The Portuguese Corporate Manifest for Water Stewardship

Water is a fundamental resource for our survival and well-being. The supply of water, and with adequate quality, is essential for the production of almost everything around us: from agriculture to industry, from energy production to the most diverse services, from health to technology, the availability of water is a factor which proves to be critical along the different value-chains.

Geographical setting

Different regions need different approaches and, although Portugal is a small country, the situation in the southern region is very different from that in the north. Water management at the national scale requires supervising the origins, flows and uses of water, as well as the challenges in its storage and associated energy production. The main focus of PCMWS is on sustainable water management and how it is used today. One of the biggest challenges for the public sector is the fact that today around 30% of treated water is lost in its distribution (ERSAR, 2021). This in itself represents an important opportunity for improvement, has been the basis for several projects. On the other hand, the reuse of water from treated wastewater should be promoted as a way to meet the needs of some sectors, namely industry. In addition to the most obvious solutions, the desalination of seawater should also be part of the water sustainability plan, to address the issues of water scarcity, an increasingly present reality that will worsen in the next decades.

Detailed explanation

PCMWS is the main outcome of the Water Summit event that took place in July 2020, organized by the Católica – Lisbon School Center for Responsible Business & Leadership (CRB).

This forum discussed the importance of water in the world and, in particular, for companies with significant relevance for the Portuguese economy. The participating entities illustrated that the rapid changes that we are currently witnessing in terms of climate, supply networks, demography, and the environment, are rapidly contributing to the dangers of water scarcity and subsequent economic impacts. The European Green Deal is the context to amass the mitigation measures necessary to cope with climate change and establish subsequent adaptation actions.

Water Summit underlined the importance of an integrated water management perspective in which decision-making of any company, sector, or entity, whether at the local or national level should focus. Although this represents a global challenge, the Water Summit participants recognized that Portugal must be prepared to adapt to the various climate change scenarios and believed that water management has increased effectiveness starting at the local scale.

PCMWS initiative aims, accordingly to the Manifest itself, to amplify the dissemination, intensify awareness and expand knowledge of good practices in the following key areas:

• Water as a valuable resource in the country’s ecological transformation and its impact on health, economy and society.
• The need to adapt and accelerate mitigation measures in the context of climate change associated with the risk of scarcity and water pollution.
• The importance of water reuse in the sustainable development of industry and cities.
• Better practices for sustainable water management.
• Integration and cooperation strategy between the private sector and the public sector and authorities, the vision of the European Green Deal.

Evidence of benefits from implementation

The initiative is relatively recent; therefore, it is not yet possible to clearly evaluate the PCMWS benefits. Benefits are expected by integrating into the participating members’ value-chain innovative methods to maintain or increase competitiveness in climate change scenarios by adapting water usage.

Replication potential in SUDOE region

Due to SUDOE region exposure to climate change and water scarcity, initiatives like PCMWS have a high potential for implementation. Stress over natural resources is expected to compel the main sectors that rely on them to rethink management strategies to maintain or improve competitiveness in extreme scenarios of scarcity. The EU business environment may also provide the ideal framework for transnational companies to collaborate and exchange knowledge. IT and big tech may also facilitate similar agreements by providing technological support for participating companies.

Also, since one of the main objectives is to cope with water scarcity, such initiatives can be reproduced to other non-SUDOE regions which may already be facing the same problems.

In Portugal the National Program for Water Use Efficiency (Programa Nacional para o Uso Eficiente da Água – PNUEA) was established by the Portuguese Environmental Agency (APA) and share similar objectives with PCMWS, having as action areas different level public institutions which in turn define efficiency indicators with urban supply, agriculture and industrial stakeholders, to help diagnose the water use efficiency. The program focused on the economic sectors that are the main water users/consumers (APA, 2012).

This program has as main strategic objectives the reduction of losses in water supply systems in the urban sector and irrigation systems in the agricultural sector, as well as optimizing the use of water in the industrial sector and limiting the impacts on the environment associated with discharges from industrial wastewater (Fig. 4).

The program draft was initially proposed in 2000, saw a parliamentary resolution being approved in 2005 to lay the basis of the legal framework of action, and the final version was published in 2012 with a period of 8 years to achieve the main targets. It is expected to go through a two-year revision and evaluation.

Water use efficiency measures the extent to which water abstracted from nature is optimally used to efficiently produce the desired service (whereas efficiency measures the extent to which defined objectives are effectively met). The useful consumption corresponds to the minimum consumption necessary in a certain sector to guarantee the efficiency of use, corresponding to a specific reference for that use. The effective demand corresponds to the volume used, being naturally equal to or greater than the useful consumption. The closer the effective demand for useful consumption is, the closer it is to 100% water use efficiency, a naturally desirable but unrealistic situation.

Another similar action to PCMWS is the European Water Association (EWA) Water Manifesto 2020. This document draws attention to current challenges in European water management and makes proposals for sustainable solutions to meet these challenges, calling upon civil society and all relevant stakeholders to contribute to the implementation of such solutions and encouraging the dialogue between the decision-makers and the national and regional authorities. It is divided into four main branches: (1) Nature-based Solutions to respond to Climate Change, (2) Financing Water Services Investments, (3) Asset Management and Digitalization of Water Infrastructure and (4) Boost water demand management.

The EWA is a non-governmental, non-profit organization that groups corporate and research associations involved in the water cycle. The main aim is to exchange and transfer information and know-how in the European Water landscape on a technical and scientific level, not only between the national member associations and with the corporate members but also for distribution of information from the EU to the members and from the members to EU. The manifesto resulted in several publications and ongoing collaborations both in the public and private sectors.

Manifesto for Water, an initiative promoted by Aqua Publica Europea, aims to push EU decision-makers to commit to making water a priority by underlining three main lines of action: (1) Guarantee safe, accessible, and affordable water for all, (2) A sustainable approach to protect finite resources and face climate change and (3) Support efficient, forward-looking water management contributing to sustainable economies.

Under each line of action, the Manifesto for Water defines clear milestones such as the creation of a European observatory on water poverty fostering improved access to water, the definition of strong environmental standards for natural water protection (plastics and pharmaceutical contamination), or facilitating smart investment in water management, that focuses on improving performance (based on “water pays for water” concept).

Aqua Publica Europea, created in 2009, is the European Association of Public Water Operators, uniting publicly owned water and sanitation services and other stakeholders, working to promote public water management at European and international levels. Is an operator-led association that looks for efficient solutions that serve the public rather than corporate interests. It represents over 60 institutions.

Several other similar manifestos and water stewardship manifestos aiming to improve were signed in several other regions (EU, UK, USA), including multi-level public and private entities looking into water resources management.

Future outlook

The United Nations World Water Development Report (UNESCO, UN-Water, 2020) clearly states climate change as the main challenge for water sustainability of water resources. Climate variability will decrease water sources and supply reliability, which will be particularly severe in already water-stressed regions (such is the case of southern Europe). It is therefore essential the adaptation and concrete action can be achieved by various water-related climate change initiatives that can also provide co-benefits such as job creation, improved public health, reduced poverty, the promotion of gender equality and enhanced livelihoods, among others, further strengthening their ’bankability’ in the eyes of financiers.Both private and public agreements, such as PCMWS, with clear lines of action, can be the first step to tackle the scarcity problem, involving the main stakeholders around a set of shared responsibilities and making the necessary know-how and expertise available.