CDP Water Disclosure 2010 Reporting Guidance

CARBON DISCLOSURE PROJECT
Information Request Guide
CDP Water Disclosure
4/1/2010

Table of Contents

RESPONDING TO CDP ...................................................................................................................................................................... 1
INTRODUCTION PAGE ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Question Guidance ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7
SECTION 1: WATER MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNANCE ............................................................................................................... 10
General Guidance for Reporting Water Management and Governance .................................................................................... 10
Question 1: Water management and governance .................................................................................................................... 10
SECTION 2: RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES ........................................................................................................................................ 16
RISKS IN OWN OPERATIONS .......................................................................................................................................................... 16
General Guidance for Reporting Risks and Opportunities ......................................................................................................... 16
Question 2: Water‐stress risks in own operations ..................................................................................................................... 18
Question 3: Physical risks in own operations ............................................................................................................................ 20
Question 4: Regulatory risks in own operations ........................................................................................................................ 24
Question 5: Other risks in own operations ................................................................................................................................ 28
RISKS IN SUPPLY CHAIN ................................................................................................................................................................. 32
General Guidance for Reporting Risks in Your Supply Chain ..................................................................................................... 32
Question 6: Water use in supply chain ...................................................................................................................................... 34
Question 7: Physical risks in supply chain ................................................................................................................................. 36
Question 8: Regulatory risks in supply chain ............................................................................................................................. 40
Question 9: Other risks in supply chain ..................................................................................................................................... 43
DETRIMENTAL IMPACTS, OPPORTUNITIES AND LINKAGES BETWEEN ENERGY/CARBON AND WATER .......................................... 47
General Guidance for Reporting Detrimental Impacts, Opportunities and Linkages ................................................................. 47
Question 10: Detrimental water‐related impacts in past five years .......................................................................................... 47
Question 11: Opportunities ...................................................................................................................................................... 48
Question 12: Linkages between water and energy/carbon ....................................................................................................... 51
SECTION 3: WATER ACCOUNTING ................................................................................................................................................. 52
General Guidance for Reporting Water Accounting .................................................................................................................. 52
Question 13: Water withdrawals .............................................................................................................................................. 52
Question 14: Water recycling and reuse ................................................................................................................................... 56
Question 15: Water discharges ................................................................................................................................................. 58
Question 16: Water intensity .................................................................................................................................................... 60
Question 17: External verification/assurance ........................................................................................................................... 62
IMPORTANT INFORMATION .......................................................................................................................................................... 64
APPENDIX A: GLOBAL INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION STANDARDS (GICS) .......................................................................................... 65
APPENDIX B: REPORTING BOUNDARY DEFINITIONS ...................................................................................................................... 70

© Copyright Carbon Disclosure Project 2010

RESPONDING TO CDP

This document provides guidance to assist companies completing the CDP Water Disclosure 2010 information
request. We encourage you to use this document as well as the guidance within the ORS.

Introduction to CDP
The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is a not‐for‐profit organization working to create lasting relationships
between various stakeholders regarding the implications to commercial and non‐commercial operations
presented by climate change. CDP Water Disclosure is a new program that will collect and distribute high
quality information on water‐related business risks and opportunities in order to help institutional investors
better understand this critical issue. The CDP Water Disclosure 2010 information request covers companies’
water management and governance; water‐related risks and opportunities in their own operations and supply
chains; and water accounting metrics including withdrawals, discharges and intensity of use. In 2010 CDP sent
an information request to 302 of the world’s largest companies in sectors that are water‐intensive or face
particular water‐related risks.

CDP has been making information requests relating to carbon and climate change on behalf of investors since
2003. This is CDP’s first information request relating to water. To learn more about CDP and previous
responses to information requests by major companies, please visit our website.

Deadline for Responses
Please respond to the information request by 31 July 2010.

How to Respond
Please respond to the information request using CDP’s Online Response System (ORS). This is the same ORS
that is used for the Carbon Disclosure Project 2010 information request on carbon and climate change. If you
are unable to respond via the ORS please contact us at water@cdproject.net.

Please answer the questions comprehensively while considering the relevance of the information you provide.
Answers should be as specific as possible to your company. A short, direct answer is preferred over a long
response with information that is not relevant to the question. Information is considered relevant if it provides
detail that users, internal and external to your company, need for decision‐making. A partial response is more
valuable than no response: if you do not have all of the information requested, please respond with what you
have.

Online Response System (ORS) Overview
The CDP Online Response System (ORS) is the portal through which all information request responses must be
entered. For guidance on how to use the ORS please consult the document “Guide to Using the 2010 Online
Response System (ORS) for Water Disclosure”.

Your company’s access to the information request in ORS must be activated through the MyCDP web portal.
The activation process is as follows:

 CDP’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system contains your company’s contact(s) for
disclosure. An email will be sent to these contacts with a link to the MyCDP portal webpage
where they can establish a user name and password, activate your company’s information
request and respond to it.
 The first contact to activate the CDP Water Disclosure information request in a given reporting
year will be your company’s CDP Water Disclosure “registered user” for that year. Other users
will be able to introduce and save data but only the registered user will be able to submit the
final data to CDP once the response is complete.
 When you enter the MyCDP portal you will be presented with the “MyCDP” page which has tabs
enabling you to view your company/user profile and respond to the information request.
 In the “Profile” tab you can see details about your company that are already entered in CDP’s
CRM system. If you wish to you may update this information. The information includes the
country where your company is headquartered and its industry sector. CDP classifies companies

Page 1 © Copyright Carbon Disclosure Project 2010

based on the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) list. Please see Appendix A of this
document for a breakdown of the sectors and their parent groups.
 When you have updated this information as necessary click the “Respond” tab. In “Respond”
you can see the information requests that are active for your company and the registered user
for each of them. To proceed to the ORS click the “Respond Now” button (at the bottom right of
the page). This will launch the ORS Homepage, which contains links to your active information
requests and any previous responses your company has made.
 Click on “CDP Water Disclosure 2010” to enter the introduction page for the CDP Water
Disclosure 2010 information request. This page asks for an introduction to your company, the
start and end date of the year for which it is reporting, its reporting boundaries, and the
countries or regions in which it operates. The introduction page is used to configure the rest of
the questionnaire in the correct form.
 Once you complete the introduction page and click “Save”, your information request will be
configured and you can see all the questions included in the request.

From this point on, to access your information request you simply need to log in to the portal, and click on the
“Respond Now” button in the “Respond” page. This will take you to the ORS Homepage where you can decide
which information request (e.g. CDP Water Disclosure 2010, Investor CDP2010 etc.) you want to work on.

Module Structure

Navigation Bar: The information request is divided into several modules listed at the top of the ORS page. By
rolling your mouse over these modules, you can select from the different questions held within each module.
Using this navigation bar will greatly improve your movement throughout the system. You can also navigate
through the pages by clicking “Previous” or “Next” at the bottom of each question page.

Question Completion Instructions: The right hand side of each question page may display instructions for
completing the question. Where provided, this will duplicate or summarize the guidance provided in this
document. Please refer to the “Reporting Guidance Index”, which includes this page, for full guidance.

Question Text Limits: Please note the following text limits in the ORS. Answers requiring text answers will be
limited to 5,000 characters, or roughly one page of text. Text fields in tables will limit responses to 2,400
characters.

Further Information Fields: You may provide additional information beyond that which is requested in the
question in the “Further Information” fields and attachment feature at the bottom of each page. Please do not
use these fields for providing your actual answer unless asked to do so.

Save Function: Within the ORS there is an automatic save function. As you navigate, your information will be
saved regardless of whether you press the “Save” button. However, if you happen to lose your internet
connection any information on the current page that has not been saved will be lost. Companies are
encouraged to save regularly to avoid the loss of information.

Water Reporting
Water presents a unique set of measurement and reporting challenges because it is a global and local issue
and because there are different types of “use”. “What gets measured gets managed” is a common business
adage, but even companies that are working to understand water‐related risks and opportunities are
struggling with the fundamental questions of quantifying their water use, assessing their exposure to water
risk, and identifying the opportunities that water presents, irrespective of what information investors and
other stakeholders might require.

While much can been learned from the experience of measuring and reporting GHG emissions, water
measurement and disclosure is not as straightforward for a number of reasons. First and foremost, water is a
local or regional issue. Challenges and opportunities depend on patterns of local precipitation, watersheds and
aquifers, as well as the degree and nature of local use. Unlike a tonne of carbon dioxide that has the same
impacts whether emitted in Stockholm or Sydney, the geographic dimension of water use is critical. A cubic
meter of water used in Sydney has very different consequences from a cubic meter used in Stockholm. This


creates complexities for businesses trying to understand, disclose meaningfully and manage their use of water
and their water‐related risks.

Compounding this complexity, the global nature of business and supply chains means that water use is linked
across multiple geographies. Even when their own assets are not affected, many businesses will be
significantly affected by changing patterns of water availability far from their own facilities. This increases the
scale of water measurement and disclosure challenges. For large companies relying on perhaps many
thousands of suppliers, assessment of water use and related product or supply chain issues can be highly
complex. Furthermore, for companies that rely on global agro‐commodities markets for raw materials, simply
obtaining reliable data may be a substantial challenge.

Once a company determines the scope of its exposure, the next challenge is deciding what to measure. Unlike
measurement of GHG emissions, which can be expressed in tonnes of CO2‐e, there is no adequate, all‐
encompassing unit of measurement for water. Rather than considering volume alone, it is also necessary to
consider the type of water used and returned to the water system, its quality and whether it is scarce or
abundant in the region concerned.

Emerging Water Reporting Standards
Standards for water reporting are not as consistently established as those for carbon. However, groups
including the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) which has developed a leading standard for many sustainability
indicators, are developing such standards (methods, guidelines and criteria), accounting tools (inputs, outputs,
and quality), and other tools or methodologies to account for water impacts.

For an overview of major initiatives that are relevant to business, you may refer to a recent document
prepared by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN), “Water for Business: Initiatives Guiding Sustainable Water Management in the
Private Sector”. This document provides links and contact information for each initiative and can be
downloaded from the WBCSD website.

CDP Approach
CDP believes that establishing standards and improving disclosure must develop in parallel. CDP will work
closely with WWF, the CEO Water Mandate, WRI, WBCSD, GRI and similar organizations and strongly supports
the development of effective standards. This is an area where we particularly wish to engage stakeholders and
help accelerate movement towards a standard which companies are comfortable reporting against and
through which investors can gain meaningful information.

At present, CDP relies on relevant reporting principles from the GHG Protocol1, the GRI indicators for water2,
and additional existing water reporting guidance that is relevant to individual questions. We also invite
companies to break down globally reported figures in a manner that they deem appropriate and request
information on the methodologies used for calculations.

Application of GHG Protocol Principles and GRI Guidance to Water Reporting
While various tools, methodologies and initiatives have emerged to assist companies report on water‐related
issues, no dominant methodology has been adopted. Therefore, methodologies and standards from the more
mature field of GHG emissions reporting, particularly widely used standards such as the Greenhouse Gas
Protocol (GHG Protocol) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), can be applied to the field of water
reporting. Where appropriate, this guidance incorporates definitions and approaches established by these
bodies.

1
For more information, please see“The Greenhouse Gas Protocol: A Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard (Revised Edition)”,
(GHG Protocol), developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).
2
These include GRI G3 indicators EN8, EN9, and EN10 for water and indicators EN21 and EN25 for emissions, effluents and waste. For
more information, on the GRI G3 Reporting Framework, please visit http://www.globalreporting.org/ReportingFramework/.


The GHG Protocol makes the following distinction between accounting and reporting:

“When planning the consolidation of GHG data, it is important to distinguish between
GHG accounting and GHG reporting. GHG accounting concerns the recognition and
consolidation of GHG emissions from operations in which a parent company holds an
interest (either control or equity) and linking the data to specific operations, sites,
geographic locations, business processes and owners. GHG reporting, on the other
hand, concerns the presentation of GHG data in formats tailored to the needs of various
reporting uses and users.”

The GHG Protocol outlines five principles to ensure a true and fair account of a company’s GHG emissions. CDP
suggests that all of these principles be adopted for the purpose of water reporting. These principles are as
follows:

1. Relevance: Ensure that the water use inventory appropriately reflects actual water use and serves the
decision‐making needs of users – both internal and external to the company.
2. Completeness: Account for and report on all water‐related activities within the chosen inventory
boundary. Disclose and justify any specific exclusions3.
3. Consistency: Use consistent methodologies to allow for meaningful comparisons of company’s use of
water over time. Transparently document any changes to the data, inventory boundary, methods, or
any other relevant factors in the time series.
4. Transparency: Address all relevant issues in a factual and coherent manner, based on a clear audit
trail. Disclose any relevant assumptions and make appropriate references to the accounting and
calculation methodologies and data sources used.
5. Accuracy: Ensure that the quantification of water use is sufficiently accurate to enable users to make
decisions with reasonable assurance as to the integrity of the reported information.

Information is considered relevant if it contains the detail that users, both internal and external to the
company, need for their decision‐making. When considering what to disclose, please identify and report
information that is most likely to be of use and benefit to the audience requesting information (in this case,
the investment community).

CDP takes a broad view of relevance in this first year of reporting water risks and opportunities and
recommends that companies consider the general definition of sustainability “materiality” provided in the GRI
G3 Guidelines as a starting point. This definition puts the onus on companies to determine a materiality
threshold based on internal, industry, and external stakeholder interests. More information is available at the
GRI website.

Reference to Methodologies and Calculation Tools for Water Reporting
In each section of the guidance, sources, methodologies and calculation tools are provided to assist companies
answer the questions and report relevant information.

Certain questions in the “Water Accounting” section of the information request correspond to the GRI G3
Guidelines as follows:

CDP Water Disclosure Question GRI G3 Indicator
Number(s)
13.1 through 13.3 EN8: Total water withdrawal by source
13.4, 13.4a, and 13.5 EN9: Water sources significantly affected by withdrawal of water
14.1 through 14.3 EN10: Percentage and total volume of water recycled and reused
15.1 and 15.2 EN21: Total water discharge by quality and destination
15.5, 15.5a, and 15.6 EN25: Identity, size, protected status, and biodiversity value of water
bodies and related habitats significantly affected by the reporting
organization’s discharges of water and runoff

3
Please note that the scope of your inventory boundary and any exclusions should be defined in introductory questions 0.3a, b, and c.


For more information you may visit the GRI website and search for water indicators in the section of the page
titled “Indicator Sort Search”.

Public or Non‐Public Response
When responding to CDP you will be given a choice as to whether your response is made public or non‐public.
If you choose to make your response public, the response will be made available on the CDP website as
outlined below. Non‐public responses will not be made available on the website and will only be used as
outlined below. We strongly encourage companies to make their responses public.

For Public Responses
Companies agree that a public response to CDP Water Disclosure 2010 will be used by CDP in furtherance of its
charitable mission and that the response may be:

1. Made available as soon as it is received by CDP to its signatory investors, partners, appointed report
writers, selected rating agencies and any other parties that CDP deem appropriate,
2. Made publicly available at www.cdproject.net after the release of the CDP Water Disclosure 2010
annual report and stored and preserved on CDP’s servers indefinitely thereafter,
3. Distributed through selected partners,
4. Compiled in CDP databases and made available in original, modified or adapted form (for a fee or
otherwise) for use by commercial and non‐commercial organizations,
5. Amalgamated with information about the responding company from other public sources including
rating agencies and financial information distributors,
6. Used as a best practice example in CDP literature and research,
7. Used individually or as part of aggregate results in CDP’s reports and in any other research conducted
or commissioned by CDP,
8. Used in any other way that accords with CDP’s charitable mission.

For Non‐Public Responses
Companies agree that a non‐public response to CDP Water Disclosure 2010 may be:
1. Made available as soon as it is received by CDP to its signatory investors, partners and appointed
report writers but not to any other parties, and
2. Used in production of aggregate or anonymous statistics in any CDP report.

Scoring of Responses
CDP and other organizations write and publish reports that include an overview of CDP responses. Responses
to CDP Water Disclosure 2010 and 2011 will not be scored by CDP or its partners. CDP will consider scoring
responses (based on, for example, the comprehensiveness of the companies’ disclosure and on performance
factors) from 2012 onward.

What if a company wishes to change or update a response?
In order for responses and any revisions to be included in the annual reports that CDP publishes each year,
they must be received by 31 July 2010. After you submit your response via the Online Response System, it will
become ‘read‐only’ and can then only be amended by CDP staff. CDP can accept revisions to responses in
writing at any time and will aim to make these available from www.cdproject.net within five days of receipt.

How can a company confirm its participation?
On receipt of the information request and supporting documents, you may activate and register your
company’s response in the ORS which will notify CDP of your intent to participate. Alternatively, you may e‐
mail water@cdproject.net to confirm your participation in CDP Water Disclosure 2010.

What are the financial implications of responding?
CDP has charitable status and seeks to use its limited funds effectively. Consequently, responses must be
prepared and submitted at the expense of responding companies. CDP also reserves the right, where it deems
it appropriate in view of its charitable aims and objectives, to charge for access to or use of data and/or
reports it publishes or commissions.


What is the basis of participation, and what will happen to the data received?
Companies responding to CDP Water Disclosure 2010 make no claim of ownership in the data they submit and
agree that CDP has an irrevocable license to use and copy the responses and their contents without restriction
and to authorize others to do the same. Companies responding to CDP Water Disclosure 2010 agree that CDP
is free to make use of the data including as described below and with respect to public responses otherwise
without restriction whatsoever in furtherance of its charitable mission. Companies also agree that CDP will
own the databases in which that data is stored, as well as the contents of those databases.

CDP’s Legal Status
The Carbon Disclosure Project is a UK Registered Charity no. 1122330 and a company limited by guarantee
registered in England no. 05013650. In the US, the Carbon Disclosure Project is a special project of Rockefeller
Philanthropy Advisors with United States IRS 501(c)(3) charitable status.

The Carbon Disclosure Project is an independent not‐for‐profit organization holding the largest database of
primary corporate climate change information in the world. Thousands of organizations from across the
world’s major economies measure and disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and climate change strategies
through CDP. CDP puts this information at the heart of financial and policy decision‐making and its goal is to
collect and distribute high quality information that motivates investors, corporations and governments to take
action to prevent dangerous climate change.


INTRODUCTION PAGE

Question Guidance

0.1 Introduction: Please give a general description and introduction to your organization.
0.2 Reporting Year: Please state the start and end date of the year for which you are reporting data.
0.3a Reporting Boundary: Please indicate the category that describes the company, entities, or group for which
water‐related impacts are reported.
0.3b Exclusions: Are there any geographies, activities, facilities or types of water inputs/outputs within this boundary
which are not included in your disclosure?
If you select “Yes” in answer to 0.3b, you are then asked question 0.3c:
0.3c List of Exclusions: Please describe any exclusion in the following table.
Regardless of your answer to 0.3b, you are then asked question 0.4:
0.4 Country list configuration: Please select the countries or regions for which you will be supplying data. This
selection will be carried forward to assist you in completing your response.

General Guidance for the Introduction Page: The introduction page must be filled out and saved before the survey
modules will appear. Once the introduction page is saved, you will be able to navigate between pages of the survey using
the navigation bar. You may also return to the introduction page at any time to update information.

Specific Guidance for Question 0.1: Introduction: Please give a general description and introduction to your organization.

In the text box provided, please enter a brief introduction to your company. You are not required to give an introduction
to your company, but may do so if you wish.

Specific Guidance for Question 0.2: Reporting Year: Please state the start and end date of the year for which you are
reporting data.

Enter periods that will be disclosed
From: [Date entry] To: [Date entry]

In the table provided, please enter the start and end dates of your reporting period in the following format:
day/month/year in full, e.g. 31/01/2008. You must enter a reporting period before proceeding to the full information
request. The current reporting year is the most recent 12‐month period for which data is reported. This reporting period
should be applied to your answers for the entire information request.

