Just 4% of major companies globally have set targets to reduce their water pollution, the World Benchmarking Alliance said in a survey published on Wednesday.

Companies must accelerate their water stewardship in the face of rising water insecurity, the Netherlands-based alliance said in its 2022-24 ‘Nature Benchmark’.

The benchmark assessed more than 800 “keystone” companies from around the world, from a range of sectors, across 25 indicators. It included Unilever, Kering, and Nestle.

“Only 15% of companies are reporting metrics on discharged pollutants, and just 4% have set targets to reduce them,” it said.

However, 29% of companies are reporting water use reductions, or disclosing water usage from water-stressed areas, suggesting a growing awareness of their role, it said.

Sustainability disclosure organisations Ceres and Science Based Targets Network have comprehensive guides and expectations for water stewardship for companies, it noted.

PLASTIC GREENWASHING

The Nature Benchmark showed that major companies around the world are failing in plastic action and board-level expertise.

It revealed a risk of greenwashing on plastic, as companies have failed so far to back up ambition with action, it said. Some 56 corporations are responsible for more than half of the world’s branded plastic pollution, a study said in April.

Although 43% of companies offer qualitative evidence of plastic reduction, just 19% provide quantitative metrics to back up their claims.

“While companies are signalling that they recognise the need to reduce plastics and are engaging in some projects to address this global problem, they must significantly step up their actions if they are to provide a meaningful positive impact for nature.”

Companies need adept leadership on sustainability, it said. Although 66% of companies give their boards responsibility for sustainability, only 2% have boards with expertise in areas like biodiversity or climate.

Fewer than 5% of global companies have assessed the impact they have on nature and fewer than 1% understand how their businesses depend on natural ecosystem services, it said – underscoring findings from 2022.

“Two years after the Global Biodiversity Framework was agreed, it’s imperative for companies to understand and act on their impacts on nature,” said Jenni Black, nature transformation lead at the World Benchmarking Alliance.

“Our research shows that the vast majority of large companies continue to take nature for granted,” said Black.

The benchmark included companies with a strong positive or negative impact on biodiversity in developing countries. For instance, in the paper and forests industry, companies were chosen not just for their size but also if they operated in high-risk areas for biodiversity.

By Thomas Cox – t.cox@carbon-pulse.com

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