues have quadrupled (530 - representing approximately US$57 trillion in assets) compared to 2010 (137), and expected to grow to 573 (with US$60 trillion in assets) in 2014.
2. Compared to their global peers, Europe is leading the way in transparency. In 2013, 73% of European companies (48 companies) responded to CDP’s water information request compared to 60% of Global 500 companies.
Whilst Europe’s overall response was encouraging, there are marked differences between sectors. For example, the Materials, Consumer Staples and Utilities sectors all saw response rates of close to 90% whilst the Energy sector saw only a 50% response rate, and neither of the two European companies targeted in the Information Technology sector responded.
|
GICS Sector |
European Response Rate |
Global 500 Response Rate |
|
Materials |
90% |
74% |
|
Consumer Staples |
89% |
76% |
|
Utilities |
89% |
70% |
|
Health Care |
83% |
74% |
|
Consumer Discretionary |
67% |
48% |
|
Industrials |
56% |
47% |
|
Energy |
50% |
47% |
|
Information Technology |
0% |
54% |
3. Almost all European respondents (96%) report having a water management policy, plan or strategy in place. Further, 81% report board-level oversight of these policies, strategies and plans, significantly more than the Global 500 (58%).
4. 83% of European respondents report having operations located in water-stressed regions and almost three-quarters (73%) report being exposed to risks in either their direct operations or their supply chain.
The CDP analysis indicates that the generally higher stated level of risk exposure could be linked to the fact that European respondents are more capable than the Global 500 of identifying risks across their direct operations (69% vs 66%) and supply chains (43% vs 39%).