When answering some subsequent questions, you may not have data for the entirety of this reporting year. In such a
case, you may:
 Extrapolate your data to cover the entire reporting year. This potential source of inaccuracy can be logged in the
comments section of the relevant question, or
 Leave survey questions that request annual/annualized data blank.

Specific Guidance for Question 0.3a: Reporting Boundary: Please indicate the category that describes the company,
entities, or group for which you are reporting.

Companies over which financial control is exercised‐ per consolidated audited financial statements
Companies over which operational control is exercised
Companies in which an equity share is held
Other‐ please provide details

From the drop down list, please choose the relevant response or select “Other” to provide a text entry.

This question asks you to define the organizational boundary (i.e. the group, companies, businesses or organizations) for
which you are supplying data. These may be organized by financial control, operational control, equity share or another
measure. The way in which companies are identified for inclusion within the reporting boundary is known as the
“consolidation approach”. Unless stated otherwise, the information you provide throughout the information request


should be presented as “consolidated” results covering all of the companies, entities, or businesses within your reporting
boundary.

For more detailed guidance on determining reporting boundaries, particularly where joint ventures or complex
operational structures are concerned, please refer to Appendix B: Reporting Boundary Definitions. These definitions are
drawn directly from Chapter 3 of the GHG Protocol. Although this protocol refers to GHG emissions reporting, the general
definitions may be applied to water reporting.

References in the information request to “your company” are to the company, companies, businesses, organizations or
groups within your organizational boundary. Please consistently apply this organizational boundary when responding to
questions unless you are specifically asked for data about another category of activities.

Specific Guidance for Question 0.3b: Exclusions: Are there any geographies, activities, facilities or types of water
inputs/outputs within this boundary which are not included in your disclosure?

Please select “Yes” or “No”. If you answer “Yes”, you will be taken to question 0.3c. If you answer “No”, you will be taken
directly to question 0.4.

The GHG Protocol comments on reporting of exclusions and notes that “any acknowledgement should be made in the
report each year in order to enhance transparency; otherwise new users of the report in the two or three years after the
change may make incorrect assumptions about the performance of the company.” You may exclude sources of water‐
related activities in a particular geography, along a line of business activities, from small facilities for which it is difficult to
gather data or by selected water inputs/outputs. Companies are encouraged to refer to Appendix B: Reporting Boundary
Definitions when determining exclusions. Any exclusions must be clearly identified in question 0.3c.

Specific Guidance for Question 0.3c: List of Exclusions: Please describe any exclusion(s) in the following table.

Exclusion Please explain why the geography, activity, facility or
type of water input/output is excluded
[Text entry] [Text entry]

You will be asked to answer this question only if you have answered “Yes” to question 0.3b. In the table provided, please
identify and explain each geography, activity, facility or type of water input/output that is excluded from your disclosure.

Elements of your business may be excluded for a number of reasons. A geography may be excluded if low water usage or
data limitations render reporting infeasible for operations in that country or region. Similarly, an activity (e.g. a product
line, type of business process, or type of supplier) may be excluded due to limited data or reporting feasibility. A facility
may be excluded due to recent mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, outsourcing and in‐sourcing of activities. Smaller
facilities for which it is not currently possible to track water use may also be considered for exclusion. Finally, some
organizations may not yet have the capacity to track all types of water inputs and outputs. For example, a company may
use rainwater at some facilities but not track the quantity or quality of this source in which case the source may be
considered for exclusion.

For all exclusions, please clearly explain why the geography, activity, facility, or type of water input/output is not included
in your disclosure. Please note that CDP seeks comprehensive, representative data on water use and water‐related
impacts on behalf of participating investors. In addition, please note that the rationale for excluding sources must be
consistent with the guidelines in Appendix B: Reporting Boundary Definitions.

Specific Guidance for Question 0.4: Country/Region List Configuration: Please select the countries or regions for which
you will be supplying data. This selection will be carried forward to assist you in completing your response.

Select a country/region
[Drop down list]

From the drop down list in the table provided, please select all countries, regions or business areas in which your
organization’s activities are covered by the reported data. The information that you enter here will be carried through to


questions 3.2, 4.2, 5.2, 7.2, 8.2, 9.2, 13.2b, 14.2b, 16.1a, and 16.1b. You may also add countries, regions or other
categories to individual questions as you answer them. However, consideration of these distinctions up front may be
helpful in proceeding with the questionnaire.

You may update or revise your list at any stage, in which case your updates will also be carried through to the relevant
questions. If you delete a country or region after having introduced data for that country or region in later questions, the
associated data will also be deleted.

The list in this question is pre‐populated with country data as in other CDP information requests. However, because
water‐related impacts can be specific to local regions, watersheds, business units or operations, you may want to provide
data along different lines and may do so by selecting “Other”. Some examples of these categories are as follows:

Area/Unit Description
Country Water risks, opportunities, or impacts from your company’s activities in a specific country.
Region Water risks, opportunities, or impacts from your company’s activities in a specific region. For
example, you may have impacts that are limited to a region of a country that cannot be reported on
a country basis.
Watershed Water risks, opportunities, or impacts from your company’s activities in a specific “watershed”. For
example, you may have impacts across borders resulting from a single activity that cannot be
reported on a country basis.
Business unit Water risks, opportunities, or impacts from your company’s activities by business unit. A business
unit may refer to parts of your company that are differentiated by the products they produce,
services they provide or functions they perform within the company. If certain business units have
significant water‐related impacts but others have none, you may want to report specifically on the
water‐intensive business units.
Facility Water risks, opportunities, or impacts from your company’s activities by facility. In accordance with
a definition provided by the GHG Protocol stationary combustion tool, a “facility” is described as “all
buildings, equipment, structures and other stationary items” owned or operated by your company.
These may be located “on a single site or on contiguous or adjacent sites”. If certain facilities have
significant water‐related impacts but others have none, you may want to report specifically on the
water‐intensive facilities.


SECTION 1: WATER MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNANCE

General Guidance for Reporting Water Management and Governance

The first question in this information request focuses on high‐level water management and actions taken by your
company to address water‐related issues. This includes governance of your company’s water management plans, details
of actions your company has taken in respect of its own operations and external factors, and water‐related initiatives in
which your company participates.

In particular, questions 1.5 and 1.6 request detailed information on water‐related actions that your company currently
takes in respect of its own operations and in respect of factors beyond its own operations. Several categories of activities
are provided as starting points, and examples of these activities are provided in the specific question guidance. However,
a wide variety of activities may be considered and a comprehensive listing of your company’s activities is encouraged.

Question Guidance

Question 1: Water management and governance

1.1 Does your company have a water policy, strategy or management plan?
If you select “Yes” in answer to 1.1, you are then asked questions 1.2 through 1.8:
1.2 Please describe your policy, strategy or plan here.
1.3 Where is the highest level of responsibility within your company for the policy, strategy or plan?
Depending on your selection, you will be asked for further detail in question 1.3a or 1.3b.
1.4 Does the policy, strategy or plan specify water reduction, quality or efficiency targets or other water‐related
goals?
1.5 What water‐related actions has your company taken in respect of its own operations?
1.6 What water‐related actions has your company taken in respect of factors beyond its own operations?
1.7 What water‐related actions are you considering taking?
1.8 What water‐related initiatives does your company participate in and what tools or resources does it use?
If you select “No” in answer to 1.1, you are then asked question 1.9:
1.9 You may explain here why your company does not have a water policy, strategy or management plan and if you
intend to put one in place.

Specific Guidance for Question 1.1: Does your company have a water policy, strategy or management plan?

Please select “Yes” or “No”. If you answer “Yes”, you will be taken to questions 1.2 through 1.8. If you answer “No”, you
will be taken to question 1.9.

Definition
Water policy, strategy or management plan: A general or specific plan to manage water‐related issues affecting your
company. It may be part of a CSR or environmental report and may incorporate tools and resources used in water‐related
initiatives. Although your water policy, strategy or management plan can take many forms, it generally must be guided by
a mission or vision, have clear objectives and have an action plan.

Specific Guidance for Question 1.2: Please describe your policy, strategy or plan here.

You will be asked to answer this question only if you have answered “Yes” to question 1.1. In the text box provided,
please describe your company’s water policy, strategy, or plan.

The description should be high level and may include some or all of the following:
 A general description of your policy, strategy or management plan.
 Whether it is company‐wide, partially external or only relevant to specific sites or activities. For
example, the plan may apply to resources that are owned or controlled by your company, to resources
controlled by another company in your supply chain, or to other related entities.
 An explanation of how your company selects and prioritizes water‐related actions. For example, you
might prioritize actions in water‐scarce regions over those in regions where water is abundant.


Do not specify any targets included in the policy, strategy or plan as you will be given an opportunity to do so
in question 1.4. Supporting documents or links may be uploaded in the “Further Information” box at the
bottom of the page.

Specific Guidance for Question 1.3: Where is the highest level of responsibility within your company for the policy,
strategy or plan?

Board‐level committee or executive body
Other levels
There is no individual with overall responsibility for the plan

From the drop down list, please select one of the options provided. Selecting “Board‐level committee or executive body”
will lead to question 1.3a where a further selection is required. Likewise, selecting “Other levels” will lead to question
1.3b where a further selection is required.

Specific Guidance for Question 1.3a: Please specify who is responsible.

Board/Executive Board
Individual Board Member
Sub‐set of the Board
Committee appointed by the Board
Other

You will be asked to answer this question only if you have selected “Board‐level committee or executive body” in
question 1.3. From the drop down list, please select one of the options provided. If a group or individual is not listed
among the options, please select “Other” and provide a response in the text box provided.

Specific Guidance for Question 1.3b: Please specify who is responsible.

Officer/manager reporting directly to board committee/board member
Officer/manager not reporting directly to board committee/board member
Other

You will be asked to answer this question only if you have selected “Other levels” in question 1.3. From the drop down
list, please select one of the options provided. If a group or individual is not listed among the options, please select
“Other” and enter the information in the text box provided.

Specific Guidance for Question 1.4: Does the policy, strategy or plan specify water reduction, quality or efficiency targets
or other water‐related goals?

Type of target/goal Target/goal Comments
[Drop down list] [Text entry] [Text entry]

From the drop down list in the table provided, please select your company’s water‐related targets or goals. You may
add rows to describe multiple targets or goals. In the “Target/goal” box, please describe the individual targets or goals.
Where appropriate please include the base year, end year and unit of measurement for each. In the “Comments” box,
please specify the scope of the goal and commitment of resources towards it. For example, a goal may be set for the
company as a whole, a particular facility, an individual product line, or a unit of production. You should also indicate
whether the policy, strategy or plan commits to the financial or personnel resources necessary to achieve them. Any
additional comments relevant to the question may also be included.


Definitions
Absolute reduction target: A target to reduce the absolute amount of water withdrawn, consumed or discharged. For
example, a company may set a target for a 10% reduction in the total volume of water consumed by year 2020 in
comparison to a year 2000 baseline.

Efficiency target: A target to reduce the amount of water withdrawn, consumed or discharged in production of a given
amount of output, typically a revenue or production unit. For example, a company may set a target to reduce the m3 of
water consumed per dollar value of a particular product line to 50% of 1999 levels by year 2015.

Quality of discharges target: A target to improve the quality of wastewater discharged by your company. For example, a
company may set a target to reduce nitrogen discharges to 30% of regulated maximum levels.

A sample response is provided below:

Type of Target/goal Comments
target/goal
Absolute 10 percent reduction in the absolute We determined that the largest feasible reduction can be
reduction volume of water consumed. achieved by increasing water efficiency in our
Base year: 2000; End year: 2020. manufacturing process. For this purpose our water
This goal is companywide, targeting management plan commits to the adoption of more
water consumption from all the water‐efficient equipment in all of our new sites and the
company’s own operations. It excludes replacement of some old equipment. This target does
water consumed by the company’s not relate to water consumed by our suppliers as we have
suppliers. yet to engage with our suppliers on this issue.

Specific Guidance for Question 1.5: What water‐related actions has your company taken in respect of its own operations?

Action Comment
[Drop down list] [Text entry]

From the drop down list in the table provided, please select the actions that are relevant to your company. This is an
indicative list intended to help you provide relevant information, and you are not expected to be addressing all of the
issues listed. CDP recognizes that other water‐related actions taken by your company might be specific to your operations
and thus not included in this list. Please report these actions by choosing the “Other” option. Please describe each action
in the “Comments” column, including its scope (e.g. company‐wide, facility specific, or product line specific), any
associated targets and progress towards those targets, and relevant detail on the methodology/tools used to pursue
these actions.

Please note that this question asks about water‐related action taken by your company only in respect of its own
operations. Actions taken in respect of factors beyond your company’s operations should be described in question 1.6.

Definitions
Water related actions: Actions taken to address water‐related issues, to achieve water‐related targets or to realize the
objectives set in a water policy, strategy or management plan. When answering questions 1.5 and 1.6, an indicative list of
such actions will be provided in a drop‐down menu.

Your company’s own operations: Anything your company does itself for the purpose of producing goods and services and
maintaining the functionality of the business.


Examples of activities that could be covered by each action area are provided below:

Action Examples of Relevant Actions
Measured withdrawals and/or Your company uses a water measurement tool or methodology to track water
consumption of water withdrawals overall or by source (e.g. by surface water, groundwater, fresh water)
for the entire organization or some facilities.
Reduced absolute withdrawals Changes to technologies, processes, or supply have been deployed to reduce total
and/or consumption of water year‐over‐year water consumption company‐wide or at some facilities.
Reduced intensity of withdrawals Changes to technologies, processes, or supply have been deployed to reduce the
and/or consumption of water intensity of water consumed per unit of output (typically revenue or production
unit) company‐wide or for some products/revenue streams.
Reduced costs associated with A wide variety of actions may be applicable, including deployment of cost‐
water usage reducing water conservation practices, water‐efficient technologies that reduce
costs, and other water‐related actions that result in measurable cost savings.
Measured water discharge Your company uses a water measurement tool or methodology to track water
volumes and/or quality discharges overall or by type of discharge for the entire company or some
facilities.
Measured water recycling and Your company uses a tool or methodology to track water recycling and/or reuse
reuse volumes volumes (e.g. process water recycling) company‐wide or at some facilities.
Improved quality of discharges Actions have been taken to eliminate or substantially reduce emissions of
pollutants into water bodies.
Identified sustainability of water Prior to withdrawal from water sources, your company considers the regenerative
sources (including seasonal capacity of the source, seasonal variations in water availability, withdrawals by
variations in availability) other users or other factors in the sustainability of water sources.
Increased supply of water (e.g. Measures have been taken to increase the supply of water through desalination,
through desalination or transfers or other advanced water generation methods at some or all of your
transfers) company’s sites.
Considered water‐related issues The siting process for new facilities accounts for water‐related issues. For
in siting practices example, constraints on water supply may influence site selection for a new
facility, or measures above and beyond regulatory considerations may be
incorporated into site development to mitigate water‐related impacts.
Considered water‐related issues Your company has considered water source and discharge impacts when selecting
in sourcing decisions and developing new water sources. Note that this question refers to water
sourcing; interaction with other suppliers on water is covered in question 1.6.
Invested in making products Product lines have been redesigned or replaced to reduce water impacts during
more water‐efficient/developing their use. For example, a company may redesign existing products or develop new
more water‐efficient products ones that reduce life cycle water intensity during the product’s use and/or
disposal phases.
Ensured employees have access Your company has taken measures to provide employees with safe drinking water
to safe drinking water and sources and sanitation facilities, provided educational resources to employees, or
sanitation taken other actions to ensure employee access to safe drinking water. Note that
public access to safe drinking water and sanitation is covered in question 1.6.

Specific Guidance for Question 1.6: What water‐ related actions has your company taken in respect of factors
beyond its own operations?

Action Comment

From the drop down list in the table provided, please select the actions that are relevant to your company. This is an
indicative list intended to help you provide relevant information, and you are not expected to be addressing all of the
issues listed. CDP recognizes that the water‐related actions taken by your company might be specific to your company
and thus not included in this list. Please report these actions by choosing the “Other” option. Please describe each action
selected in the “Comments” column, including its scope (e.g. company‐wide, facility specific, or product line specific), any
associated targets and progress towards those targets, and relevant detail on the methodology/tools used to pursue
these actions.


Definitions
Water related actions: Actions taken to address water‐related issues, to achieve water‐related targets or to realize the
objectives set in a water policy, strategy or management plan. When answering questions 1.5 and 1.6, an indicative list of
such actions will be provided in a drop‐down menu.

Factors beyond your company’s own operations: Factors outside the direct control of your company, involving external
stakeholders such as policy‐makers, communities, suppliers or other organizations and bodies.

Examples of activities that may be covered by each action area are provided below.

Action Examples of Relevant Actions
Increased access to safe drinking Your company has adopted water sourcing and usage practices designed to
water increase public drinking water access, has invested directly in drinking water
infrastructure or products for public use, and/or has supported organizations
that work with the public to develop safe drinking water resources.
Increased access to sanitation Your company has adopted water sourcing and usage practices designed to
increase public access to sanitation resources, has invested directly in sanitation
infrastructure for public use, and/or has supported organizations that work with
the public to develop sanitation resources.
Enhanced habitat or watershed Your company has adopted water sourcing and usage practices designed to
management reduce or eliminate impacts on local habitats or watersheds, has invested
directly in improvement projects, and/or has supported organizations that work
on habitat or watershed management.
Engaged with suppliers on water May include a variety of actions, such as supplier education, partnership with
issues suppliers on water‐related initiatives, and/or selection of suppliers based in part
on their use and discharge of water, their locations in water‐constrained regions
or high‐risk watersheds.
Engaged with investors Your company has engaged corporate‐level investors (considered separate from
any direct investors in water projects) on decisions relating to water usage. This
may include investor education, disclosure of water impacts directly to investors
or response by your company to investor demands for water performance.
Engaged with local communities Your company has worked with local communities to address water issues
specific to each community. This may include sanitation and drinking water
projects, watershed cleanup projects above and beyond those mandated by
regulation, and a variety of other water availability and quality efforts.
Engaged with NGOs Your company has funded, partnered with, or otherwise supported NGOs in
initiatives to improve water availability and/or quality.
Engaged with public policy makers Your company has engaged in policy development processes, supported research
or policy projects, or engaged in partnerships with regulatory agencies on water
issues.
Engaged in water management May include a wide variety of activities, such as consultations, user group
processes (e.g. consultations, user discussions, conferences, and other collaborative activities focused on water
group discussions, conferences, management issues.
etc.)
Engaged in initiatives to develop Your company has participated in external standard development or other
standardized water accounting collaborative processes to develop water accounting methodologies for use
methodology across organizations, (e.g. engagement in development of the WBCSD Global
Water Tool).

Specific Guidance for Question 1.7: What water‐related actions are you considering taking?

In the text box provided, please specify any additional water‐related actions that you are considering beyond those
discussed in questions 1.5 and 1.6. These potential actions may contribute to your water policy, strategy or management
plan or go beyond the current plan. To answer this question, you might want to refer to the potential actions listed in
questions 1.5 and 1.6.


Specific Guidance for Question 1.8: What water‐related initiatives does your company participate in and what
tools or resources does it use?

Initiative Comment

From the drop down list in the table provided, please select the water‐related initiatives in which your company currently
participates. Additional initiatives may be included by selecting “Other” and entering the initiative in the text box
provided. You may add as many rows as needed to list the relevant initiatives. In the comments box, please enter any
comments on the nature of the initiative and/or your level of participation.

The purpose of this question is to determine whether companies are operating independently with respect to water
management or are discussing water issues with others / seeking out best practices in this rapidly changing space.

