Abstract
In water resources management and drought and water scarcity management specifically, large business and industrial abstractors are a neglected stakeholder group. Yet, supply chains and production processes often rely on continuous water supply. Droughts and water scarcity can therefore have an adverse effect on businesses and industry. This exploratory study focuses on the UK, where droughts are a recurring feature of the climate, and three business sectors—horticulture, food and drink, and the Scotch whisky industry. The analysis of interviews with trade bodies from the three sectors is complemented by relevant literature and documents. The findings show that the role of drought within each sector differs, how important relationships with other business and industry sectors are, as well as the importance of good relationships with regulatory bodies and water companies. The results highlight that proactive measures such as new water-saving technologies or water recycling are of equal importance.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Bakker, K. J. (2000). Privatizing Water, Producing Scarcity: The Yorkshire Drought of 1995. Economic Geography, 76, 4–27. https://doi.org/10.2307/144538.
Bates, B. C., Kundzewicz, Z. W., Wu, S., Palutikof, J. P. (2008). Climate Change and Water. Technical Paper of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. IPCC, Geneva.
BBC News. (2016). Ginger Nut Biscuit ‘Crisis Over.’ BBC News.
Benton, T., Gallani, B., Jones, C., et al. (2012). Severe Weather and UK Food Chain Resilience. Detailed Appendix to Synthesis Report. Food Research Partnership: Resilience of the UK Food System Subgroup, Swindon.
British Hydropower Association. (2017). Hydro in the UK. Retrieved June 13, 2017, from http://www.british-hydro.org/hydro_in_the_uk.
Brown, K. P., & Hess, D. J. (2017). The Politics of Water Conservation: Identifying and Overcoming Barriers to Successful Policies. Water Policy, 19, 304–321. https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2016.089.
Bryman, A. (2012). Social Research Methods. New York: Oxford University Press.
Committee on Climate Change Risk Assessment. (2016). UK Climate Change Risk Assessment 2017. Synthesis Report: Priorities for the Next Five Years. London.
CPI. (2017a). Who We Are. Retrieved May 26, 2017, from http://www.paper.org.uk/aboutcpi/pages/who_we_are.html.
CPI. (2017b). Pride in Paper. Review 2016/17. Confederation of Paper Industries, Swindon.
DEFRA. (2013). The Impacts of Drought in England. R&D Technical Report WT0987/TR. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, London.
Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Environment Agency. (2016). Creating a Better Place. Our Ambition to 2020. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Environment Agency, London, Bristol.
Environment Agency. (2013). Preparing a Climate Change Action Plan: Paper & Pulp Sector Guidance. Environment Agency.
Falkenmark, M., Berntell, A., Jägerskog, A., Lundqvist, J., Matz, M., & Tropp, H. (2007). On the Verge of a New Water Scarcity—A Call for Good Governance and Human Ingenuity. SIWI Policy Brief. Stockholm: SIWI. Retrieved from https://www.siwi.org/publications/on-the-verge-of-a-new-water-scarcity/.
Food and Drink Federation. (2011). Every Last Drop—Saving Water Along the Food Supply Chain. Food and Drink Federation.
Food and Drink Federation. (2017). FDF—Stats at a Glance. Retrieved August 5, 2017, from https://www.fdf.org.uk/statsataglance.aspx.
Fowler, F. J., & Mangione, T. W. (1990). Standardized Survey Interviewing. Minimizing Interviewer-Related Error. Newbury Park: Sage.
Gasbarro, F., Rizzi, F., & Frey, M. (2016). Adaptation Measures of Energy and Utility Companies to Cope with Water Scarcity Induced by Climate Change. Business Strategy & the Environment (John Wiley & Sons, Inc), 25, 54–72. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.1857.
Green, J. M. H., Cranston, G. R., Sutherland, W. J., et al. (2017). Research Priorities for Managing the Impacts and Dependencies of Business Upon Food, Energy, Water and the Environment. Sustainability Science, 12, 319–331. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-016-0402-4.
Gupta, J., Pahl-Wostl, C., & Zondervan, R. (2013). ‘Glocal’ Water Governance: A Multi-Level Challenge in the Anthropocene. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 5, 573–580. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2013.09.003.
Hoolohan, C., & Browne, A. L. (2016). Reframing Water Efficiency: Determining Collective Approaches to Change Water Use in the Home. British Journal of Environment & Climate Change, 6, 179–191.
Jenkins, K. (2013). Indirect Economic Losses of Drought under Future Projections of Climate Change: A Case Study for Spain. Natural Hazards, 69, 1967–1986. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-013-0788-6.
Jiménez Cisneros, B. E., Oki, T., Arnell, N. W., et al. (2014). Freshwater Resources. In C. B. Field, V. R. Barros, D. J. Dokken, et al. (Eds.), Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, pp. 229–269.
Kurland, N. B., & Zell, D. (2010). Water and Business: A Taxonomy and Review of the Research. Organization & Environment, 23, 316–353. https://doi.org/10.1177/1086026610382627.
Lange, B., & Cook, C. (2015). Mapping a Developing Governance Space: Managing Drought in the UK. Current Legal Problems, 68, 1–38. https://doi.org/10.1093/clp/cuv014.
