What can we do when water efficiency is not enough?

We often talk about water efficiency and how we are indeed becoming more efficient as we start seeing the positive impact of our concerted efforts.. However, as we continue investing in efficiency, we eventually start to see slower returns. This is not surprising as water is vital to life, it is impossible to completely eliminate water use from our activities. So, what do we do when water efficiency is not enough?

We turn to water offsetting.

Water offsetting is still a developing practice, especially when compared with carbon offsetting. In many aspects, it draws on the principles of carbon offsetting. However, there are some key differences. To put it simply, water use cannot be reduced to zero. Therefore, one cannot claim to be water neutral in the same way it would claim to be carbon neutral. Nevertheless, a similar effect can be reasonably achieved if we replenish water sources more than we use them.

  In 2007, a number of companies and organisations came together to define the concept for “water offsetting”, resulting in the publication of ‘Water Neutrality: A Concept Paper’. The paper explores the concept of water footprinting, reduction of the footprint and what can be done to offset irreducible water use.

 Most water is renewable and not a fossil resource, which de-emphasises elimination of water use and shifts focus to achieving a balance within water systems. When we consistently extract more water than the water source can replenish, the water source starts to diminish and can result in water shortage for the ecosystems, people and processes that rely on it. This is referred to as high water stress, and as we know, the MENA region is one of the world’s most water-scarce regions with most countries in the region under high water stress.

 It is important to note here that whilst carbon offsetting aims to remove carbon from the atmosphere, with water, the aim is to promote sustainable and equitable use of water instead. Due to water’s geographically confined nature, withdrawing water from one source but replenishing it in another does not constitute water neutrality and, similar to carbon offsetting, there is a lot of criticism around water neutrality and its achievability. It is therefore critical to be highly transparent with stakeholders about the water footprint and the offsetting strategy, emphasising its impact on local projects, in order to take credit for credible actions.

 The specific situation in our region allows us to direct our water offsetting efforts across three key areas: innovation, geography and use. The geographical focus should be aimed at regions with the highest water footprint while prioritising areas with highest water stress. Then, focus on innovation allows us to target reduction of freshwater extraction through the development of on-site and regional off-site water generation infrastructure, such as desalination plants. Furthermore, we can improve the efficiency of existing infrastructure and reduce water wastage.

 Due to the nature of our business operations and geographic location, operating in 17countries across the MENA region, water is of course an important material topic for us as a business and we have committed to become Water Positive by 2040. Although our commitment scope does not include our supply chain, it constitutes part of our indirect water footprint and is also an area where we have significant influence. We are already engaging our suppliers to reduce the embodied carbon footprint in our developments and to introduce the concepts of circular economy, therefore this approach will complement our existing supplier engagement efforts.

 Water offsetting is an emerging area with no clear definitions and no consensus on the best practice approach yet. It is therefore important to be adaptable and to be ready to adapt to emerging frameworks and to encourage dialogue in order to support the underlying message behind water neutrality commitments, and in Majid Al Futtaim’s case, water positive. At a specific project level, these need to be carefully selected, accurately appraised and closely monitored, especially in relation to any secondary effects.

 Furthermore, due to its infancy, there are not many offset providers available and due to the nature of water as a geographically confined resource, in many scenarios such services would not be considered a high-quality offset. As a result, we need to consider developing our own custom water offsetting projects that are strictly aligned to the water offsetting principles that we have set out.

 I am excited for the work on water offsetting on which Majid Al Futtaim is embarking. As a responsible organisation, we are committed to going beyond water neutrality and becoming net positive in water. There is a great deal of work ahead of us and we hope that through this we will not only be achieving our ambitions, but also supporting the wider industry to move forward and address the concerning issues regarding water use and our impact as businesses.