Definition
Water‐related initiatives: Initiatives led by businesses, civil society or governments for the purpose of addressing water‐
related issues. These initiatives provide tools and resources which aim to: (1) help organizations identify water‐related
risk and opportunities; (2) provide guidance on how to measure water‐use; and/or (3) present a reporting methodology.

For an overview of many existing business‐relevant initiatives, you may refer to a recent document prepared by the
World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature
(IUCN), “Water for Business: Initiatives Guiding Sustainable Water Management in the Private Sector”. You can learn
more and download the document from the WBCSD website.

Specific Guidance for Question 1.9: You may explain here why your company does not have a water policy, strategy or
management plan and if you intend to put one in place.

You will be asked to answer this question only if you have answered “No” to question 1.1, indicating that you do not have
a water management plan. In the text box provided, please explain why your company does not have a water policy,
strategy or management plan and if you intend to put one in place.


SECTION 2: RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES

Three modules comprise Section 2:
Risks in your own operations
Risks in your supply chain
Detrimental water impacts, opportunities, and linkages between energy/carbon and water

While these are part of the same section, they are discussed separately due to their presentation as independent
modules in the ORS.

RISKS IN OWN OPERATIONS

General Guidance for Reporting Risks and Opportunities

Corporate reporting can be challenging as it requires companies to provide statements about their prospective condition.
Some organizations, such as accountancy firms and their governing bodies, have published guidance on how to prepare
statements that contain forward‐looking information.

Before answering the questions covering risks and opportunities you may wish to consult with the financial, legal, and/or
compliance department for advice on your company’s general approach to the provision of forward looking statements
and information on risks and opportunities.

As noted in the introduction to this guidance, water‐specific reporting methods are still in development by multiple
organizations, and CDP requests that companies indicate in their responses when different methods are used. However,
the GHG Protocol sets out general guiding principles regarding relevance, understandable information and reliability,
based on financial reporting principles, that are equally applicable to water. You may use these principles together with
the question‐specific guidance provided in this section to provide answers on risks and opportunities.

Please consider the following principles specifically from the GHG Protocol:

1. Relevance: Ensure that the water use inventory appropriately reflects actual water use and serves the decision‐
making needs of users – both internal and external to the company.
2. Completeness: Account for and report on all water‐related activities within the chosen inventory boundary.
Disclose and justify any specific exclusions4.
3. Consistency: Use consistent methodologies to allow for meaningful comparisons of company’s use of water over
time. Transparently document any changes to the data, inventory boundary, methods, or any other relevant
factors in the time series.
4. Transparency: Address all relevant issues in a factual and coherent manner, based on a clear audit trail. Disclose
any relevant assumptions and make appropriate references to the accounting and calculation methodologies
and data sources used.
5. Accuracy: Ensure that the quantification of water use is sufficiently accurate to enable users to make decisions
with reasonable assurance as to the integrity of the reported information.

Information is considered relevant if it contains the detail that users, both internal and external to the company, need for
their decision‐making. When considering what to disclose, please identify and report information that is most likely to be
of use and benefit to the audience requesting information (in this case, the investment community).

CDP takes a broad view of relevance in this first year of reporting water risks and opportunities and recommends that
companies consider the general definition of sustainability “materiality” provided in the GRI G3 Guidelines as a starting
point. This definition puts the onus on companies to determine a materiality threshold based on internal, industry, and
external stakeholder interests. More information is available at the GRI website.

If you need more detailed guidance on how to assess the risks and opportunities your company is facing in relation to
water, you might find “The Corporate Ecosystem Services Review: Guidelines for Identifying Business Risks and
Opportunities from Ecosystem Change”, published by WBCSD, WRI and the Meridian Institute, useful.

4


If you do not consider your company to be exposed to significant risks or presented with significant opportunities related
to water, you will be asked to explain why this is the case. Your answer should specify risks and opportunities that you
think other companies in your sector are facing and explain why these risks and opportunities have been discounted by
your company.

If you do not know if you are exposed to risks or presented with opportunities related to water, you will be asked to
explain why this is not known.

Distinction between Risks in Your Own Operations and Risks in your Supply Chain

You will be asked separately about risks in your own operations and risks in your supply chain. Your company’s own
operations include anything your company does itself for the purpose of producing goods and services and maintaining
the functionality of the business. This covers any internal supply chains between your company’s business units. For
example, a business unit within your company that supplies components to another business unit within your company
would be considered part of your company’s own operations. Your company’s supply chain is comprised of all external
inputs to your own operations, including materials, components, consumable inputs, and services. The scope of your
supply chain may extend to multiple levels of supply, e.g. component suppliers and the suppliers of materials used to
produce those components.

Questions 2, 3, 4, and 5 cover risks in your own operations. Questions 6, 7, 8 and 9 cover risks in your supply chain. It is
important to understand this distinction and provide relevant information for each set of answers. Although this gives
the appearance of making the information request longer, the intention is in fact to make it easier for companies to
provide meaningful, investor‐relevant information by clearly sign‐posting the type of information that is sought.

Introductory “Yes/No” Questions

Where the answer to any of questions 3.1, 4.1 or 5.1 is “Yes”, please provide individual answers to the subsequent
questions as prompted in the ORS. For example, answering “Yes” to the introductory question about your exposure to
risks will display the following additional questions:

 What are the current and/or anticipated risks, and the associated locations and timescales?
 Please describe the ways in which the identified risks affect or could affect your own operations.
 Are there any financial implications to the identified risks? If yes, please describe them.
 Please describe any actions the company has taken or plans to take to manage or adapt to the risks that have been
identified, including their impact on operating costs (positive or negative) and CAPEX programs.

Where the answer to questions 3.1, 4.1 or 5.1 is “No”, please explain why you do not consider your company to be
exposed to the particular risk. Where the answer to questions 3.1, 4.1 or 5.1 is “Don’t know”, you may explain why not
and whether you have any plans to assess these risks in future.

How to Interpret/ Use Tables on Risk

Questions 3.2, 4.2 and 5.2 ask you to specify in a table the different kinds of water‐related risks facing your company. This
format is intended to aid automated data analysis for reporting purposes.

The following table is an example of how a company may respond to question 3.2 on Physical Risks:

Risk Country/Region Timescale in Years Further details
Increased water stress or This risk will soon impact our facility in
scarcity leading to higher energy California, USA 1‐5 years California where water scarcity is
or commodity prices leading to higher municipal energy
costs. We expect these costs to be
passed on to us.
Add row...


The “Risk” column will provide you with a drop‐down list of relevant types of risks. In addition to these, you may include
additional risks by choosing the “Other” option. Once the “Other” option is chosen, you may specify the risk in the text
box provided. CDP recognizes that many of the risks and opportunities you face will be unique to your operations, and
the “Other” option provides a means to discuss these specific factors.

The “Country/Region” column requires you to select a country from the drop down list or to select “Other” and fill in the
text box provided to specify a region of your own choosing. For example, a water issue that is important to your
company may be connected to a specific watershed within or across countries. In such a case, you may specify this local
impact rather than one of the listed countries or regions. The list of countries and regions that you entered on the
introductory page populates the drop down list. To change the countries or regions that are automatically presented as
options, return to the “Introduction” page and modify this list.

The “Timescale” column asks you to provide the timescale in which your company expects to experience the selected
risk. For example, your company may expect to face one risk in less than five years while another may not be anticipated
for more than 30 years. In the first case, select “1‐5 years” and in the second, select “21‐50 years”.

In “Further details”, you may provide more specific information on the risk. Attachments with further detail may be
added at the bottom of each page.

Multiple risks may be selected by adding a row at the bottom of the table. In addition to selecting multiple risks from the
drop down list, you may also select the same risk multiple times in certain cases:

 If the risk applies to different geographies/markets or timescales. For example, you may select “Increased water
stress or scarcity leading to disruption to operations” as a physical risk. You may then select a given country or
market and specify that the timescale for the risk to materialize is 1‐5 years. If additional countries or markets
are affected by this risk or additional timescales are associated with this risk, you may add additional rows. In
the new row you may select the same risk value but select a different country/region and timescale, e.g. 6‐10
years.

 When your company may be exposed to the risk in multiple ways. For example, you may select “Mandatory
water efficiency, conservation, recycling or process standards leading to higher compliance costs” as a
regulatory risk and specify under “Further details” that the risk relates to mandatory water recycling standards.
You may then add another row, select “Mandatory water efficiency, conservation, recycling or process
standards leading to higher compliance costs” again but specify under “Further details” that this specific risk
relates to process standards.

Question Guidance

Question 2: Water‐stress risks in own operations

2.1 Are you able to identify which of your operations are located in water‐stressed regions?
If you select “Yes” in answer to 2.1, you are then asked questions 2.2 and 2.3:
2.2 Please state (or estimate) the percentage of your operations located in these regions.
2.3 Please specify the method used to characterize water‐stressed regions in questions 2.1 and 2.2.
If you select “No” in answer to2.1, you are then asked question 2.4:
2.4 You may explain here why you are not able to identify which of your operations are located in water‐stressed
regions and whether you have any plans to explore this issue in the future.

Specific Guidance for Question 2.1: Are you able to identify which of your operations are located in water‐stressed
regions?

Please select “Yes” or “No”. If you answer “Yes”, you will be taken to questions 2.2 and 2.3. If you answer “No”, you will
be taken to question 2.4. This question is being asked because sites within water‐stressed regions face higher water‐
related risks than sites elsewhere. Recognizing which of your operations are located in such regions is a necessary in
order to understand the water‐related risks your company faces.


Definitions
Water‐stressed regions: In accordance with WBCSD’s definition, water‐stress is experienced in regions where water
availability does not meet the demand from all industrial, agricultural and domestic users. Water‐stress is caused by
physical and/or economic water‐scarcity. Physical scarcity occurs when demand for water in a region exceeds the supply
due to limited physical availability. Economic scarcity occurs when the low supply is caused by inadequate water
management practices due to lack of financial resources or capacity. Although it is difficult to determine a precise
measure for water‐stress, the World Resource Institute (WRI) proposes that it is experienced by countries suffering from
periodic water shortages, where water supplies are below 1,700 cubic meters/ person.

Methods used to characterize water‐stressed regions: WBCSD's Global Water Tool can assist companies in estimating
the percentage of their own operations located in water‐stressed regions. This web‐based software allows companies to
identify sites in water‐stressed areas, identify how many employees live in countries that lack access to improved water
and sanitation, and to identify suppliers in water‐stressed areas (not relevant to these questions but relevant to
questions 6.1‐6.4). Please note that this tool provides an assessment of risks related to water availability and does not
consider risks associated with water quality and discharges. Access to the tool and additional information is available in
the WBCSD website.

Company’s own operations: Anything your company does itself for the purpose of producing goods and services and
maintaining the functionality of the business.

Specific Guidance for Question 2.2: Please state (or estimate) the percentage of your operations located in these
regions.

Type of measurement Percentage
[Drop down list] [Drop down list]

You will be asked to answer this question only if you have answered “Yes” to question 2.1. From the drop down list in
the table provided, please select the range that reflects the percentage of your operations in water‐stressed regions and
the type of measurement used to calculate this percentage.

You may calculate this percentage using one or more of the types of measurement listed or by selecting “Other” to enter
another measure. The suggested types of measurement include:

Type of measurement Description
Percentage of revenues Company revenues generated from operations in water‐stressed regions
₌
Total company revenues
Percentage of water Volume of water withdrawn by your company in water‐stressed regions
₌
withdrawals (by volume) Total volume of water withdrawn by your company
Percentage of number of Number of facilities in water‐stressed regions operated by your company
₌
facilities Total number of facilities operated by your company worldwide

Specific Guidance for Question 2.3: Please specify the method used to characterize water‐stressed regions in questions
2.1 and 2.2.

Method Please add any comments here:

From the drop down list in the table provided, please select the method(s) that your company uses to characterize water‐
stressed regions and describe each method in the comments column. “Internal company knowledge” and “Mapping tool
(such as WBCSD Global Water Tool)” are provided as options. You may also select “Other” to enter another method.
Please provide relevant details (including the name) of the methods and tools in the comments box. By being explicit
about the adopted methods you will provide more transparent, comprehensible and comparable information.


Definition
Mapping tool: A wide variety of mapping tools are available to identify water stressed regions, including the WBCSD
Global Water Tool, UN Aquastat, and many national and regional water authorities. These tools may be used by
companies in assessing water stress in current or proposed locations.

Specific Guidance for Question 2.4: You may explain here why you are not able to identify which of your
operations are located in water‐stressed regions and whether you have any plans to explore this issue in the
future.

You will be asked to answer this question only if you have answered “No” to question 2.1, indicating that you are not able
to identify which of your operations are located in water‐stressed regions. In the text box provided, please explain why
your company is not able to do so and whether you have plans to explore this issue. Remember that you will not be
scored or ranked based on your answer.

Question 3: Physical risks in own operations

3.1 Is your company exposed to significant physical risks related to water in its own operations?
3.2 What are the current and/or anticipated risks, and the associated locations and timescales?
3.3 Please describe the ways in which the identified risks affect or could affect your own operations.
3.4 Are there financial implications to the identified risks?
If you select “Yes” in answer to 3.4, you are then asked question 3.5:
3.5 Please describe them.
Regardless of your selection in 3.4, you are then asked question 3.6:
3.6 Please describe any actions the company has taken or plans to take to manage or adapt to the risks that have
been identified, including their impact on operating costs (positive or negative) and CAPEX programs.
3.7 You may explain here why you do not consider your company to be exposed to physical risks.
If you select “Don’t know” in answer to 3.1, you are then asked question 3.8:
3.8 You may explain here why you do not know if your company is exposed to physical risks and whether you have
any plans to assess these risks in the future.

General Guidance for Question 3: This question has been disaggregated from the single question: “How is your company
exposed to physical risks related to water in its own operations?” into eight separate questions (3.1 through 3.8).
Although this gives the appearance of making the information request longer, the intention is in fact to make it easier for
companies to provide meaningful, investor‐relevant information by including drop‐down menus and by clearly sign‐
posting the type of information that is sought. This approach has also been adopted for questions 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.

Specific guidance for Question 3.1: Is your company exposed to significant physical risks related to water in its own
operations?

Please select “Yes”, “No” or “Don’t know”, noting that this question only asks about risks in your own operations. If you
answer “Yes”, you will be taken to questions 3.2 through 3.6. If you answer “No”, you will be taken to question 3.7. If
you answer “Don’t know”, you will be taken to question 3.8.

When answering this question you may want to refer to the indicative list of physical risks provided in question 3.2.
Physical risks may be current or anticipated. Answer “Yes” even if you have removed the risk by taking action.

Definitions
Physical risks: Physical risks may arise from water scarcity (too little water), flooding (too much water) or pollution (lower
water quality). Disruption in water supply or decline in water quality can adversely affect operations where water is used
for production, irrigation, material processing, cooling, washing and cleaning, and personal consumption. Physical risks
can adversely affect production or cause damage to physical assets.

For more information on water‐related impacts and risks facing business you may refer to the following sources:


 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2008), “Climate Change and Water: IPCC Technical Paper VI”.
 World Business Council for Sustainable Development, Meridian Institute, World Resources Institute (2008),
“Corporate Ecosystem Services Review: Guidelines for Identifying Business Risks and Opportunities Arising
from Ecosystem Change”.
 JPMorgan (2008), “Watching Water: A Guide to Evaluating Corporate Risks in a Thirsty World”.
 Pacific Institute (2009), “Water Scarcity and Climate Change: Growing Risks for Business and Investors”.
 World Wildlife Fund (WWF) (2009), “Understanding Water Risks: A Primer on the Consequences of Water
Scarcity for Government and Business”.

Physical risks in your company’s own operations: Your company’s own operations include anything your company does
itself for the purpose of producing goods and services and maintaining the functionality of the business. The impact of
physical changes on your company may be direct or indirect, affecting your own operations or other organizations on
which your company relies. In this section, please refer only to risks in your own operations. You will be asked to specify
physical risks in your supply chain in question 7.

Specific Guidance for Question 3.2: What are the current and/or anticipated risks, and the associated locations and
timescales?

Risk Location Timescale (years) Further details
[Drop down list] [Drop down list] [Drop down list] [Text entry]

the table provided, please select the water‐related physical risks that are likely to affect your business in different
geographies and timescales. Please remember that this question asks about risks affecting your own operations. Risks
facing your suppliers may be provided in question 7.2.

Suggested entries are provided in a drop down list, and you may select “Other” to add a text entry. In the columns
provided, select the affected location and expected timescale of the risk. Under further details, please define the nature
of each risk. Do not describe the ways in which the risks you identified impact your own operations as this will be
covered in Question 3.3. You may add rows to include additional risks. Please review the section of the guidance entitled
“How to Interpret/ Use Tables on Risk” on page 17 for more information on how to complete this table.

The risks provided in the drop down list are drawn from consultation with companies and investors. These are limited to
general categories though the description of the risk may differ between companies and geographies. Please define the
nature of each risk in the further details column. In addition to the risk categories provided, CDP recognizes that your
company may face additional physical risks that are specific to your operations or industry. You may include these risks
by choosing the “Other” option.

You will have the opportunity to provide further detail on the risks facing your company’s own operations and the
financial implications of these risks in Questions 3.3 and 3.4.

Descriptions and examples of the types of risks listed in the drop down box are provided below:

Risk Description and Examples
Increased water stress or Increasing water stress or scarcity may adversely affect your company’s operations
scarcity leading to disruption to in some or all of its facilities. For example, water scarcity may cause disruptions to
operations scheduled production cycles that rely on water inputs. It may also necessitate
investment in infrastructure to adjust to shifts in water availability.
Increased water stress or Increasing water stress or scarcity may lead to higher energy or commodity prices
scarcity leading to higher for some or all of your company’s facilities. For example, rate changes may result
energy or commodity prices directly in increased costs of water withdrawals. Company‐owned production of
power or materials that relies heavily on water may similarly increase in cost.
Increased water stress or Increasing water stress or scarcity may impact the health of your employees in
scarcity impacting human some or all of the regions where your company operates. For example, limited
health (e.g. of employees) drinking water or sanitation availability at your company’s sites may impact
employee health.


Declining water quality (due to Declining water quality due to pollution may lead to higher treatment costs for

pollution) leading to higher your company’s direct operations or a region in which it operates. For example, if
water‐treatment costs changes to production practices cause a decline in quality of water outputs, new
post‐treatment activities may become necessary and add costs directly or
indirectly.
Declining water quality (due to Declining water quality due to salt water intrusion of aquifers may lead to higher
salt water intrusion of aquifers) water‐treatment costs. For example, if the salinity of water withdrawals exceeds
leading to higher water‐ standards for use in operations or end products, investment in pre‐treatment may
treatment costs be necessary.
Flooding (due to changing local Flooding caused by changing local hydrological conditions may impact operations.
hydrological conditions) leading For example, flooding from a local watershed may result in cleanup/repair costs or
to disruption to operations delay scheduled production.
Flooding (due to rising sea Flooding caused by rising sea levels may impact operations. For example, flooding
levels) leading to disruption to along coastal areas may result in cleanup/repair costs or delay scheduled
operations production at facilities in these areas.
Inadequate infrastructure Infrastructure limitations may adversely impact operations. For example, limited
leading to disruption to infrastructure in a particular jurisdiction may restrict production capacity on a
operations water‐intensive product line. Limited internal infrastructure may similarly restrict
processing and discharge capacity, requiring new infrastructure investment.

Specific Guidance for Question 3.3: Please describe the ways in which the identified risks affect or could affect your own
operations.

In the text box provided, please expand on the ways in which the risks you identified impact your own operations. This is
distinct from the “Further details” column in question 3.2 where you may provide detail on the risks themselves.
Question 3.3 is intended to address the resulting implications of these risks for your operations. Do not include financial
implications in your answer as this is covered in question 3.4. Do not specify measures taken to manage or adapt to risks
as these are covered in question 3.6.

