Water Balance Targets

Companies are increasingly setting and pursing ‘water balance targets’ as part of their water stewardship strategies. The seeming simplicity of balance goals can be attractive – “we will restore a volume of water equal to the amount our business consumes.” However, the implementation is anything but simple, requiring the development of new quantification methodologies, corporate system guidelines and parameters, and verification and reporting processes. This paper explores the history, challenges and opportunities of water balance targets, and how important it is for such goals to be grounded in the realities of each unique watershed.