As the date for the UN CEO Water Mandate’s 2014 Working Conference quickly approaches, we have several updates for you.
If you have not yet registered for the events, please do so as soon as possible by clicking here. Please be aware that the reception on April 8th is now at capacity, but we would be happy to add you to the waitlist if you would like to attend.
The agendas for the events on April 8th, 9th and 10th are finalized, and can be found by clicking on the links below. Spanish translations of the agendas will be available in Peru.
| April 8th | April 9th | April 10th |
How do you know when your water stewardship strategies are having an impact? This informal lunch discussion session will explore this question by examining the concept of sufficiency. Because water is increasingly considered a significant strategic concern for many businesses, they are seeking to assess their water performance, impacts, and risks, and develop strategic responses that meaningfully address and mitigate those risks. However, most, if not all, companies have limited understanding of how to assess whether those response strategies are truly impactful and drive the risk mitigation results they intend. They can measure whether, for example, they reduce operational water use or effluent discharges, but often do not have a grasp if that action is sufficient to reduce risk to the business and/or improve regional water security or water sustainability of the catchment in question. As such, companies may benefit from insights, methodologies, and tools that can help them gauge the efficacy of their water stewardship strategies, and whether their water security has improved via their efforts to advance sustainable water management in the locale of interest.
Lunch April 10th
Working Session on Business and the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation (HRWS)
This working session will be focused on discussion and input into the development of a framework that translates adverse impacts as perceived by communities into language that describes how those impacts are defined within the HRWS. The Shift and CEO Water Mandate/Pacific Institute teams are also looking for feedback on how defining impacts in this way relates to technical water and human rights terms, respectively. This framework will be a core component of the Guidance on Aligning Business Practice with the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation, as it outlines the different ways in which businesses may have an impact on water-related human rights. The working session will involve a presentation by the project team followed by targeted feedback and discussion involving all interested participants. On the morning of April 10th
The Mandate Secretariat will convene a morning session from 8:00 to 8:50 AM focused on exploring emerging practice and key barriers for supply chain management of water issues. As outlined in its Two-Year Strategic Plan for 2014-2015, the Mandate is seeking to better understand and facilitate good practice regarding corporate water stewardship efforts in the supply chain, in both sustainable agriculture and manufacturing. This session will provide an opportunity 1) for the Mandate to share some of its initial findings on this topic (based on an online survey it is conducting now: http://bulletin.unglobalcompact.org/t/r-l-xltudhk-tkqlyhlkl-c/https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NWLX9KN), 2) for companies (i.e., Nike, Nestlé, and AB InBev) to share their insights and perspectives on good practice and what is needed moving forward, and 3) to have an open-ended conversation among a broader group of Mandate endorsers and key stakeholders to further explore this critical issue.
Social Media
We encourage participants to utilize the social media package found here during the days of the event in order to share your thoughts about developments in corporate water stewardship and the CEO Water Mandate’s Conference in Lima.
Rimac river basin on the Water Action Hub
And finally, we strongly encourage you to register your interest in the Rimac river basin on the Water Action Hub, an online platform launched by the CEO Water Mandate in 2012 to assist stakeholders efficiently identify potential collaborators and engage with them to address water-related challenges in regions of critical strategic interest. The Mandate Secretariat is working to add the Rimac river basin to the Hub, and plans to publicly “launch the basin” at the Lima conference. Thus registering to the Water Action Hub, and indicating prospective collective action interest areas for the Rimac basin in particular, will be extremely valuable to inform discussions on the 9th, as well as help catalyze coordination and collaboration among stakeholders subsequent to the convening. As a key actor in the Rimac river basin, we believe your participation in this platform will enhance its effectiveness, and also that the Water Action Hub could benefit you and your organization.
Please feel free to reach out with any questions.
Sincerely,
Gavin Power
Deputy Director
United Nations Global Compact;
Head, CEO Water Mandate
Jason Morrison
Program Director
Pacific Institute;
Technical Director, CEO Water Mandate
Más información:
Web Water Action Hub
CEO Water Mandate