There are many ways in which physical risks may affect your own operations. For instance, if you identified “Increased
water stress or scarcity leading to disruption to operations” as a physical risk, please explain in brief how the risk is
affecting your operations or may do so in the future. Water scarcity may have different business implications and
operational impacts by region, business unit or production type. For example, your company might be forced to halt
operations in a water‐stressed region due to scarcity but may conduct the same activities in another less constrained
region.

Specific Guidance for Question 3.4: Are there financial implications to the identified risks?

Please select “Yes”, “No” or “Don’t know”, considering the definition provided below. If you answer “Yes”, you will be
taken to question 3.5. If you answer “No” or “Don’t know”, you will be taken directly to question 3.6.

Questions 3.4 and 3.5 focus on the potential costs of physical risks if no action is taken rather than the anticipated costs
of managing, mitigating or adapting to these risks. The costs of addressing these risks are covered in question 3.6. Please
do not specify any indirect financial risks passed through the supply chain as you are asked to do this in question 7.4.

Definition
Financial implications of the identified risks: Financial implications associated with physical risks generally imply
increased costs related to company operations, such as quantifiable disruptions to scheduled production, increased
energy or water prices due to increased water stress or scarcity, and costs to repair damaged infrastructure.

Specific Guidance for Question 3.5: Please describe them.

You will only be asked this question if you select “Yes” in response to question 3.4. In the text box provided, please
expand on any financial implications of the identified risks. Consider the potential costs that could be incurred by your
company in light of these risks. Please describe the potential costs of the identified risks rather than the costs of


managing, mitigating or adapting to them as you will be asked to provide this in question 3.6. Please do not specify any
indirect financial risks passed through the supply chain as you will be asked to provide this in questions 7.4 and 7.5.

Specific Guidance for Question 3.6: Please describe any actions the company has taken or plans to take to manage or
adapt to the risks that have been identified, including their impact on operating costs (positive or negative) and CAPEX
programs.

In the text box provided, please describe the measures your company has in place or has planned in order to address the
effects of the identified risks.

Actions may include increased insurance coverage, investment in new technologies and infrastructure, research and
development funding, contingency arrangements, contract re‐negotiation, sharing risks with partner entities, and a
variety of other measures.

Please include the actual or estimated costs of adapting to the identified risks. For example, if you have identified
relocation as a way to minimize risk from physical exposure, please provide an estimate of the associated costs. Where
there is no cost for action, please explicitly state this is the case.

Definitions
Operating costs: Expenditures incurred as the result of performing normal business operations.
CAPEX programs: Capital expenditure programs. This may include investments in existing or new facilities and other
infrastructure directly related to your own operations.

Specific Guidance for Question 3.7: Please explain why you do not consider your company to be exposed to physical
risks.

You will be asked to answer this question only if you have answered “No” to question 3.1, indicating that you do not
consider your company to be exposed to physical risks in its own operations. In the text box provided, please explain why
there are no physical risks affecting your company’s own operations. Remember that you will not be scored or ranked
based on your answer.

Specific Guidance for Question 3.8: You may explain here why you do not know if your company is exposed to physical
risks and whether you have any plans to assess these risks in the future.

You will be asked to answer this question only if you have answered “Don’t know” to question 3.1, indicating that you do
not know if your company is exposed to significant physical risks in its own operations. In the text box provided, please
explain why your company is not able to identify its exposure and whether you have plans to explore this issue.
Remember that you will not be scored or ranked based on your answer.


Question 4: Regulatory risks in own operations

4.1 Is your company exposed to significant regulatory risks related to water in its own operations?
4.7 You may explain here why you do not know if your company is exposed to regulatory risks and whether you
have any plans to assess these risks in the future.
4.8 You may explain here why you do not know if your company is exposed to regulatory risks and whether you have any
plans to assess these risks in the future.

exposed to regulatory risks related to water in its own operations?” into eight separate questions (4.1 through 4.8).
Although this gives the appearance of making the information request longer, the intention is in fact to make it easier for

Specific Guidance for Question 4.1: Is your company exposed to significant regulatory risks related to water in its own
operations?

Please select “Yes”, “No”, or “Don’t know”, noting that this question only asks about risks in your own operations. If you

When answering this question you may want to refer to the indicative list of regulatory risks provided in question 4.2
below. Regulatory risks may be current or anticipated. Answer “Yes” even if you have removed the risk by taking action.

Definitions
Regulatory risks: Regulatory risks arise from an expected or unexpected change in or uncertainty regarding law or
regulation that may have direct or indirect impacts on your company. A change in law or regulation can increase the costs
of operating a business, adversely affect a company’s reputation, reduce the attractiveness of an investment, or change
the competitive landscape in which a company operates. Water‐related regulatory measures may include, among others,
new water permit structures, rate changes to control withdrawals and discharge, redistribution of water to various users,
and restrictions on pollutant types and levels.

For more information on water‐related risks facing business, please refer to the following sources:
“Corporate Ecosystem Services Review: Guidelines for Identifying Business Risks and Opportunities Arising from
Ecosystem Change”.
 World Wildlife Fund (WWF) (2009), “Understanding Water Risks: A Primer on the Consequences of Water Scarcity
for Government and Business”.


Regulatory risk in your company’s own operations: Your company’s own operations include anything your company
does itself for the purpose of producing goods and services and maintaining the functionality of the business. The impact
of regulation on your company may affect your operations or organizations on which your company relies. In this section,
please refer only to risks in your own operations. You may discuss regulatory risks in your (external) supply chain in
question 8.

timescales?


the table provided, please select the water‐related regulatory risks that are likely to affect your business in different

provided, select the affected location and expected timescale of the risk. Under further details, provide any pertinent
details on the risk. You may add rows to include additional risks. Please review the section of the guidance entitled “How
to Interpret/ Use Tables on Risk” on page 17 for more information on how to complete this table.

company may face additional regulatory risks that are specific to your operations or industry. You may include these risks



Risk Description / Example
Higher water prices Your company may face increased water prices at some or all of its
locations. For example, constraints on water supply may cause
regulators to raise the fees that companies pay for water rights or
service.
Statutory water withdrawal limits/changes With increasing water scarcity and increasing demand, governments
to water allocation principles leading to may choose to limit the quantity of water that users may withdraw.
disruption to operations They may also change the allocation of water rights which may hurt
Statutory water withdrawal limits/changes some users and benefit others. They may lead to a disruption to
to water allocation principles constraining operations due to a decrease in input availability. It might also constrain
future growth future growth due to the lack of available water inputs in some areas of
operation.
Mandatory water efficiency, conservation, To conserve water, regulators may introduce mandatory schemes for
recycling or process standards leading to efficiency, conservation, recycling, or changes to process water use.
higher compliance costs These requirements may increase operating costs or necessitate new
investment at some or all of your company’s locations.
Regulation of discharge quality/volumes To manage environmental risks to water bodies, regulators may raise
leading to higher compliance costs standards for water discharge quality or restrict discharge volumes.
This can result in increased treatment costs or necessitate changes to
production, such as water recycling, to limit water discharges.
Plant site permit (increased difficulty) A variety of water‐related issues may result in permitting difficulties,
including supply constraints and changes in discharge requirements.
For example, water supply constraints may cause regulators to extend


reviews or deny permitting for water withdrawal that impacts planned
growth. Concerns about an operation’s impacts on water quality may
also result in delays or denial of permits.
Threat of penalties (e.g. for excessive Your company may face regulatory penalties for water impacts resulting
abstraction of groundwater) from some or all of its operations. A variety of penalty risks are
possible, including those for excessive water withdrawals or discharges
and those for water pollution above regulated limits.
Product standards leading to loss of sales Standards for water use and quality at the product level are emerging
of existing products/costs developing new and may continue to develop. These may be relevant to multiple stages
products of the product life cycle. Potential business impacts include loss of sales
of products that do not meet standards and the cost of developing new
products that do. Note that loss of sales due to consumer preference or
reputational impacts should be discussed in the “Other Risks” category.
This question only covers risks related to changes in product standards.
Regulatory uncertainty Uncertainty about future water‐related regulations may impact your
business, particularly if the development of new operations or products
is contingent upon water access and quality. For example, a facility that
today meets all water standards may not meet more stringent
standards in the future. If the future standards are uncertain, this may
impact planning for new operations.

operations.


There are many ways in which regulatory risks may affect your own operations based on the type of regulation and the
business implications of compliance. For instance, if you identified “Statutory water withdrawal limits/changes to water
allocation principles constraining future growth” as a regulatory risk, please explain in brief how the risk is affecting your
operations or may do so in the future. Withdrawal limits may impact some operations but not others. For example, your
company might be forced to halt operations in a water‐stressed region due to withdrawal limits but may conduct the
same activities in another less constrained region.



Questions 4.4 and 4.5 focus on the potential costs of regulatory risks if no action is taken rather than the anticipated
costs of managing, mitigating or adapting to these risks. The costs of addressing these risks are covered in question 4.6.
Please do not specify any indirect financial risks passed through the supply chain as you are asked to do this in question
8.4.

Definition
Financial implications of the identified risks: Regulatory risks can imply increased compliance costs related to a higher
price of water, a higher cost of production due to new standards, product standards decreasing demand for current
products and requiring development of new products, regulation of water discharge, payment of fines and investment in
new technology.




programs.


Actions may include increased alteration of products/processes to meet standards, divesting activities that do not meet
required standards, investment in new technologies and infrastructure, research and development funding, contingency
arrangements, sharing risks with partner entities, and a variety of other measures.

product redesign as a way to minimize risk from regulatory standards development, please provide an estimate of the
associated costs. Where there is no cost for action, please explicitly state this is the case.

Definitions

Specific Guidance for Question 4.7: Please explain why you do not consider your company to be exposed to regulatory
risks.

consider your company to be exposed to regulatory risks in its own operations. In the text box provided, please explain
why there are no regulatory risks affecting your company’s own operations. Remember that you will not be scored or
ranked based on your answer.

Specific Guidance for Question 4.8: You may explain here why you do not know if your company is exposed to regulatory

not know if your company is exposed to significant regulatory risks in its own operations. In the text box provided, please


Question 5: Other risks in own operations

5.1 Is your company exposed to other significant risks (such as product or reputational risks) related to water in its
own operations?
5.7 You may explain here why you do not know if your company is exposed to other risks and whether you have any
5.8 You may explain here why you do not know if your company is exposed to other risks and whether you have any

exposed to other risks related to water in its own operations?” into nine separate questions (5.1 through 5.8). Although
this gives the appearance of making the information request longer, the intention is in fact to make it easier for

Specific Guidance for Question 5.1: Is your company exposed to other significant risks (such as product or reputational
risks) related to water in its own operations?

Please select “Yes”, “No” or “Don’t know”, noting that this question only asks about risks in your own operations. If you

Reporting on “Other risks” can be challenging due to the scope of risks and the way water issues might interrelate with
other kinds of risks. It may be beneficial to review your company’s relevant risk management plans and the risks that
have already been reported in questions 3 and 4.

When answering this question, you may want to refer to the indicative list of other water‐related risks provided in
question 5.2. Risks may be current or anticipated. Answer “Yes” even if you have removed the risk by taking action.

Definitions
Other water‐related risks: “Other risks” covers any water‐related risks not covered by the previous questions on physical
and regulatory risks. Examples include litigations risks, product risks due to changes in consumer attitude and
reputational risks that may impact decisions made by investors, consumers and current/potential employees concerning
your company.



Other water‐related risks in your company’s own operations: Your company’s own operations include anything your
company does itself for the purpose of producing goods and services and maintaining the functionality of the business.
The impact of other water‐related risks on your company may be direct or indirect, affecting your own operations or
other organizations on which your company relies. In this section, please refer only to risks in your own operations. You
will be asked to specify other water‐related risks in your (external) supply chain in question 9.

timescales?


the table provided, please select all other water‐related risks that are likely to affect your business in different


company may face additional risks that are specific to your operations or industry. You may include these risks by
choosing the “Other” option.


Descriptions and examples of the types of risks listed in the drop down box are provided below.

Risk Description/Example
Product risk (e.g. reduced demand for A variety of water issues can contribute to product risk. For example,
water‐intensive products) customer interest in a product that consumes water during use may
decline if the customer is faced with local water shortages or price
increases of their own. Resulting business impacts can include lost sales
and the costs of redesigning existing products or designing new
products. Note that this type of risk differs from that associated with
new standards that necessitate changes to products.
Litigation (e.g. by stakeholders with Litigation risk relates to court actions taken by different stakeholders on
competing water claims) issues regarding water consumption, withdrawal and discharge.
Litigation from other parties over water issues may present risks such as
losing your license to operate, being required to compensate other
users, or other actions that nave negative business impacts. For
example, another stakeholder with competing water claims may pursue
litigation to gain access. Likewise, litigation can occur over excessive
discharges of pollutants to bodies of water.
Reputational risk Public information on water‐related problems may have detrimental
impacts on a company’s reputation. For example, discharge of excess
pollutants to a local water body, conflicts over water claims, or other
detrimental impacts on water resources may negatively impact the
company’s reputation in a local community or with the general public.


operations.


There are many ways in which other risks may affect your own operations. For instance, if you identified “Litigation” as a
risk, please explain in brief the impact on your operations. For instance, a court ruling might require a company to pay a
fine or prevent it from operating in particular regions.



Questions 5.4 and 5.5 focus on the potential costs of other risks if no action is taken rather than the anticipated costs of
managing, mitigating or adapting to these risks. The costs of addressing these risks are covered in question 5.6. Please do
not specify any indirect financial risks passed through the supply chain as you are asked to do this in question 9.4.
Definition
Financial implications of the identified risks: Financial implications associated with the identified risks could include loss
of market share or revenue due to changing customer behavior or reputational strain.



programs.


variety of other measures.

products or processes to discontinue in order to mitigate reputational risk, please provide an estimate of the associated
costs. Where there is no cost for action, please explicitly state this is the case.

Definitions


Specific Guidance for Question 5.7: Please explain why you do not consider your company to be exposed to other risks.

consider your company to be exposed to other risks in its own operations. . In the text box provided, please explain why
there are no other risks affecting your company’s own operations. Remember that you will not be scored or ranked
based on your answer.

Specific Guidance for Question 5.8: You may explain here why you do not know if your company is exposed to other risks
and whether you have any plans to assess these risks in the future.

not know if your company is exposed to significant regulatory risks in its own operations. In the text box provided, please


RISKS IN SUPPLY CHAIN

General Guidance for Reporting Risks in Your Supply Chain

Corporate reporting can be challenging as it requires companies to provide statements about their prospective condition.
Some organizations, such as accountancy firms and their governing bodies, have published guidance on how to prepare
statements that contain forward‐looking information.

Before answering the questions covering risks and opportunities you may wish to consult with the financial, legal, and/or
compliance department for advice on your company’s general approach to the provision of forward looking statements
and information on risks and opportunities.
As noted in the introduction to this guidance, water‐specific reporting methods are still in development by multiple
organizations, and CDP requests that companies indicate in their responses when different methods are used. However,
the GHG Protocol sets out general guiding principles regarding relevance, understandable information and reliability,
based on financial reporting principles, that are equally applicable to water. You may use these principles together with
the question‐specific guidance provided in this section to provide answers on risks and opportunities.

Please consider the following principles specifically from the GHG Protocol:

1. Relevance: Ensure that the water use inventory appropriately reflects actual water use and serves the decision‐
making needs of users – both internal and external to the company.
2. Completeness: Account for and report on all water‐related activities within the chosen inventory boundary.
Disclose and justify any specific exclusions5.
3. Consistency: Use consistent methodologies to allow for meaningful comparisons of company’s use of water over
time. Transparently document any changes to the data, inventory boundary, methods, or any other relevant
factors in the time series.
4. Transparency: Address all relevant issues in a factual and coherent manner, based on a clear audit trail. Disclose
any relevant assumptions and make appropriate references to the accounting and calculation methodologies
and data sources used.
5. Accuracy: Ensure that the quantification of water use is sufficiently accurate to enable users to make decisions
with reasonable assurance as to the integrity of the reported information.

Information is considered relevant if it contains the detail that users, both internal and external to the company, need for
their decision‐making. When considering what to disclose, please identify and report information that is most likely to be
of use and benefit to the audience requesting information.

CDP takes a broad view of relevance in this first year of reporting water risks and opportunities and recommends that
companies consider the general definition of sustainability “materiality” provided in the GRI G3 Guidelines as a starting
point. This definition puts the onus on companies to determine a materiality threshold based on internal, industry, and
external stakeholder interests. More information is available at the GRI website..

If you need more detailed guidance on how to assess the risks and opportunities your company is facing in relation to
water, you might find “The Corporate Ecosystem Services Review: Guidelines for Identifying Business Risks and
Opportunities from Ecosystem Change”, published by WBCSD, WRI and the Meridian Institute, useful.
If you do not consider your company to be exposed to significant risks or presented with significant opportunities related
to water, you will be asked to explain why this is the case. Your answer should specify risks and opportunities that you
think other companies in your sector are facing and explain why these risks and opportunities have been discounted by
your company.

If you do not know if you are exposed to risks or presented with opportunities related to water, you will be asked to
explain why this is not known.

5


Distinction between Risks in Your Own Operations and Risks in your Supply Chain

You will be asked separately about risks in your own operations and risks in your supply chain. Your company’s own
operations include anything your company does itself for the purpose of producing goods and services and maintaining
the functionality of the business. This covers any internal supply chains between your company’s business units. For
example, a business unit within your company that supplies components to another business unit within your company
would be considered part of your company’s own operations. Your company’s supply chain is comprised of all external
inputs to your own operations, including materials, components, consumable inputs, and services. The scope of your
supply chain may extend to multiple levels of supply, e.g. component suppliers and the suppliers of materials used to
produce those components.

Questions 2, 3, 4, and 5 cover risks in your own operations. Questions 6, 7, 8 and 9 cover risks in your supply chain. It is
important that you understand this distinction and provide relevant information for each set of answers. Although this
gives the appearance of making the information request significantly longer, the intention is in fact to make it easier for
companies to provide meaningful, investor‐relevant information by clearly sign‐posting the type of information that is
sought.

Introductory “Yes/No” Questions

Where the answer to any of questions 7.1, 8.1 or 9.1 is “Yes”, please provide individual answers to the subsequent
questions as prompted in the ORS. For example, answering “Yes” to the introductory question about your exposure to
risks will display the following additional questions:

 What are the current and/or anticipated risks, and the associated locations and timescales?
 Please describe the ways in which the identified risks affect or could affect your own operations.
 Are there any financial implications to the identified risks? If yes, please describe them.
 Please describe any actions the company has taken or plans to take to manage or adapt to the risks that have been
identified, including their impact on operating costs (positive or negative) and CAPEX programs.

Where the answer to any of questions 7.1, 8.1 or 9.1 is “No”, please explain why you do not consider your company to be
exposed to the particular risk.

Where the answer to any of questions 7.1, 8.1 or 9.1 is “Don’t know”, you may explain why not and whether you have
any plans to assess these risks in future.

How to Interpret/ Use Tables on Risk

Questions 7.2, 8.2 and 9.2 ask you to specify in a table the different kinds of water‐related risks facing your company. This
format is intended to aid automated data analysis for reporting purposes.

The following table is an example of how a company may respond to question 3.2 on Physical Risks:

Risk Country/Region Timescale in Years Further details
Increased water stress or A key component supplier is expected
scarcity leading to higher energy Australia 6‐10 years to face higher material costs in the
or commodity prices next 10 years due to the water‐
intensive production of an agricultural
input to their product that comes
from a water‐scarce region of
Australia.
Add row...

