Water: the Newest wave of Corporate Social Responsibility

One of the serious resources related to global climate change issues is water. In 2030, water supplies will meet less than 50 percent of global demand in many developing regions where water supply is already under stress. On a global basis, the companies have reevaluated its sustainable development priorities to resolve the world's fresh water sustainability challenges. A main example is Ethos, a bottled water brand launched by Starbucks and Pepsi in 2008. Ethos' partner is H20 Africa, an organization co-founded by actor Matt Damon that carries out drinking water projects in African communities. For each bottle sold, five cents go to the Ethos Water Fund of the Starbucks Foundation. Ethos ads proclaim, "Every bottle makes a difference”. As everybody knows beverage companies are very devoted for CSR, SAB Miller, second largest brewery in the world which markets more than 200 brands of beer, hopes to reduce by 25 percent the amount of water used to brew each hectoliter of beer. Another example of the corporate influence is an international public opinion survey found that more than 90 percent of people consider water pollution and a shortage of fresh water to be serious problems. The summary of survey indicating that public-private partnerships are an important component to resolving the world's fresh water sustainability challenges. The survey was funded by the Molson Coors Brewing Company.