Abstract
Water risks, such as scarcity, floods, or pollution, are receiving an increased attention by corporations and the financial community for the physical, regulatory, and reputational risks that they embed. Frameworks, metrics, and datasets are necessary to quantify water risks and assess their potential impacts. In this chapter, we describe the fast-evolving complex ecosystem of actors involved in the assessment and disclosure of water risks. We then review the content of corporate sustainability reports, the tools they rely on, and the underlying datasets in order to evaluate the gap between intention and actuality. Admittedly, water risks assessments are complex due to their multi-scale nature: They manifest locally, are sector specific, and are a function of climate and global trends, and ripple through the supply chains. However, the tremendous data gaps and blind spots that currently plague water-related disclosures in ESG reports may not only raise suspicion of blue washing corporate responsibility, but also hide significant financial vulnerability. We conclude with a discussion of the main data risks and propose strategies to address them.
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Josset, L., Concha Larrauri, P. (2021). Data for Water Risks: Current Trends in Reporting Frameworks, Shortcomings, and the Way Forward. In: Walker, T., Gramlich, D., Vico, K., Dumont-Bergeron, A. (eds) Water Risk and Its Impact on the Financial Markets and Society. Palgrave Studies in Sustainable Business In Association with Future Earth. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77650-3_2
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