The “Risk” column will provide you with a drop‐down list of relevant types of risks. In addition to these, you may include
additional risks by choosing the “Other” option. Once the “Other” option is chosen, you may specify the risk in the text
box provided. CDP recognizes that many of the risks and opportunities you face will be unique to your operations, and
the “Other” option provides a means to discuss these specific factors.


The “Country/Region” column requires you to select a country from the drop down list or to select “Other” and fill in the
text box provided to specify a region of your own choosing. For example, a water issue that is important to your
suppliers may be connected to a specific watershed within or across countries. In such a case, you may specify this local
impact rather than one of the listed countries. The list of countries that you entered on the introductory page populates
the drop down list. To change the countries that are automatically presented as options, return to the “Introduction”
page and add or remove countries from this list.

The “Timescale” column asks you to provide the timescale in which your company expects its suppliers to experience the
selected risk. For example, your suppliers may expect to face one risk in less than a year while another may not be
anticipated for more than 30 years. In the first case, select “1‐5 years” and in the second, select “21‐50 years”.

In “Further details”, you may provide more specific information on the risk. Attachments with additional detail may be
added at the bottom of each page.

Multiple risks may be selected by adding a row at the bottom of the table. In addition to selecting multiple risks from the
drop down list, you may also select the same risk multiple times in certain cases:

 If the risk applies to multiple categories of supplier or individual suppliers. For example, you may select
“Increased water stress or scarcity leading to higher energy or commodity prices” but it could only apply to
suppliers of a few materials. In this case, you may select it once for the first type of supply and select it again for
the second type of supply.

 If the risk applies to different geographies or timescales. For example, you may select “Increased water stress or
scarcity leading to disruption to operations” as a physical risk facing your supply chain. You may then select the
location of this risk as “Australia” and specify that the timescale for the risk to materialize for the supplier(s) is 6‐
10 years. If additional supply chain locations are affected by this risk or if different timescales are associated
with this risk for various suppliers, you may add rows. In the new row you may select the same risk value but
select a different country/region and timescale, e.g. 11‐20 years.

 When your company may be exposed to the risk in multiple ways. For example, you may select “Mandatory
water efficiency, conservation, recycling or process standards leading to higher compliance costs” as a
regulatory risk and specify under “Further details” that the risk relates to mandatory water recycling standards.
You may then add another row, select Mandatory water efficiency, conservation, recycling or process standards
leading to higher compliance costs” again but specify under “Further details” that this specific risk relates to
process standards.

In the “Further details” field, CDP requests you provide only contextual information about the risk you have selected, if
necessary.

Question 6: Water use in supply chain

6.1 Are you able to identify which of your key water‐intensive inputs come from water‐stressed regions?
If you select “Yes” in answer to 6.1, you are then asked questions 6.2 and 6.3:
6.2 Please state (or estimate) the percentage of your key water intensive inputs that come from water‐stressed
regions.
6.3 Please specify the method used to characterize water‐stressed regions in questions 6.1 and 6.2.
Regardless of your answer to 6.1, you are then asked questions 6.4 and 6.4a:
6.4 Do you require your key suppliers to report on their water use, risks and management?
6.4a Please add any comments here.


Specific Guidance for Question 6.1: Are you able to identify which of your key water‐intensive inputs come from water‐
stressed regions?

Please select “Yes” or “No”, noting that this question only asks about risks in your supply chain. If you answer “Yes”, you
will be taken to questions 6.2 and 6.3. If you answer “No”, you will be taken directly to question 6.4. This question is
being asked because sites within water‐stressed regions face higher water‐related risks than sites elsewhere. Recognizing
which of your inputs come from such regions is necessary for understanding the water‐related risks embedded in your
supply chain.

Definitions
Water‐stressed regions: In accordance with WBCSD’s definition, water‐stress is experienced in regions where water
availability does not meet the demand from all industrial, agricultural and domestic users. Water‐stress is caused by
physical and/or economic water‐scarcity. Physical scarcity occurs when demand for water in a region exceeds the supply
due to limited physical availability. Economic scarcity occurs when the low supply is caused by inadequate water
management practices due to lack of financial resources or capacity. Although it is difficult to determine a precise
measure for water‐stress, the World Resource Institute (WRI) proposes that it is experienced by countries suffering from
periodic water shortages, where water supplies are below 1,700 cubic meters/ person.

Methods used to characterize water‐stressed regions: WBCSD's Global Water Tool can assist companies in estimating
the percentage of their own operations located in water‐stressed regions. This web‐based software allows companies to
identify sites in water‐stressed areas, identify how many employees live in countries that lack access to improved water
and sanitation, and to identify suppliers in water‐stressed areas (not relevant to these questions but relevant to
questions 6.1‐6.4). Please note that this tool provides an assessment of risks related to water availability and does not
consider risks associated with water quality and discharges. Access to the tool and additional information is available in
the WBCSD website.

Key water‐intensive input: A key input is one that comprises a substantial portion of total inputs and/or is crucial to
operations and cannot be easily substituted. A water intensive input is a raw material, component, or service provided
by a supplier that relies significantly on water in its production. Reliance may be due to significant withdrawals,
discharges, or impacts on water quality.

Supply chain: Your company’s supply chain is comprised of all inputs to your own operations, including materials,
components, consumable inputs, and services. The scope of your supply chain may extend to multiple levels of supply,
e.g. component suppliers and the suppliers of materials used to produce those components.

Specific Guidance for Question 6.2: Please state (or estimate) the percentage of your key water intensive inputs that
come from water‐stressed regions.

Input Percentage Type of measurement Please add any comments here:
[Text entry] [Drop down list] [Drop down list] [Text entry]

You will be asked to answer this question only if you have answered “Yes” to question 6.1. In the table provided, please
enter any water‐intensive inputs that come from water‐stressed regions. First you may briefly describe key inputs in the
“Input” column. Next, select the percentage of this input coming from water‐stressed regions. Finally, select the type of
measurement used to calculate this percent. You may add comments in the text box provided.

You may calculate this percentage using one or more of the types of measurement listed or by selecting “Other” to enter
another measure. The suggested types of measurement include:

Methodology used for Description
calculation
Percentage of total purchases of ₌ Value of the identified input
that input by value Total value of all inputs purchased by your company
Percentage of total purchase of ₌ Volume of the identified input
that input by volume Total volume of inputs purchased by your company


Specific Guidance for Question 6.3: Please specify the method used to characterize water‐stressed regions in questions
6.1 and 6.2.

Method Please add any comments here:

From the drop down list in the table provided, please select the method(s) that your company uses to characterize water‐
stressed regions and describe each method in the comments column. “Internal company knowledge” and “Mapping tool
(such as WBCSD Global Water Tool)” are provided as options. You may also select “Other” and enter another method.
Please provide relevant details (including the name) of the methods and tools in the comments box. By being explicit
about the adopted methods you will provide more transparent, comprehensible and comparable information.

Specific Guidance for Question 6.4: Do you require your key suppliers to report on their water use, risks and
management?

You will be asked to answer this question regardless of your answer to question 6.1. Please select “Yes” or “No”.
Regardless of your answer, you may provide comments in question 6.4a.

Specific Guidance for Question 6.4a: Please add any comments here.

In the text box provided, you may briefly specify the information you ask your suppliers to report, indicate whether it is
requested from all or some of your suppliers, and whether they are able to provide you with this information. By asking
your suppliers to report water‐related information, you are encouraging them to consider the risks they face and are
taking a necessary step towards understanding the risks embedded in your supply chain.

Question 7: Physical risks in supply chain

7.1 Is your supply chain exposed to significant physical risks related to water?
7.3 Please describe the ways in which the identified risks affect or could affect the companies in your supply chain.
7.7 Please explain why you do not consider your supply chain to be exposed to physical risks.
7.8 You may explain here why you do not know if your supply chain is exposed to physical risks and whether you

General Guidance for Question 7: This question has been disaggregated from the single question: “How is your supply
chain exposed to physical risks related to water?” into nine separate questions (7.1 through 7.8). Although this gives the
appearance of making the information request significantly longer, the intention is in fact to make it easier for
posting the type of information that is sought. This approach has also been adopted for questions 3, 4, 5, 8 and 9.

Specific Guidance for Question 7.1: Is your supply chain exposed to significant physical risks related to water?

Please select “Yes”, “No” or “Don’t know” noting that this question only asks about risks in your supply chain. If you
you answer “Don’t know”, you will b taken to question 7.8.

Physical impacts may be current or anticipated. Answer “Yes” even if you have removed the risk by taking action.


Definitions
Physical risks: Physical risks may arise from water scarcity (too little water), flooding (too much water) or pollution (lower
water quality). Disruption in water supply or decline in water quality can adversely affect operations where water is used
for production, irrigation, material processing, cooling, washing and cleaning and personal consumption. Physical risks
can adversely affect production or cause damage to physical assets.

For more information on water‐related impacts and risks facing business you may refer to the following sources:
 World Wildlife Fund (WWF) (2009), “Understanding Water Risks: A Primer on the Consequences of Water
Scarcity for Government and Business”.

Physical risks in your company’s supply chain: Your company’s supply chain consists of all inputs to your own operations,
including materials, components, consumable inputs, and services. The scope of your supply chain may extend to
multiple levels, e.g. component suppliers and the suppliers of materials used to produce those components. In this
section, questions 7.1‐7.2 will refer to the physical risks directly facing your suppliers. In questions 7.3‐7.6 you will also be
asked to specify how the risks facing your suppliers may directly or indirectly affect your company.

timescales?


the table provided, please select the water‐related physical risks that are likely to affect your supply chain in different
geographies and timescales. Please remember that this question asks about risks affecting your suppliers. Risks facing
your own operations should be discussed in question 3.2.


company may face additional physical risks that are specific to your supply chain. You may include these risks by choosing
the “Other” option.

You will have the opportunity to provide further detail on the risks facing your supply chain and the financial implications
of these risks in Questions 7.3 and 7.4.



Risk Description and Examples
Increased water stress or scarcity Increasing water stress or scarcity may adversely affect your suppliers. For
leading to disruption to operations example, water scarcity may cause disruptions to scheduled production cycles
that rely on water inputs. It may also necessitate investment in infrastructure
to adjust to shifts in water availability.
Increased water stress or scarcity Increasing water stress or scarcity may lead to higher energy or commodity
leading to higher energy or prices for your suppliers. For example, rate changes may result directly in
commodity prices increased costs of water withdrawals. Supplier‐owned production of power or
materials that relies heavily on water may similarly increase in cost.
Increased water stress or scarcity Increasing water stress or scarcity may impact the health of your suppliers’
impacting human health (e.g. of employees. For example, limited drinking water or sanitation availability at a
employees) supplier site may impact employee health.
Declining water quality (due to Declining water quality due to pollution may lead to higher treatment costs for
pollution) leading to higher water‐ your suppliers. For example, if changes to production practices cause a decline
treatment costs in quality of water outputs, new post‐treatment activities may become
necessary and add costs directly or indirectly.
Declining water quality (due to salt Declining water quality due to salt water intrusion of aquifers may lead to
water intrusion of aquifers) leading higher water‐treatment costs. For example, if the salinity of water withdrawals
to higher water‐treatment costs exceeds standards for use in supplier operations or products, investment in pre‐
treatment may be necessary.
Flooding (due to changing local Flooding caused by changing local hydrological conditions may impact your
hydrological conditions) leading to suppliers. For example, flooding from a local watershed may result in
disruption to operations cleanup/repair costs or delay scheduled production.
Flooding (due to rising sea levels) Flooding caused by rising sea levels may impact operations. For example,
leading to disruption to operations flooding along coastal areas may result in cleanup/repair costs or delay
scheduled production at facilities in these areas.
Inadequate infrastructure leading to Infrastructure limitations may adversely impact your suppliers. For example,
disruption to operations limited infrastructure in a particular jurisdiction may restrict production
capacity on a water‐intensive product line. Limited internal infrastructure may
similarly restrict processing and discharge capacity, requiring new infrastructure
investment.

Specific Guidance for Question 7.3: Please describe the ways in which the identified risks affect or could affect the
companies in your supply chain.

In the text box provided, please expand on the ways in which the risks you identified impact your supply chain. This is

There are many ways in which physical risks may affect your supply chain. For each identified risk, please explain:

1. How the risk is affecting your supply chain or may do so in the future
2. The resulting impacts on your business

Physical risks may impact some suppliers but not others and may impact only a portion of your business activities. For
instance, drought might affect farmers who supply hops to a beverage company for their brewed products line. This
drought might reduce the farmers’ productivity preventing them from supplying the required quantity or quality of hops
to the beverage company, thus impacting its production indirectly.




Questions 7.4 and 7.5 focus on the costs that could be incurred by your company as a result of the physical risks facing
your suppliers. The costs of addressing these risks are covered in question 7.6.

Definition
Financial implications of the identified risks: Physical risks facing your suppliers may have financial implications for your
company. They may include increased costs of inputs purchased by your company or a decline in productivity due to
disruption of inputs. These may affect your cost of production and your company's financial stability.


company in light of the risks facing your suppliers. Please describe the potential costs of the identified risks rather than
the costs of managing, mitigating or adapting to them as you will be asked to provide this in question 7.6. Please do not
specify any direct financial risks faced in your own operations as you are asked to provide this in question 3.4.

programs.

In the text box provided, please describe the measures your company has in place or has planned in order to address
effects of the identified risks in your supply chain.

variety of other measures. More generally, you may comment on how risks may be avoided or shared with other
organizations. For example, you may be working to protect partner entities from physical changes.

Please include the actual or estimated costs of adapting to the identified risks. For example, if you have replaced a
water‐intensive input with a substitute that faces less physical risks as a way to minimize your own risks, please provide
an estimate of the associated costs. Where there is no cost for action, please explicitly state this is the case.

Definitions

Specific Guidance for Question 7.7: Please explain why you do not consider your supply chain to be exposed to physical
risks.

You will be asked to answer this question only if you have answered “No” to question 7.1 indicating that you do not
consider your supply chain to be exposed to physical risks. In the text box provided, please explain why there are no
physical risks affecting your suppliers. Remember that you will not be scored or ranked based on your answer.

Specific Guidance for Question 7.8: You may explain here why you do not know if your company is exposed to physical

not know if your supply chain is exposed to significant physical risks. In the text box provided, please explain why your
company is not able to identify its supply chain’s exposure and whether you have plans to explore this issue. Remember
that you will not be scored or ranked based on your answer.


Question 8: Regulatory risks in supply chain

8.1 Are the companies in your supply chain exposed to significant regulatory risks related to water?
8.2 What are the current and/or anticipated regulatory risks, and the associated locations and timescales?
8.7 Please explain why you do not consider your supply chain to be exposed to regulatory risks.
8.8 You may explain here why you do not know if your supply chain is exposed to regulatory risks and whether you

General Guidance for Question 8: This question has been disaggregated from the single question: “How is your
company’s supply chain exposed to regulatory risks related to water?” into nine separate questions (8.1 through 8.8).
Although this gives the appearance of making the information request significantly longer, the intention is in fact to
make it easier for companies to provide meaningful, investor‐relevant information by including drop‐down menus and
by clearly sign‐posting the type of information that is sought. This approach has also been adopted for questions 3, 4, 5,
7 and 9.

Specific Guidance for Question 8.1: Are the companies in your supply chain exposed to significant regulatory risks
related to water?


Regulatory impacts may be current or anticipated. Answer “Yes” even if you have removed the risk by taking action.

Definitions
Regulatory risks: Regulatory risks arise from an expected or unexpected change in or uncertainty regarding law or
regulation that may have direct or indirect impacts on your company’s supply chain. A change in laws or regulations can
increase the costs of operating a business, adversely affect a company’s reputation, reduce the attractiveness of an
investment or change the competitive landscape in which a company operates. Water‐related regulatory measures may
include, among others, new water permit structures, rate changes to control withdrawals and discharge, redistribution of
water to various users, and restrictions on pollutant types and levels.


Regulatory risks in your company’s supply chain: Your company’s supply chain consists of all inputs to your own
operations, including materials, components, consumable inputs, and services. The scope of your supply chain may
extend to multiple levels, e.g. component suppliers and the suppliers of materials used to produce those components. In
this section, questions 8.1‐8.2 will refer to the regulatory risks directly facing your suppliers. In questions 8.3‐8.6 you will
also be asked to specify how the risks facing your suppliers may directly or indirectly affect your company.


timescales?


the table provided, please select the water‐related regulatory risks that are likely to affect your supply chain in different

to Interpret/ Use Tables on Risk in the ORS” on page 33 for more information on how to complete this table.

company may face additional regulatory risks that are specific to your operations or industry. You may include these risks



Risk Description / Example
Higher water prices Your suppliers may face increased water prices. For example,
constraints on water supply may cause regulators to raise the fees that
companies pay for water rights or service.
Statutory water withdrawal limits/changes With increasing water scarcity and increasing demand, governments
to water allocation principles leading to may choose to limit the quantity of water that users may withdraw.
disruption to operations They may also change the allocation of water rights which may hurt
Statutory water withdrawal limits/changes some of your suppliers and benefit others. They may lead to a
to water allocation principles constraining disruption to your supply chain due to a decrease in input availability.
future growth
Mandatory water efficiency, conservation, To conserve water, regulators may introduce mandatory schemes for
recycling or process standards leading to efficiency, conservation, recycling, or changes to process water use.
higher compliance costs These requirements may increase operating costs or necessitate new
investment for some of your suppliers.
Regulation of discharge quality/volumes To manage environmental risks to water bodies, regulators may raise
leading to higher compliance costs standards for water discharge quality or restrict discharge volumes.
This can result in increased treatment costs for your suppliers or
necessitate changes to production, such as water recycling, to limit
water discharges.
Plant site permit (increased difficulty) A variety of water‐related issues may result in permitting difficulties,
including supply constraints and changes in discharge requirements.
For example, water supply constraints may cause regulators to extend
reviews or deny permitting for water withdrawal that impacts planned
growth. Concerns about an operation’s impacts on water quality may
also result in delays or denial of permits for your suppliers.
Threat of penalties (e.g. for excessive Your suppliers may face regulatory penalties for water impacts resulting
abstraction of groundwater) from their operations. A variety of penalty risks are possible, including
those for excessive water withdrawals or discharges and those for
water pollution above regulated limits.


Product standards leading to loss of sales Standards for water use and quality at the product level are emerging
of existing products/costs developing new and may continue to develop. These may be relevant to multiple stages
products of the product life cycle. Potential business impacts include loss of sales
of products that do not meet standards and the cost of developing new
products that do. Note that supplier loss of sales should be discussed in
the “Other Risks” category. This question only covers risks related to
changes in product standards.
Regulatory uncertainty Uncertainty about future water‐related regulations may impact your
suppliers, particularly if the development of new operations or products
is contingent upon water access and quality. For example, a facility that
today meets all water standards may not meet more stringent
standards in the future. If the future standards are uncertain, this may
impact suppliers in their planning for new operations.



There are many ways in which regulatory risks may affect your supply chain. For each identified risk, please explain:


Regulatory risks may impact some suppliers but not others and may impact only a portion of your business activities. For
instance, statutory withdrawal limits in regions where your key suppliers operate may adversely affect their business
productivity preventing them from supplying the required quantity or quality of inputs. This disruption would indirectly
impact your company’s production.



Questions 8.4 and 8.5 focus on the costs that could be incurred by your company as a result of the regulatory risks facing

Definition
Financial implications of the identified risks: Regulatory risks facing your suppliers may have financial implications for
your company. They may include increased costs of inputs purchased by your company or a decline in productivity due to




programs.


organizations. For example, you may be working to protect partner entities from regulatory changes.

Please include the actual or estimated costs of adapting to the identified risks. For example, if you have eliminated
suppliers that are exposed to high water‐related regulatory risk, please provide an estimate of the associated costs.
Where there is no cost for action, please explicitly state this is the case.