Linnenluecke, M. K., Griffiths, A., & Winn, M. (2012). Extreme Weather Events and the Critical Importance of Anticipatory Adaptation and Organizational Resilience in Responding to Impacts. Business Strategy & the Environment (John Wiley & Sons, Inc), 21, 17–32. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.708.
Lloyd-Hughes, B. (2013). The Impracticality of a Universal Drought Definition. Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 117, 607–611. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-013-1025-7.
Marsh, T., Cole, G., & Wilby, R. (2007). Major Droughts in England and Wales, 1800–2006. Weather, 62, 87–93. https://doi.org/10.1002/wea.67.
Martin-Ortega, J., González-Eguino, M., & Markandya, A. (2012). The Costs of Drought: The 2007/2008 Case of Barcelona. Water Policy, 14, 539–560. https://doi.org/10.2166/wp.2011.121.
Mayring, P. (2008). Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse. Grundlagen und Techniken (10th ed.). Beltz: Weinheim.
Merton, R. K., & Kendall, P. L. (1946). The Focussed Interview. American Journal of Sociology, 51, 541–557.
Met Office. (2012). Dry Weather During 2003. Met Office. Retrieved July 28, 2017, from http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/interesting/2003dryspell.html.
Met Office. (2013). England and Wales Drought 2010 to 2012. Met Office. Retrieved July 28, 2017, from http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/interesting/2012-drought.
Met Office. (2016). Dry Spell 2004/6. Met Office. Retrieved July 28, 2017, from http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/interesting/2004_2005dryspell.
Morren, G. E. B. (1980). The Rural Ecology of the British Drought of 1975–1976. Human Ecology, 8, 33–63. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01531467.
Nauges, C., & Wheeler, S. A. (2017). The Complex Relationship Between Households’ Climate Change Concerns and Their Water and Energy Mitigation Behaviour. Ecological Economics, 141, 87–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.05.026.
Rey, D., Holman, I. P., Daccache, A., et al. (2016). Modelling and Mapping the Economic Value of Supplemental Irrigation in a Humid Climate. Agricultural Water Management, 173, 13–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2016.04.017.
Rijsberman, F. R. (2006). Water Scarcity: Fact or Fiction? Agricultural Water Management, 80, 5–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2005.07.001.
Scotch Whisky Association. (2015). Scotch Whisky Industry. Environmental Strategy Report 2015. Edinburgh.
SEPA. (2016). One Planet Prosperity—Our Regulatory Strategy. (Scottish Environment Protection Agency).
Taylor, V., Chappells, H., Medd, W., & Trentmann, F. (2009). Drought Is Normal: the Socio-Technical Evolution of Drought and Water Demand in England and Wales, 1893–2006. Journal of Historical Geography, 35, 568–591. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhg.2008.09.004.
Thomas, W. T. B. (2015). Drought-Resistant Cereals: Impact on Water Sustainability and Nutritional Quality. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 74, 191–197. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665115000026.
Thornback, J., Snowdon, C., Anderson, J., & Foster, C. (2015). Water Efficiency. The Contribution of Construction Products. London: Construction Products Association.
Van Loon, A. F., & Van Lanen, H. A. J. (2013). Making the Distinction between Water Scarcity and Drought Using an Observation-Modeling Framework. Water Resources Research, 49, 1483–1502. https://doi.org/10.1002/wrcr.20147.
Walker, G. (2014). Water Scarcity in England and Wales as a Failure of (Meta)Governance. Water Alternatives, 7, 388–413.
Weinhofer, G., & Busch, T. (2013). Corporate Strategies for Managing Climate Risks. Business Strategy & the Environment (John Wiley & Sons, Inc), 22, 21–144. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.1744.
Whiteman, G., Walker, B., & Perego, P. (2012). Planetary Boundaries: Ecological Foundations for Corporate Sustainability. Journal of Management Studies, 50, 307–336. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2012.01073.x.
Wilhite, D. A., Sivakumar, M. V. K., & Pulwarty, R. (2014). Managing Drought Risk in a Changing Climate: The Role of National Drought Policy. Weather and Climate Extremes, 3, 4–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wace.2014.01.002.
Winn, M., Kirchgeorg, M., Griffiths, A., et al. (2011). Impacts from Climate Change on Organizations: A Conceptual Foundation. Business Strategy & the Environment (John Wiley & Sons, Inc) 20, 157–173. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.679.
Witzel, A. (2000). The Problem-Centered Interview. Forum Qualitative Social Research, 1, Art. 22.
Ya He, J., & Cranston, G. R. (2014). The Cambridge Natural Capital Leadership Platform. Sink or Swim: A Multi-sector Collaboration on Water Asset Investment. Cambridge, UK: Institute for Sustainability Leadership.
2030 Water Resources Group. (2020). Building Trust, Growing Resilience. Washington, DC: World Bank Group.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Grecksch, K. (2021). Drought and Business. In: Drought and Water Scarcity in the UK . Global Challenges in Water Governance . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65578-5_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-65578-5_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-65577-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-65578-5
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)