5 things sustainable brands need to know about water

YOU wouldn’t know it from the agendas of most climate-related events around the world (I’m looking at you COP 29) but there’s more to sustainability than carbon alone.

Brand leaders know this, but even there the debates are heavily dominated by net zero. Water needs a bigger seat at the table.

So, this week, to coincide with a titan on the sustainability conference circuit, Sustainable Brands, I thought I’d spell out the compelling reasons why brands should care just as much about water stewardship as they do about decarbonization.

And why it makes business sense.

1 Sales dry up with excess water use

First up. Are you gunning for net zero while your customers are battling day zero?? Just released research by Ecolab suggests buyers are really worried about their daily access to clean, safe drinking water, right now. And the fear is local. Even more worrying for brands is that consumers hold ‘uncaring’ business among those most responsible for the current crisis. A majority in many regions are actively avoiding products that use excessive water, with the agriculture, food & beverage, and manufacturing industries among the most criticised. But this trust gap is also a huge opportunity for enlightened brands. There’s mounting evidence that consumers are willing to pay up to 4% more for products showing the right water values. Those that bridge the gap will secure their growth and their licence to operate

2 Sustainability sucks

Sustainability might work well as a concept, but as a word it’s a total turn off for most consumers. We need to stop miring important news about critical shared challenges in jargon. I’ve said this many times; the words we use as sustainability professionals just don’t land very well with most people. To 'make universal, affordable water access a global priority, brands must understand what messages motivate people’. So says the US Water Alliance, and I agree. They’ve done some great work on this . Their A/B comparative messaging test to understand which angles engaged consumers most is well worth a read. My key takeaways? Emphasise urgency, the link with health and the economy as well as creating a legacy for future generations. Back it up with tangible data points. Whatever you do, don’t describe benefits in vague jargon terms.

3 Be more ‘Queen B’

Bowie’s eponymous heroine “don’t make false claims”. Great advice for any brand seeking to capitalize on consumer enthusiasm for sustainability. The recent greenwashing scandals around certain carbon credit schemes undermines brand value more than it undermines public or investor sentiment for doing the right thing. And prosecutors are starting to take notice. In February, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a consumer protection lawsuit for alleged misleading marketing practices concerning the validity of net zero greenhouse gas emissions claims.

Whatever the eventual truth of the allegations, it should be a wakeup call (if one was needed) that companies are unwise to claim environmental credentials without a proven means of achieving them and reliable transparent measurable data with which to prove outputs. Transparent, standardised and high-quality reporting of quantifiable, localised results together with a credible transition plan can help.

4 AI is not the problem

Next time someone quotes scare stories about how the use of AI will soon use as much water as a country the size of Denmark , consider this: The entire global usage of ChatGPT was tiny compared to the water leaked by just one country – the US. And the amount the US loses from its water distribution networks is proportionally not that high at 14%. For some countries it’s over 60%. In fact, the world average of water lost before it reaches the people who need it is around 30%. That’s around one in every three glasses of expensively and carbon-intensively sourced, treated and pumped water that we never get to drink. Crazy.

Respectable research shows that for many utilities, reducing leakage is actually the most cost-effective way to find new water . And this is where AI can help. Here at FIDO, our AI tracks down the 90% of leaks that never show above ground and can run for years without being spotted. It assesses the size of the leak, helping prioritize scarce engineering resources on the leaks losing the most water – saving more water (and carbon) faster which goes straight back into the watershed for everyone to use.

5 Don’t just collaborate, catalyze

Big brands like Microsoft, PepsiCo and The Coca Cola Company, which has long been at the vanguard of collaborative water projects, have embraced the water positive movement; pledging to replenish more water in local watersheds than they use in their operations. But the problem with water stewardship programs like this is that they can be slow and self-limiting. They’re often a collection of small, very bespoke projects, which are complex to track and take a long time to yield results. In his recent blog, influencer Will Sarni looked beyond current corporate water strategies at what should come next. He eloquently makes the case for new models of collaborative models which unite public, private and technology stakeholders in a commercial framework to drive water replenishment at scale – starting with using our volumetric AI to rapidly and quantifiably drive down local leakage. The first of these catalytic communities is already under way in the Colorado River Basin. I guarantee it’s not the last.

So, there you have it. A scaled collaborative water stewardship programme which delivers independently validated volumetric results using a commercial model is a way to replenish local watersheds for the benefit of all. What’s more you’ll have tangible data points which investors and customers will love. And, even better, when it comes to making the right buying decision, you can be more sure your customers will make the right choice.

If you’re at SB’24 this week, join me and Will Sarni to discuss a real-life catalytic community and see results in action. Our breakout ‘Inside Water United: The brand-led water positive movement using AI to save the Colorado River Basin ’ will be in Town & Country Ballroom A at 4pm PDT.