Definitions

Specific Guidance for Question 8.7: Please explain why you do not consider your supply chain to be exposed to
regulatory risks.

consider your supply chain to be exposed to regulatory risks. In the text box provided, please explain why there are no
regulatory risks affecting your suppliers. Remember that you will not be scored or ranked based on your answer.

Specific Guidance for Question 8.8: You may explain here why you do not know if your supply chain is exposed to
regulatory risks and whether you have any plans to assess these risks in the future.

not know if your supply chain is exposed to significant regulatory risks. In the text box provided, please explain why your

Question 9: Other risks in supply chain

9.1 Are the companies in your supply chain exposed to other significant risks (such as product or reputational risks)
related to water?
9.7 Please explain why you do not consider your supply chain to be exposed to other risks.
9.8 You may explain here why you do not know if your supply chain is exposed to other risks and whether you have
any plans to assess these risks in the future.


General Guidance for Question 9: This question has been disaggregated from the single question: “How is your
company’s supply chain exposed to other risks related to water?” into nine separate questions (9.1 through 9.8).
Although this gives the appearance of making the information request significantly longer, the intention is in fact to
make it easier for companies to provide meaningful, investor‐relevant information by including drop‐down menus and
by clearly sign‐posting the type of information that is sought.

Specific Guidance for Question 9.1: Are the companies in your supply chain exposed to other significant risks (such as
product or reputational risks) related to water?


Reporting on “Other risks” can be challenging due to the scope of risks and the way water issues might interrelate with
other kinds of risks. It may be beneficial to review your company’s relevant risk management plans and the risks that
have already been reported in questions 7 and 8.

When answering this question you may want to refer to the indicative list of physical risks provided in question 9.2. Other
impacts may be current or anticipated. Answer “Yes” even if you have removed the risk by taking action.

Definitions
Other water‐related risks: “Other risks” covers any water‐related risks not covered by the previous questions on physical
and regulatory risks. Examples include litigations risks, product risks due to changes in consumer attitude and
reputational risks that may impact decisions made by investors, consumers and current/potential employees concerning
your company’s suppliers.


Other risks in your company’s supply chain: Your company’s supply chain consists of all inputs to your own operations,
including materials, components, consumable inputs, and services. The scope of your supply chain may extend to
multiple levels, e.g. component suppliers and the suppliers of materials used to produce those components. In this
section, questions 9.1‐9.2 will refer to the other risks directly facing your suppliers. In questions 9.3‐9.6 you will also be
asked to specify how the risks facing your suppliers may directly or indirectly affect your company.

timescales?


the table provided, please select all other water‐related risks that are likely to affect your supply chain in different



supply chain may face additional risks that are specific to your operations or industry. You may include these risks by
choosing the “Other” option.


Descriptions and examples of the types of risks listed in the drop down box are provided below.

Risk Description/Example
Product risk (e.g. reduced demand for A variety of water issues can contribute to product risk for your suppliers,
water‐intensive products) with indirect impacts on their ability to provide inputs. For example,
customer interest in a product that consumes water during use may decline
if the customer is faced with local water shortages or rate increases of their
own. Resulting business impacts can include lost sales and the costs of
redesigning existing products or designing new products. Note that this type
of risk differs from that associated with new standards that necessitate
changes to products.
Litigation (e.g. by stakeholders with Litigation risk relates to court actions taken by different stakeholders on
competing water claims) issues regarding water consumption, withdrawal and discharge. Litigation
from other parties over water issues may present risks such as a supplier
losing its license to operate, being required to compensate other users, or
other actions that nave negative business impacts. For example, another
stakeholder with competing water claims may pursue litigation to gain
access. Likewise, litigation can occur over excessive discharges of pollutants
to bodies of water.
Reputational risk Public information on water‐related problems may have detrimental impacts
on a company’s reputation. For example, discharge of excess pollutants to a
local water body, conflicts over water claims, or other detrimental impacts
on water resources may negatively impact the company’s reputation in a
local community or with the general public.



There are many ways in which other risks may affect your supply chain. For each identified risk, please explain:


Risks may impact some suppliers but not others and may impact only a portion of your business activities. For instance, a
court ruling might prevent one of your key suppliers from operating particular regions. This may increase the cost of
transporting your inputs or the price you pay for inputs.

If you identified “Reputational risk” as a risk facing your suppliers, please note that some stakeholders might view your
company as responsible “by association” for your suppliers’ actions. Therefore, reputational damage suffered by your
suppliers may also affect your company's image.




Questions 9.4 and 9.5 focus on the costs that could be incurred by your company as a result of the regulatory risks facing

Definition
Financial implications of the identified risks: Risks facing your suppliers may have financial implications for your
company. They may include increased costs of inputs purchased by your company or a decline in productivity due to



programs.


organizations. For example, you may be working to protect partner entities from reputational or litigation risks.

Please include the actual or estimated costs of adapting to the identified risks. For example, if you are partnering with a
supplier to mitigate water‐related risks, please provide an estimate of the associated costs. Where there is no cost for
action, please explicitly state this is the case.

Definitions

Specific Guidance for Question 9.7: Please explain why you do not consider your supply chain to be exposed to other
risks.

consider your supply chain to be exposed to other risks. In the text box provided, please explain why there are no other
risks affecting your suppliers. Remember that you will not be scored or ranked based on your answer.

Specific Guidance for Question 9.8: You may explain here why you do not know if your supply chain is exposed to other

not know if your supply chain is exposed to significant other risks. In the text box provided, please explain why your


DETRIMENTAL IMPACTS, OPPORTUNITIES AND LINKAGES BETWEEN ENERGY/CARBON AND WATER

General Guidance for Reporting Detrimental Impacts, Opportunities and Linkages

In addition to requesting information on the risks facing your company and its supply chain, CDP Water Disclosure
requests information on three related areas:

 Question 10: Detrimental impacts experienced by your company in the past five years
 Question 11: Water related opportunities
 Question 12: Linkages between water‐related measures and measures to address energy and carbon

Information is requested on detrimental water impacts to identify your company’s existing exposure to water‐related
risks and its ability to address them. The questions on opportunities mirror those asked about risks, including potential
operational benefits and the value/cost of pursuing them. Linkages or tradeoffs between energy/carbon and water can
illustrate the broader implications of investing in water‐related measures as well as exposure to energy‐ or carbon‐
related risks and opportunities that may indirectly create risks and opportunities in the sphere of water.

Specific methodologies and guidelines are not referenced for these questions; however, information on water‐related
opportunities and water‐energy linkages and strategic approaches to joint management of these resources can be found
in the following documents:
 Pacific Institute and the United Nations Global Compact (2009), “Climate Change and the Global Water
Crisis: What Businesses Need to Know and Do”.
 World Business Council for Sustainable Development (2009), “Water, Energy and Climate Change: A
Contribution from the Business Community”.

DETRIMENTAL IMPACTS

Question 10: Detrimental water‐related impacts in past five years

10.1 Please describe any detrimental impacts to business related to water your company has faced in the past five
years, their financial impacts and whether they have resulted in any changes to company practices.

Specific Guidance for Question 10.1: Please describe any detrimental impacts to business related to water your
company has faced in the past five years, their financial impacts and whether they have resulted in any changes to
company practices.

In the text box provided, please describe any detrimental water‐related impacts that your company has already
experienced in the past five years.

This question is included because the impacts companies have faced in the past may provide an indication of future
impacts that they and other companies operating in the same industries or geographies may suffer. Furthermore,
companies that change their practices due to water‐related impacts demonstrate an ability to continue adapting to such
impacts, which is likely to become increasingly necessary as water‐related risks materialize.

Your description may cover some or all of the following:
 The categories of detrimental impacts resulting from physical, regulatory or other factors
 Whether the impacts were experienced in your own operations or in your supply chain
 Their geographic locations and whether these are considered water‐stressed regions
 How they affected your company financially
 Whether this has resulted in changes to company practices or policies and a description of these changes

You may add relevant attachments or links supporting your answer in the “Further Information” field.


OPPORTUNITIES

Question 11: Opportunities

11.1 Do water‐related issues present significant opportunities for your company?
11.2 In what way(s) do water‐related issues present significant opportunities for your company?
11.3 Are there financial implications associated with the identified opportunities?
Regardless of your answer to 11.3, you are then asked question 11.5:
11.5 Please describe any actions your company has taken or plans to take to exploit the opportunities identified,
including the investment needed to take those actions.
11.6 Please explain why you do not consider water‐related issues to present significant opportunities for your
company.
11.7 You may explain here why you do not know whether water‐related issues present significant opportunities for
your company or whether you intend to assess potential opportunities in the future.

Specific Guidance for Question 11.1: Do water‐related issues present significant opportunities for your company?

Please select “Yes”, “No”, or don’t know, noting that this question asks you about opportunities both in your own
company and for its suppliers. If you answer “Yes”, you will be taken to questions 11.2 through 11.5. If you answer “No”,
you will be taken to question 11.6. If you answer “Don’t know”, you will be taken to question 11.7.

Opportunities may be current or anticipated. Answer “Yes” even if you are already taking action to pursue an
opportunity.

Definitions
Water‐related opportunities: Changes in water availability and climatic conditions related to water may provide
commercial opportunities to some companies. These opportunities may include increased operational efficiency, cost‐
reducing process and/or supply chain re‐design, the creation of new markets for water‐related products, improved
finance and/or risk management procedures, enhanced reputation and the ability to influence government policy. Not
all companies will be presented with opportunities. It may be beneficial to review how changes that have already taken
place have affected your company’s business in the last 10 years to begin determining whether changes are likely to
benefit your company in coming years.

Opportunities may be presented by the following changes and factors:
 Physical changes such as changing temperature and rainfall may extend growing seasons for farmers in
some areas. Your organization may have goods and services that enable others to adapt to physical
changes.
 Regulatory changes in water‐related policy and standards may present opportunities for your company if
it is better suited than its competitors to meet regulation, is able to help others to do so by supplying
relevant products or is eligible for government subsidies.
 Other factors relating to water may also present opportunities for your company, such as changes in
consumer attitude or improved image due to your company’s water‐related actions.

For more information on water‐related opportunities facing business you can refer to the following sources:


Specific Guidance for Question 11.2: In what way(s) do water‐related issues present significant opportunities for your
company?

please describe any water‐related opportunities that are likely to affect your own operations and supply chain in
different geographies and timescales.

You answer may cover some or all of the following:
 Water‐related issues that present opportunities to your company and the ways in which they benefit your
company. Please do not include the financial implications of these opportunities as you will be asked to do this
in question 11.3
 Initiatives or products that your company is developing or managing related to water. If products are in the
development stage, please detail the water‐related benefits your company anticipates from their development
 The timescale in which opportunities are expected to materialize
 The geographical locations in which your business is likely to benefit from regulatory, physical or other
opportunities
 Whether your assessment extends to the opportunities for business partners, clients, suppliers and customers

Specific Guidance for Question 11.3: Are there financial implications associated with the identified opportunities?


Questions 11.3 and 11.4 focus on the potential financial benefits of the identified opportunities rather than the costs of
pursuing them. This question is being asked to see whether companies are considering how water‐related opportunities
might benefit them financially. The costs of pursuing these opportunities are covered in question 11.6.

Definition
Financial implications associated with identified opportunities: Financial implications associated with opportunities
generally imply increased sales or reduced costs. Increased demand for existing products (e.g. due to products meeting
efficiency standards) can lead to increased profits while efficiency improvements can reduce costs. You may also benefit
from financial opportunities passed to you through your supply chain.


expand on any financial implications of the identified opportunities. Consider the potential cost savings, revenues, or
other implications throughout your own operations and supply chain.

For example, you may identify an opportunity for increased demand for existing products as a result of shifting physical
demands for water, regulatory requirements, or a variety of other market forces. In this case, please provide details of
the anticipated increase in market size, revenue, or profitability resulting from this new demand. If your company has
identified new opportunities as a result of government subsidies, please provide details of the level of subsidy provided.

Specific Guidance for Question 11.5: Please describe any actions your company has taken or plans to take to exploit the
opportunities identified, including the investment needed to take those actions.

In the text box provided, please describe the measures your company has in place or has planned in order to pursue
water‐related opportunities throughout your own operations and supply chain.

Actions may include measures to reduce water use or increase efficiency, changes to your supply chain, new product
development, publicity around water management practices, and a variety of other measures.

Please include the actual or estimated costs of pursuing these opportunities. For example, if you are developing a water
saving technology, please provide an estimate of the associated costs. Where there is no cost for action, please explicitly
state this is the case.


Definitions

Specific Guidance for Question 11.6: Please explain why you do not consider water‐related issues to present significant
opportunities for your company.

consider water to present significant opportunities for your company. In the text box provided, please explain why there
are no apparent opportunities. Remember that you will not be scored or ranked based on your answer.

Specific Guidance for Question 11.7: You may explain here why you do not know whether water‐related issues present
significant opportunities for your company or whether you intend to assess potential opportunities in the future.

You will be asked to answer this question only if you have answered “Don’t know” to question 11.1, indicating that you
do not know if water presents significant opportunities for your company. In the text box provided, please explain why
your company is not able to identify such opportunities and whether you have plans to explore this issue. Remember that
you will not be scored or ranked based on your answer.


LINKAGES BETWEEN WATER AND ENERGY/CARBON

Question 12: Linkages between water and energy/carbon

12.1 Has your company identified any linkages between its use of water and energy, or considered any trade‐offs
between the two when taking action to manage water or carbon related risks or to exploit water or carbon
related opportunities?

Specific Guidance for Question 12.1: Has your company identified any linkages between its use of water and energy, or
considered any trade‐offs between the two when taking action to manage water or carbon related risks or to exploit
water or carbon related opportunities?

Please select “Yes”, “No” or “Don’t know”, noting that this question asks about linkages and tradeoffs throughout your
own operations and supply chain. If you answer “Yes”, you will be taken to question 12.2 to provide additional detail.

Please note that this question asks about linkages and trade‐offs identified and/or considered when taking actions to
manage risks or pursue opportunities related to water and/or carbon.

Definitions
Linkages and trade‐offs between water and energy: Changes in the physical, regulatory, and market environment are
likely to increase pressure to consider both water and energy use. Increasingly, companies will be required to manage
water withdrawals, consumption, and discharges simultaneously with management of energy consumption and
greenhouse gas emissions. Understanding the linkages and trade‐offs between water and energy will help companies
seize the potential of managing them jointly.

 Linkages refer to situations in which use or production of water and energy relate to each other.
Extracting, processing and treating water requires energy. Likewise, the energy production requires water
as an input. In some situations, more efficient use of water can provide energy reduction benefits, and vice
versa. Understanding such linkages in your company’s operations may help you manage the use of both
resources more efficiently.

 Trade‐offs may arise when an action to reduce water‐ or energy‐related impacts has an adverse effect on
the use of the other. As an example, mitigating water scarcity through desalination can require large
amounts of energy. Conversely, the production of bio‐fuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions might
require large amounts of water. Understanding such tradeoffs is critical in making effective decisions about
reduction efforts in both areas.

Information on water‐energy linkages and strategic approaches to joint management of these resources can be found in
the following documents:
 Pacific Institute and the United Nations Global Compact (2009), “Climate Change and the Global Water
Crisis: What Businesses Need to Know and Do”.
 World Business Council for Sustainable Development (2009), “Water, Energy and Climate Change: A
Contribution from the Business Community”.


please describe the linkages and tradeoffs you have identified between water and carbon/energy.

Your answer may include some or all of the following:
 A description of the linkages and/or trade‐offs between water and energy identified by your company
 Detail on the actions taken that gave rise to these linkages and/or tradeoffs
 Detail on the decision making process when facing the challenge of a tradeoff or the opportunity of a
linkage between energy and water


SECTION 3: WATER ACCOUNTING

General Guidance for Reporting Water Accounting

This section requests information on water accounting as currently practiced by your company. Questions 13, 14, and 15
cover measurement of water withdrawals, recycling/reuse and discharges respectively. Question 16 requests disclosure
of water intensity metrics by a variety of water use categories and by financial and/or activity related measures.
Question 17 requests information on verification or assurance of your company’s withdrawals and discharges.

The specific guidance for each question will provide you will relevant information and sources to help you answer the
question and provide relevant information on water withdrawals and discharges. Certain questions in the “Water
Accounting” section of the information request correspond to the GRI G3 Guidelines as follows:

CDP Water Disclosure Question GRI G3 Indicator
Number(s)
13.1 through 13.3 EN8: Total water withdrawal by source
13.4, 13.4a, and 13.5 EN9: Water sources significantly affected by withdrawal of
water
14.1 through 14.3 EN10: Percentage and total volume of water recycled and
reused
15.1 and 15.2 EN21: Total water discharge by quality and destination
15.5, 15.5a, and 15.6 EN25: Identity, size, protected status, and biodiversity value
of water bodies and related habitats significantly affected
by the reporting organization’s discharges of water and
runoff

For more information, visit the GRI website and search for water indicators in the section of the page titled “Indicator
Sort Search”.

An additional approach to water accounting, “water footprinting”, focuses on measuring water consumption. Although
this approach has not been incorporated into the CDP questionnaire, it is currently being developed by the Water
Footprint Network. Additional information on this can be found on the Water Footprint Network website.

Question Guidance

Question 13: Water withdrawals

13.1 Are you able to provide data for the total water withdrawn in your own operations?
If you select “Yes” in answer to 13.1, you are then asked questions 13.2a through 13.2c:
13.2a Please provide figures for total water withdrawal by source type (in cubic meters per year).
13.2b If possible, please also provide data on your water withdrawals broken down by country, region, watershed,
business unit, facility or any other area/unit appropriate to your business.
13.2c Please add any comments here or use this space to report water withdrawals in a different format to that set
out above.
13.3 You may explain here why you are not able to report the total water withdrawn in your own operations
and whether you have any plans to put in place systems that would enable you to do so.
Regardless of your answer to 13.1, you are then asked questions 13.4 and 13.4a:
13.4 Are any water sources significantly affected by your withdrawal of water?
13.5 Please list any water sources significantly affected by your withdrawal of water.


Specific Guidance for Question 13.1: Are you able to provide data for the total water withdrawn in your own operations?

Please select “Yes” or “No”, noting that this question asks you only about water withdrawals in your own operations. If
you answer “Yes”, you will be taken to question 13.2 (a, b and c). If you answer “No”, you will be taken directly to
question 13.3.

Questions 13.1 to 13.3 correspond to GRI Indicator EN8. Information on your company’s water withdrawals may be
collected from several sources. According to GRI, it can be drawn “from water meters, water bills, calculations derived
from other available water data or (if neither water meters nor bills or reference data exist) the organization’s own
estimates”. Please provide data from these sources if available.

Definitions
Total water withdrawn in your own operations: GRI defines total water withdrawals in Indicator EN8 as: “The sum of all
water drawn into the boundaries of the reporting organization from all sources (including surface water, ground water,
rainwater, and municipal water supply) for any use over the course of the reporting period”.

GRI suggests that the total volume of water withdrawn should be reported in cubic meters per year (m³/year) for all
sources. It should include both water that was withdrawn directly by your company and water withdrawn through
intermediaries (e.g. water utilities).

For further information when answering these questions, you may want to refer to GRI’s water performance indicators
framework. Search for water indicators in the section titled “Indicator Sort Search”.

Specific Guidance for Question 13.2a: Please provide figures for total water withdrawal by source type (in cubic meters
per year).

Area/business unit Surface Ground Rainwater Waste Municipal Total
Water water (m3/yr) water water (m3/yr)
3 3 3 3
(m /yr) (m /yr) (m /yr) (m /yr)
Company total [Text entry] [Text entry] [Text entry] [Text entry] [Text entry] [Text entry]

You will be asked to answer this question only if you have answered “Yes” to question 13.1. In the table provided,
please enter water withdrawals for your entire company by type of withdrawal. You may also provide an answer in
question 13.2c if a different methodology is used than that provided in the table.

If the types of withdrawal are not known, you may enter the total withdrawals. If you know the details of only a portion
of your withdrawals (e.g. if you know the total amount and the amount of municipal withdrawals as a partial subset),
please provide both amounts even if the remaining types of sources are unknown. Otherwise, please ensure that the
amounts in all the columns add up to the total.

In the columns provided, please report water volumes in cubic meters per year (m³/year). Please refer to the definition of
withdrawals that is based on GRI Indicator EN8 and to the following definitions of water withdrawal types.

6
Definitions
Surface water: All waters on the surface of the earth, including fresh and salt water, ice and snow, as distinguished from
water from the sub‐surface (i.e., groundwater). Surface waters include oceans, lakes, rivers, and wetlands.
Ground water: Water in soil beneath the soil surface, usually under conditions where the pressure in the water is greater
than the atmospheric pressure, and the soil voids are substantially filled with the water.
Rainwater: Rainwater collected directly and stored by your company.
Waste water: Water that has been used by your company in a process.
Municipal: Water supplied to your company by a municipality or other public provider.

6
Some of these descriptions are taken from a pilot “Water Protocol” published by GRI in 2003. Although this document provides useful definitions,
please note that it is not up to date in the water‐reporting guidance it provides. Therefore, it is suggested that for further information on the GRI water
indicators you refer to the link provided above.


Specific Guidance for Question 13.2b: If possible, please also provide data on your water withdrawals broken down by
country, region, watershed, business unit, facility or any other area/unit appropriate to your business.

Area/business unit Surface Ground Rainwater Waste Municipal Total
Water water (m3/yr) water water (m3/yr)
3 3 3 3
(m /yr) (m /yr) (m /yr) (m /yr)
[Drop down list] [Text entry] [Text entry] [Text entry] [Text entry] [Text entry] [Text entry]

In addition to data on water withdrawals for the entire company, you may provide detail on withdrawals for each part of
your business (e.g. business units, geographies, or entities). You may also provide an answer in question 13.2c if a
different methodology is used.

This table is identical to that in question 13.2a but invites you to provide a breakdown of your company’s total water
withdrawals by relevant areas of your business (e.g. business units, geographies, or entities). CDP recognizes that the
areas/business units you may want to report on may be specific to your operations. You may add areas/business units by
selecting the “Other” option.

Specific Guidance for Question 13.2c: Please add any comments here or use this space to report water withdrawals in a
different format to that set out above:

In the text box provided, you may choose to add any comments or use this space to report water withdrawals in a
different format than set out in questions 13.2a and b. If you opt to report water withdrawals in the text box, please
specify the units of measurement, areas of your company that are being reported, and the methodology used to
calculate withdrawals.

Specific Guidance for Question 13.3: You may explain here why you are not able to report the total water withdrawn in
your own operations and whether you have any plans to put in place systems that would enable you to do so.

You will be asked to answer this question only if you answered “No” to question 13.1, indicating that you are not able to
provide data for the total water withdrawn in your own operations. In the text box provided, please explain why you are
not able to provide this information. You may also indicate whether you have any plans to put in place systems that
would enable you to do so. Please remember that you will not be scored or ranked based on your answer.

Specific Guidance for Question 13.4: Are any water sources significantly affected by your withdrawal of water?

You will be asked to answer this question regardless of your answer to question 13.1. Please select the relevant option
“Yes”, “No” or “Don’t know”.

Questions 13.4, 13.4a and 13.5 correspond to GRI Indicator EN9. Habitats may be considered “significantly affected”
according to several criteria as described below.

Definitions
Water sources significantly affected by your withdrawal of water: According to GRI’s explanation of Indicator EN9, your
withdrawal has a significant effect on water sources if one or more of the following criteria is met:

 Your withdrawals account for an average of 5% or more of the annual average volume of a given water body;
 You withdraw from water bodies that are recognized by professionals to be particularly sensitive due to their
relative size, function, or status as a rare, threatened, or endangered system (or to their support of a particular
endangered species of plant or animal); or
 You withdraw from a Ramsar‐listed wetland or any other nationally or internationally proclaimed conservation
area regardless of the rate or volume of withdrawal.



Specific Guidance for Question 13.4a: Please add any comments here.

You will be asked to answer this question regardless of your response to question 13.4. In the text box provided,
please provide general comments on your company’s tracking of “significantly affected” habitats.

If you answered “Yes” to question 13.4, you may include some or all of the following:
 A description of the ways in which habitats have been significantly affected
 The geographical location of these impacts
 An explanation of whether you have taken or are taking any action to minimize the risks of these impacts
 If you have not been taking such actions, please specify whether you intend to do so in the future

Specific Guidance for Question 13.5: Please list any water sources significantly affected by your withdrawal of water.

Source Comment

please list the known water sources that are significantly affected by your company’s withdrawals.

Information on protected areas can be obtained from different sources. According to GRI, these sources include:
“local or national water‐related ministries or government departments, or … research initiated by the organization
or other institutions, such as environmental impact studies.” In the “Comments” column, please indicate the
source of information on protected areas used to determine affected habitats.


Question 14: Water recycling and reuse

14.1 Do you know the total volume of water recycled and reused in your own operations?
If you select “Yes” in answer to 14.1, you are then asked questions 14.2a and 14.2b:
14.2a Please report the total volume of water recycled and reused in your own operations (in cubic meters per year
and as a percentage of the total water withdrawal reported in question 13.2).
14.2b If possible, please also provide data on your water recycling and reuse broken down by country, region,
watershed, business unit or facility, or any other area/unit appropriate to your business.
14.3 You may explain here why you are not able to report the total volumes of water recycled or reused in your own
operations and whether you have any plans to put in place systems that would enable you to do so.

Specific Guidance for Question 14.1: Do you know the total volume of water recycled and reused in your own
operations?

Please select “Yes” or “No”, noting that this question asks you only about water recycling and reuse in your own
operations. If you answer “Yes”, you will be taken to questions 14.2a and 14.2b. If you answer “No”, you will be taken to
question 14.3.

Questions 14.1 to 14.3 correspond to GRI Indicator EN10. Information on your company’s volume of recycled or reused
water can be collected from several sources. According to GRI, these sources are: “water meters, water bills, or (if neither
water meters nor bills exist) calculations based on a water audit or inventory, or from a water retailer”. Please provide
data from these sources if available.

Definitions
Recycled or reused water: According to GRI’s explanation of Indicator EN10, recycled or reused water is defined as “an
act of processing used water/wastewater through another cycle before discharge to final treatment and/or discharge to
the environment”. It specifies three general types of water recycling/reuse practices:
 Wastewater recycled back in the same process or higher use of recycled water in the process cycle;
 Wastewater recycled/reused in a different process, but within the same facility; and
 Wastewater reused at another of the reporting organization’s facilities.

Total volume of water recycled and reused in your own operations: In accordance with Indicator EN10, this can include
water that was treated prior to reuse and water that was not treated prior to reuse. It can also include collected
rainwater and wastewater generated by household processes such as washing dishes, laundry, and bathing (Gray water).
GRI suggests that:
 The total volume of recycled or reused water should be calculated based on the volume of water demand
satisfied by recycling/reusing rather than by withdrawals.
 The volume of recycled or reused water should be reported in cubic meters per year (m³/year) and also as a
percentage of the total water withdrawal reported under Indicator EN8.


Specific Guidance for Question 14.2a: Please report the total volume of water recycled and reused in your own
operations (in cubic meters per year and as a percentage of the total water withdrawal reported in question 13.2).

Area/business unit Volume Volume Total volume Total volume Please add any
recycled reused recycled/reused recycled/reused as comments here:
(m3/yr) (m3/yr) (m3/yr) a percentage of
withdrawals (%)
Company total [Text entry] [Text entry] [Text entry] [Text entry] [Text entry]


please enter data on the volumes of water recycled or reused throughout your entire company. If the breakdown
between recycling and reuse is not known, you may enter the total volume. Otherwise, please ensure that the recycled
and reused volumes add up to the total.

In the first three columns, you are asked to report water volumes in cubic meters per year (m³/year). Please refer to the
definitions of recycled and reused water that are based on GRI Indicator EN10.

In the fourth column, please calculate the percentage of all water consumption that is recycled and reused by dividing
the total volume recycled/reused in column 3 by the total water withdrawn in the “Total” column of question 13.2 for the
entire company:

Total volume recycled/reused
Percentage of withdrawals =
Total water withdrawn

In the final column, you may provide any detail on the calculation of volumes or the percentage.

Specific Guidance for Question 14.2b: If possible, please also provide data on your water recycling and reuse broken
down by country, region, watershed, business unit or facility, or any other area/unit appropriate to your business.

Area/business unit Volume Volume Total volume Total volume Please add any
recycled reused recycled/reused recycled/reused as comments here:
(m3/yr) (m3/yr) (m3/yr) a percentage of
withdrawals (%)
[Drop down list] [Text entry] [Text entry] [Text entry] [Text entry] [Text entry]

In addition to data on water withdrawals for the entire company, you may provide detail on withdrawals for selected
areas of your business. If the breakdown between recycling and reuse is not known, you may enter the total volume.
Otherwise, please ensure that the recycled and reused volumes add up to the total.

This table is identical to that in question 14.2a but invites you to provide a breakdown of water recycling and reuse by
relevant areas of your business (e.g. business units, geographies, or entities). CDP recognizes that the areas/business
units you may want to report on may be specific to your operations. You may add areas/business units by selecting the
“Other” option.

Specific Guidance for Question 14.3: You may explain here why you are not able to report the total volumes of water
recycled or reused in your own operations and whether you have any plans to put in place systems that would enable
you to do so.

You will be asked to answer this question only if you have answered “No” to question 14.1, indicating that you are not
able to report the total volumes of water recycled or reused in your own operations. In the text box provided, please
explain why you are not able to provide this information and whether you have plans to explore this topic. Remember


Question 15: Water discharges

15.1 Are you able to identify your planned and unplanned discharges of water from your own operations by
destination, by treatment method and by quality in terms of effluent using standard effluent parameters?
15.2 You may explain here why you are not able to identify discharges from your own operations by
destination, treatment method and quality and whether you have any plans to put in place systems that
would enable you to do so.
Regardless of your answer to 15.1, you are then asked questions 15.3 through 15.6:
15.3 Has your company paid any significant penalties or fines in respect of breaches of regulations relating to
discharges from your own operations during the reporting period?
15.4 You may provide details here including any actions taken to minimize the risk of future non‐compliance.
15.5 Are any habitats significantly affected by discharges of water and runoff from your operations?
15.6 Please list any habitats significantly affected by discharges of water and runoff from your operations.

Specific Guidance for Question 15.1: Are you able to identify your planned and unplanned discharges of water from your
own operations by destination, by treatment method and by quality in terms of effluent using standard effluent
parameters?

Please select “Yes” or “No”, noting that this question asks you only about discharges from your own operations. Please
select “Yes” only if you are able to identify discharges by destination, treatment method, and/or quality in terms of
standard effluent parameters. If you answer “Yes”, you will be taken directly to questions 15.3 through 15.6. If you are
not able to identify any of these, please select “No”. If you answer “No”, you will be taken to question 15.2.

Questions 15.1 and 15.2 correspond to GRI Indicator EN21. Planned and unplanned discharges refer to the volume of
water discharged and to the quality of this water in terms of pollutants. For a list of standard parameters of water
pollutants you may refer to Appendix 3 (pp. 103‐111) of the “Guidance Document for the Implementation of the
European PRTR” by the European Commission.

Although you will not be asked to input data on your company’s discharges, you may choose to provide links or upload
documents with these details in the “Further Information” field.

Definitions
Water discharges from your own operations: According to GRI’s explanation of Indicator EN21, water discharges are
defined as “water effluents discharged over the course of the reporting period to subsurface waters, surface waters,
sewers that lead to rivers, oceans, lakes, wetlands, treatment facilities, and ground water”. Discharge of collected
rainwater and domestic sewage is not regarded as water discharge. It specified that water effluents are discharged
through either:
 A defined discharge point (point source discharge);
 Over land in a dispersed or undefined manner (non‐point source discharge); or
 Wastewater removed from the reporting organization via truck.


Specific Guidance for Question 15.2: You may explain here why you are not able to identify discharges from your own
operations by destination, treatment method and quality, and whether you have any plans to put in place systems that
would enable you to do so.

You will be asked to answer this question only if you have answered “No” to question 15.1, indicating that you are unable
to identify discharges from your own operations. In the text box provided, please explain why your company is not able
to do so and whether you have plans to explore this issue. Remember that you will not be scored or ranked based on
your answer.


Specific Guidance for Question 15.3: Has your company paid any significant penalties or fines in respect of breaches of
regulations relating to discharges from your own operations during the reporting period?

You will be asked to answer this question regardless of your answer to question 15.1. Please select “Yes”, “No” or “Don’t
know”. If you answer “Yes”, you will be taken to question 15.4. If you answer “No” or “Don’t know”, you will be taken
directly to question 15.5.

Recent breaches in regulation may shed light on areas of future regulatory risk. Learning from such incidents may assist
your company in taking measures to reduce the volume and/or improve the quality of discharges or to engage with
different stakeholders on this issue.

In this first year of the information request, CDP asks that you define “significant penalties or fines” in any manner that
you are comfortable with. You may choose to report all penalties or fines, or alternatively only those above a certain
threshold (such as $1,000 USD). Please clearly identify any threshold that you use.

Specific Guidance for Question 15.4: You may provide details here including any actions taken to minimize the risk of
future non‐compliance.

You will be asked to answer this question only if you have answered “Yes” to question 15.3, indicating that your company
has recently paid significant penalties or fines in respect of breaches of regulation relating to its discharges. In the text
box provided, please describe actions your have taken to minimize risks of future non‐compliance.

You may include some or all of the following:
 A description of the breach of regulation, a specification of the geographical location of the offense, the
sum of the penalty or fine received, and the regulating body
 An explanation on whether you have taken or are currently taking any action to minimize the risks of future
non‐compliance. Actions may include upgrading facilities, changing treatment methods, decreasing volume
of discharge, increasing volumes of reused or recycled water, engaging with policymakers, or engaging with
local communities

Specific Guidance for Question 15.5: Are any habitats significantly affected by discharges of water and runoff from your
operations?

Please select “Yes”, “No” or “Don’t know”, considering the definition provided below. If you answer “Yes”, you may
provide comments in question 15.5a and will then be taken to question 15.6. If you answer “No” or “Don’t know”, you
will still be asked to provide any comments in question 15.5a.

Questions 15.5, 15.5a and 15.6 correspond to GRI Indicator EN25. Habitats may be considered “significantly affected”
according to several criteria as described below.

Definitions
Habitats significantly affected by discharges of water and runoffs: According to GRI’s explanation of Indicator EN25,
discharges or water runoffs from your operations have a significant effect on habitats if one or more of the following
criteria is met:

 Discharges account for an average of 5% or more of the annual average volume of the water body;
 Discharges that, on the advice of appropriate professionals (e.g., municipal authorities), are known to have
or are highly likely to have significant impacts on the water body and associated habitats;
 Discharges are to water bodies that are recognized by professionals to be particularly sensitive due to their
relative size, function, or status as a rare, threatened, or endangered system (or support a particular
endangered species of plant or animal); or
 Discharges to a Ramsar‐listed wetland or any other nationally or internationally proclaimed conservation
area are considered significantly affecting regardless of the rate of discharge.



Specific Guidance for Question 15.5a: Please provide any comments here.

You will be asked to answer this question regardless of your response to question 15.5. In the text box provided,
please provide general comments on your company’s tracking of “significantly affected” habitats.

If you answered “Yes” to question 15.5, you may include some or all of the following:
 A description of the ways in which habitats have been significantly affected
 The geographical location of these impacts
 An explanation of whether you have taken or are taking any action to minimize the risks of these impacts

If you answered “No” to question 15.5, please explain why there are no habitats significantly affected by discharges or
runoffs from your operations. If you answered “Don’t know” to question 15.5, please explain why your company is not
able to identify significantly affected habitats. Remember that you will not be scored or ranked based on your answer.

Specific Guidance for Question 15.6: Please list any habitats significantly affected by discharges of water and runoff from
your operations.

Habitat Comment

please list any known habitats that are significantly affected by discharges from your operations.

Information on protected areas can be obtained from different sources. According to GRI, these sources include:
“local or national water‐related ministries or government departments, or … research initiated by the organization
or other institutions, such as environmental impact studies.” In the “Comments” column, please indicate the
source of information on protected areas used to determine affected habitats.

Question 16: Water intensity

16.1 Please provide available financial intensity measurements for your water use.
16.2 Please provide available activity‐related intensity measurements for your water use.

General Guidance for Question 16: This question requests data on water‐intensity across a number of factors: by
financial or activity‐based metric and by area/business unit or across the entire company. Please provide any
water‐intensity data that is known for your company.

Specific Guidance for Question 16.1: Please provide available financial intensity measurements for your water use
(water unit / financial unit).

Area / Water use Volume Water Financial Financial Currency Please provide any
business type of water unit metric quantity unit contextual details that
unit you consider relevant to
understand the units or
figures you have provided.
[Drop [Drop [Text [Drop [Drop down [Text [Drop [Text entry]
down list] down list] entry] down list] entry] down list]
list]

In the table provided, please describe any available financial intensity measurements for your entire company’s water
use or for individual areas/business units. The data entered should describe a measurement of water intensity as water
unit / financial unit, as described in the definition below.


In the first column, please select each area of your business to which the intensity measurement applies. This may be a
company‐wide figure or divided by region, business unit, or another aspect of your business.

The second, third and fourth columns are used to define the water portion of the intensity measurement (water unit /
financial unit). Under “Water use type”, please select or enter a water metric, such as “water withdrawals”. Under
“Volume of water”, enter the volume of water that is to be attributed to the financial unit. Under “Water unit”, select or
enter the unit being used in the water measurement. This is typically cubic meter (m3) but may vary depending on the
type of water use.

The fifth, sixth and seventh columns are used to define the financial portion of the intensity measurement (water unit /
financial unit). Under “Financial metric”, please select or enter the financial measurement being used, such as “Earnings
before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA)”. Under “Financial quantity”, enter the quantity to which
the water volume is to be attributed. Under “Currency unit”, select or enter the unit being used in the financial
measurement.

In the final column, you may provide any details on the metric used or measurement provided.

As an example, an intensity of 1,000 m3 of water withdrawals / $ of revenue across the entire company would be entered
as follows:

Area / Water use Volume Water Financial Financial Currency Please provide any
business type of water unit metric quantity unit contextual details that
unit you consider relevant to
understand the units or
figures you have provided.
Entire Withdrawal 1,000 m3 Revenue 1 $ This is the intensity of
company water withdrawals for the
entire company.

At minimum, CDP recommends that a financial intensity figure be reported with reference to Revenue. From
International Accounting Standard 18, “Revenue” means the gross inflow of economic benefits (cash, receivables, other
assets) arising from the ordinary operating activities of an organization (such as sales of goods, sales of services, interest,
royalties and dividends). Revenue may be described in some jurisdictions as “turnover” or “sales”. If your company
measures water intensity in additional forms, you are encouraged to report these metrics as well.

Definition
Financial water intensity measurement: As opposed to “total” water use, which refers to the actual amount of water
withdrawn or discharged or to a concentration of pollutants, a financial water intensity metric applies this water amount
to a financial measurement. This is represented as:

Volume of water withdrawn (used/discharged, etc.)
Water Intensity =
Output (financial)

You will have the option to provide financial (economic) and/or activity‐based (physical) metrics. According to the GHG
Protocol: “A physical intensity ratio is suitable when aggregating or comparing across businesses that have similar
products. An economic intensity ratio is suitable when aggregating or comparing across businesses that produce different
products. A declining intensity ratio reflects a positive performance improvement”.

Specific Guidance for Question 16.2: Please provide available activity‐based intensity measurements for your
water use (water unit / activity).

Area / Water use Volume Water unit Activity Please provide any contextual details that you
business type of water type consider relevant to understand the units or
unit figures you have provided.
[Drop down [Drop [Text [Drop [Drop [Text entry]
list] down list] entry] down list] down list]


In the table provided, please describe any available activity‐based intensity measurements for your entire company’s
water use or for individual areas/business units. The data entered should describe a measurement of water intensity as
water unit / activity‐based unit, as described in the definition below.

In the first column, please select each area of your business to which the intensity measurement applies. This may be a
company‐wide figure or divided by region, business unit, or another aspect of your business.

The second and third and fourth columns are used to define the water portion of the intensity measurement (water unit
/ activity‐based unit). Under “Water use type”, please select or enter a water metric, such as “water withdrawals”.
Under “Volume of water”, enter the volume of water that is to be attributed to the activity. Under “Water unit”, select
or enter the unit being used in the water measurement. This is typically cubic meter (m3) but may vary depending on the
metric.

The fifth column is used to define the activity portion of the intensity measurement (water unit / activity‐based unit).
Please select a type of activity from the drop down list or select “Other” to provide a text entry.

As an example, an intensity of 10 m3 of water withdrawals / liter of bottled drink produced by the company would be
entered as follows:

Area / Water use Volume Water unit Activity Please provide any contextual details that you
business type of water type consider relevant to understand the units or
unit figures you have provided.
Entire Withdrawal 10 m3 Liter of This is the intensity of water withdrawals for
company bottled Product Line X.
drink
produced

In the final column, you may provide any details on the metric used or measurement provided.

Definition
Activity‐based water intensity measurement: As opposed to “total” water use, which refers to the actual amount of
water withdrawn or discharged or to a concentration of pollutants, an activity‐based water intensity metric applies this
water amount to a type of activity. This is represented as:

Volume of water withdrawn (used/discharged, etc.)
Water Intensity =
Output (activity)

You will have the option to provide financial (economic) and/or activity‐based (physical) metrics. According to the GHG
Protocol: “A physical intensity ratio is suitable when aggregating or comparing across businesses that have similar
products. An economic intensity ratio is suitable when aggregating or comparing across businesses that produce different
products. A declining intensity ratio reflects a positive performance improvement”.

Question 17: External verification/assurance

17.1 Please indicate what percentage of your withdrawals and discharges have been verified or assured.
Please include the relevant verification/assurance statements as attachments below.

Specific Guidance for Question 17.1: Please indicate what percentage of your withdrawals and discharges have
been verified or assured. Please include the relevant verification/assurance statements as attachments below.

Category Percentage verified/assured
Withdrawals [Drop down list]
Discharges [Drop down list]


From the drop down lists in the table provided, please select the ranges that represent the percentage of your company’s
withdrawals and discharges that have been verified or assured.

Where your company has undertaken external verification of water withdrawals and/or discharges, please indicate the
percentage of total withdrawals or discharges that have been verified. You may include any relevant verification
statements as attachments in the “Further Attachment” field. Please indicate whether the attached statements refer to
water withdrawals and/or discharges.

CDP understands that you may seek verification for reasons other than reporting to CDP and that confidential
information may be included within your detailed verification statement. If this is the case, you may include a statement
from your external verifier confirming the percentage of water withdrawals and/or discharges assured.

Definitions
Verification/assurance: The GHG Protocol defines verification for greenhouse gas emissions that can be applied to
verification of water‐related information:

“Verification involves the assessment of the risks of material discrepancies in reported data. Discrepancies relate
to differences between reported data and data generated from the proper application of the relevant standards
and methodologies.”

Verification may have different objectives, which are agreed upon by the verifier and the commissioning company. The
GHG protocol specifies possible objectives for the verification which, again, may also apply to water verification. These
include:

 Enhancing stakeholder trust by increasing the credibility of the publicly reported information and demonstrating
progress towards targets;
 Increasing senior management confidence in reported information on which to base investment and target
setting decisions;
 Improving internal accounting and reporting practices and facilitating learning and knowledge transfer within the
company; and
 Preparation for mandatory verification requirements.


IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) has been making information requests relating to carbon and climate change on
behalf of investors since 2003, and this is CDP’s first information request relating to water. To find out more about CDP
and the previous responses from other major companies, please refer to the main page of our website.

Why is this request from a group of shareholders to a group of companies rather than from an individual shareholder
to an individual company?

(a) To facilitate ease of reporting for companies by providing one standardized request that requires one response to be
delivered to numerous investors.
(b) To receive data in a common format from the largest companies in the world.

Which companies have been contacted?

This information request has been sent to 302 companies from the Global 500 in the following sectors which have been
identified as being water‐intensive or exposed to particular water‐related risk. Please refer to the CDP Water Disclosure
website for a full list of the companies that have been invited to participate.

Aerospace & Defense Diversified Real Estate Activities Industrial Machinery
Agricultural Products Drug Retail Integrated Oil & Gas
Apparel Retail Electric Utilities Multi‐Utilities
Apparel, Accessories & Luxury Electrical Components & Office Electronics
Goods Equipment Oil & Gas (Drilling; Equipment &
Auto Parts & Equipment Electronic Components Services; Exploration &
Automobile Manufacturers Electronic Manufacturing Production; Refining &
Biotechnology Services Marketing; Storage &
Brewers Environmental & Facilities Transportation)
Building Products Services Packaged Foods & Meats
Coal & Consumable Fuels Fertilizers & Agricultural Personal Products
Communications Equipment Chemicals Pharmaceuticals
Computer & Electronics Retail Food (Distributors; Retail) Precious Metals & Minerals
Computer Hardware Footwear Real Estate Development
Computer Storage & Peripherals Gas Utilities Restaurants
Construction & Engineering General Merchandise Stores Semiconductor Equipment
Construction & Farm Machinery Gold Semiconductors
& Heavy Trucks Heavy Electrical Equipment Soft Drinks
Construction Materials Highways & Railtracks Specialty Chemicals
Consumer Electronics Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines Specialty Stores
Data Processing & Outsourced Household Products Steel
Services Hypermarkets & Super Centers Tobacco
Department Stores Independent Power Producers Trading Companies &
Distillers & Vintners & Energy Traders Distributors
Diversified Chemicals Industrial Conglomerates
Diversified Metals & Mining Industrial Gases


APPENDIX A: GLOBAL INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION STANDARDS (GICS)

The Global Industry Classification Standard aims to enable easier investment research and asset management for
financial professionals through the creation of standard industry definitions. The GICS structure consists of 10 sectors, 24
industry groups, 68 industries and 154 sub‐industries. Developed by MSCI and Standard & Poor’s (S&P), the structure
aims to be universal, accurate, flexible and evolving. The following are definitions of the Parent 10 sectors CDP utilizes in
its reports. These can also be found at the MSCI website.

Energy Sector: The GICS Energy Sector comprises companies whose businesses are dominated by either of the following
activities: The construction or provision of oil rigs, drilling equipment and other energy related service and equipment,
including seismic data collection. Companies engaged in the exploration, production, marketing, refining and/or
transportation of oil and gas products.
Materials Sector: The GICS Materials Sector encompasses a wide range of commodity‐related manufacturing industries.
Included in this sector are companies that manufacture chemicals, construction materials, glass, paper, forest products
and related packaging products and metals, minerals and mining companies, including producers of steel.
Industrials Sector: The GICS Industrials Sector includes companies whose businesses are dominated by one of the
following activities: The manufacture and distribution of capital goods, including aerospace & defense, construction,
engineering & building products, electrical equipment and industrial machinery. The provision of commercial services and
supplies, including printing, employment, environmental and office services. The provision of transportation services,
including airlines, couriers, marine, road & rail and transportation infrastructure.
Consumer Discretionary Sector: The GICS Consumer Discretionary Sector encompasses those industries that tend to be
the most sensitive to economic cycles. Its manufacturing segment includes automotive, household durable goods, textiles
& apparel and leisure equipment. The services segment includes hotels, restaurants and other leisure facilities, media
production and services and consumer retailing.
Consumer Staples Sector: The GICS Consumer Staples Sector comprises companies whose businesses are less sensitive to
economic cycles. It includes manufacturers and distributors of food, beverages and tobacco and producers of non‐
durable household goods and personal products. It also includes food & drug retailing companies as well as hypermarkets
and consumer super‐centers.
Health Care Sector: The GICS Health Care Sector encompasses two main industry groups. The first includes companies
who manufacture health care equipment and supplies or provide health care related services, including distributors of
health care products, providers of basic health‐care services and owners and operators of health care facilities and
organizations. The second regroups companies primarily involved in the research, development, production and
marketing of pharmaceuticals and biotechnology products.
Financials Sector: The GICS Financial Sector contains companies involved in activities such as banking, mortgage finance,
consumer finance, specialized finance, investment banking and brokerage, asset management and custody, corporate
lending, insurance, financial investment and real estate, including REITs.
Information Technology Sector: The GICS Information Technology Sector covers the following general areas: First,
Technology Software & Services, including companies that primarily develop software in various fields such as the
Internet, applications, systems, database management and/or home entertainment and companies that provide
information technology consulting and services as well as data processing and outsourced services; second, Technology
Hardware & Equipment, including manufacturers and distributors of communications equipment, computers &
peripherals, electronic equipment and related instruments, and third, Semiconductors and Semiconductor Equipment
Manufacturers.
Telecommunications Services Sector: The GICS Telecommunications Services Sector contains companies that provide
communications services primarily through a fixed‐line, cellular, wireless, high bandwidth and/or fiber optic cable
network.
Utilities Sector: The GICS Utilities Sector encompasses those companies considered electric, gas or water utilities or
companies that operate as independent producers and/or distributors of power. This sector includes both nuclear and
non‐nuclear facilities.


The table below provides a detailed breakdown of the Parent Sectors companies that will be included in many of the CDP
reports.

Parent Sectors Industry Groups Industry Sub‐Industries
Energy Energy Energy Equipment & Services Oil & Gas Drilling
Oil & Gas Equipment Services
Integrated Oil & Gas
Oil & Gas Exploration & Production
Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing
Oil & Gas Storage & Transportation
Coal & Consumable Fuels
Materials Materials Chemicals Commodity Chemicals
Diversified Chemicals
Fertilizers & Agricultural Chemicals
Industrial Gases
Specialty Chemicals
Construction Materials Construction Materials
Containers & Packaging Metals & Glass Containers
Paper Packaging
Metals & Mining Aluminum
Diversified Metals & Mining
Gold
Precious Metals & Minerals
Steel
Paper & Forest Products Forest Products
Paper Products
Industrials Capital Goods Aerospace & Defense Aerospace & Defense
Building Products Building Products
Construction & Engineering Construction & Engineering
Electrical Equipment Electrical Components & Equipment
Heavy Electrical Equipment
Industrial Conglomerates Industrial Conglomerates
Construction & Farm Machinery &
Machinery Heavy Trucks
Industrial Machinery
Trading Companies &
Distributors Trading Companies & Distributors
Commercial &
Professional Services Commercial Services & Supplies Commercial Printing
Environment & Facilities Services
Office Services & Supplies
Diversified Support Services
Security & Alarm Services
Professional Services Human Resources & Employment
Research & Consulting Services
Transportation Air Freight & Logistics Air Freight & Logistics
Airlines Airlines
Marine Marine
Roads & Rail Railroads
Trucking
Transportation Infrastructure Airport Services
Highways & Railtracks
Marine Ports & Services



Consumer Automobiles &
Discretionary Components Auto Components Auto Parts & Equipment
Tires & Rubber
Automobiles Automobile Manufacturers
Motorcycle Manufacturers
Consumer Durables &
Apparel Household Durables Consumer Electronics
Home Furnishings
Homebuilding
Household Appliances
Housewares & Specialities
Leisure Equipment & Products Leisure Products
Photographic Products
Textiles, Apparel & Luxury
Goods Apparel, Accessories & Luxury Goods
Footwear
Textiles
Consumer Services Hotels Restaurants & Leisure Casinos & Gaming
Hotels, Resorts & Cruise Lines
Leisure Facilities
Restaurants
Diversified Consumer Services Education Services
Specialized Consumer Services
Media Media Advertising
Broadcasting
Cable & Satellite
Movies & Entertainment
Publishing
Retailing Distributors Distributors
Internet & Catalogue Retails Catalogue Retail
Internet Retail
Multiline Retail Department Stores
General Merchandise Stores
Specialty Retail Apparel Retail
Computer & Electronics Retail
Home Improvement Retail
Specialty Stores
Automotive Retail
Home Furnishing Retail
Food & Staples
Consumer Staples Retailing Food & Staples Retailing Drug Retail
Food Distributors
Food Retail
Hypermarkets & Super Centers
Food Beverage &
Tobacco Beverages Brewers
Distillers & Vintners
Soft Drinks
Agricultural Products
Tobacco Tobacco



Household & Personal
Products Household Products Household Products
Personal Products Personal Products
Healthcare Healthcare Equipment &
Health Care Equipment & Services Supplies Healthcare Equipment
Healthcare Supplies
Health Care Providers &
Services Health Care Distributors
Health Care Services
Health Care Facilities
Managed Health Care
Health Care Technology Health Care Technology
Pharmaceuticals,
Biotechnology & Life
Sciences Biotechnology Biotechnology
Pharmaceuticals Pharmaceuticals
Life Sciences Tools & Services Life Sciences Tools & Services
Financials Banks Commercial Banks Diversified Banks
Regional Banks
Thrifts & Mortgage Finance Thrifts & Mortgage Finance
Diversified Financials Diversified Financial Services Other Diversified Financial Services
Multi‐Sector Holdings
Specialized Finance
Consumer Finance Consumer Finance
Capital Markets Asset Management & Custody Banks
Investment Banking & Brokerage
Diversified Capital Markets
Insurance Insurance Insurance Brokers
Life & Health Insurance
Multi‐line Insurance
Property & Casualty Insurance
Real Estate Investment Trusts
Real Estate (REITs) Diversified REITs
Industrial REITs
Mortgage REITs
Office REITs
Residential REITs
Retail REITs
Specialized REITs
Real Estate Management &
Development Diversified Real Estate Activities
Real Estate Operating Companies
Real Estate Development
Real Estate Services
Information
Technology Software & Services Internet Software & Services Internet Software & Services
IT Services IT Consulting & Other Services
Data Processing & Outsources Services
Software Application Software
Systems Software
Home Entertainment Software



Technology Hardware
& Equipment Communications Equipment Communications Equipment
Computers & Peripherals Computer Hardware
Computer Storage & Peripherals
Electronic Equipment,
Instruments & Components Electronic Equipment & Instruments
Electronic Components
Electronic Manufacturing Services
Technology Distributors
Office Electronics Office Electronics
Semiconductors &
Semiconductor Semiconductors &
Equipment Semiconductor Equipment Semiconductor Equipment
Semiconductors
Telecommunicati Telecommunication Diversified Telecommunication
ons Service Services Alternative Carriers
Integrated Telecommunications
Services
Wireless Telecommunications
Services Wireless Telecommunication Services
Utilities Utilities Electric Utilities Electric Utilities
Gas Utilities Gas Utilities
Multi‐Utilities Multi‐Utilities
Water Utilities Water Utilities
Independent Power Producers Independent Power Producers &
& Energy Traders Energy Traders


APPENDIX B: REPORTING BOUNDARY DEFINITIONS

When determining reporting boundaries, CDP recommends that companies consult their legal or accounting advisors.
For more detailed guidance on determining reporting boundaries and particularly where joint ventures or complex
operational structures are concerned, please refer to Chapter 3 of the GHG Protocol. Although this refers to GHG
emissions reporting, the general definitions may be applied to water reporting.

In brief, under the control approach, an organization measures the volume of its water withdrawals/discharges from
operations over which it has financial or operational control. The following text is adapted from the GHG Protocol to refer
to water:
An organization has financial control over an operation if it has the ability to direct the financial and operating policies of
the operation with a view to gaining economic benefits from its activities. Generally an organization has financial control
over an operation for water accounting purposes if the operation is treated as a group company or subsidiary for the
purposes of financial consolidation. An organization has operational control over an operation if it or one of its
subsidiaries has the full authority to introduce and implement its operating policies at the operation.

Companies can also report their water‐related data based on their economic share. The following text is adapted from
the GHG Protocol to refer to water instead of GHG emissions:
Under the equity share approach, a company accounts for its water‐related data from operations according to its share
of equity in the operation. The equity share reflects the economic interest, which is the extent of rights a company has to
the risks and rewards flowing from an operation. Typically, the share of economic risks and rewards in an operation is
aligned with the company’s percentage ownership of that operation, and equity share will normally be the same as the
ownership percentage. Where this is not the case, the economic substance of the relationship the company has with the
operation always overrides the legal ownership form to ensure the equity share reflects the percentage of economic
interest. The principle of economic substance taking precedence over legal form is consistent with international financial
reporting standards.

As financial control can be quite difficult to establish, the following table has been provided to clarify how water
accounting data should be reported in certain situations. The table below is based on a table found on page 19, Chapter 3
of the GHG Protocol (Revised Edition). It has been adapted to refer to water accounting instead of GHG accounting.

Accounting Financial Accounting Definition Accounting for GHG emissions
Category according the GHG Protocol
Corporate Standard
Based on Based on
Equity Share Financial
Control
Group The parent company has the ability to direct the financial and Equity share of 100% of
companies/ operating policies of the company with a view to gaining volumes of volumes of
subsidiaries economic benefits from its activities. Normally, this category water water
also includes incorporated and non‐incorporated joint withdrawn/ withdrawn/
ventures and partnerships over which the parents company discharged/etc. discharged/etc.
has financial control
Associated/ The parent company has significant influence over the Equity share of 0% of volumes
affiliated operating and financial policies of the company, but does not volumes of of water
companies have financial control. Normally, this category also includes water withdrawn/
incorporated and non‐incorporated joint ventures and withdrawn/ discharged/etc.
partnerships over which the parent company has significant discharged/etc.
influence, but not financial control. Financial accounting
applies the equity share method to associate/ affiliated
companies, which recognizes the parent company’s share of
the associate’s profits and net assets.


Non‐ Joint ventures/ partnerships/ operations are proportionally Equity share of Equity share of

incorporated consolidated, i.e., each partner accounts for their volumes of volumes of
joint ventures/ proportionate interest of the joint venture’s income, water water
partnerships/ expenses, assets and liabilities. withdrawn/ withdrawn/
operations where discharged/etc. discharged/etc.
partners have
joint financial
control
Fixed asset The parent company has neither significant influence nor 0% 0%
investments financial control. This category also includes incorporated and
non‐incorporated joint ventures and partnerships over which
the parent company has neither significant influence nor
financial control. Financial accounting applies the cost/
dividend method to fixed asset investments. This implies that
only dividends received are recognized as income and the
investment is carried at cost.
Franchises Franchises are separate legal entities. In most cases, the Equity share of 100% of
franchiser will not have equity rights or control over the volumes of volumes of
franchise. Therefore franchises should not be included in water water
consolidation of GHG emissions data. However, if the withdrawn/ withdrawn/
franchiser does have equity right or operational/ financial discharged/etc. discharged/etc.
control, then the same rules for consolidation under the
equity or control approaches apply.


CDP Water Disclosure 2010 Reporting Guidance

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CARBON DISCLOSURE PROJECT

Declining water quality (due to Declining water quality due to pollution may lead to higher treatment costs for

Parent Sectors Industry Groups Industry Sub‐Industries

Parent Sectors Industry Groups Industry Sub‐Industries

Parent Sectors Industry Groups Industry Sub‐Industries

Non‐ Joint ventures/ partnerships/ operations are proportionally Equity share of Equity share of

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