The term "water risk" refers to stresses on water resources that pose threats to society and business—as well as opportunities for competitive advantage through effective water risk management. The initiative’s centerpiece is the Water Risk Atlas, a publicly available interactive online mapping tool populated with proprietary data donated by the Coca-Cola Company on local-level stresses to water availability.
The Atlas advances sustainability by enabling companies, NGOs, academics, and public sector agencies to analyze and manage water-related risks and opportunities in the context of specific ecological and social impacts at the local and regional levels. This information empowers all parties to collaboratively strategize on how to mitigate and adapt to changes while minimizing adverse outcomes for businesses and the communities they operate in.
"Water risk is emerging as one of the greatest threats to long term economic and environmental sustainability," said Jeff Fulgham, Chief Sustainability Officer for GE Power & Water. "Our customers around the world are addressing physical, operational, regulatory, social & reputational, and financial risks all relative to water. Aqueduct will enable us to help our customers better assess and proactively address these risks."
The Aqueduct Alliance emerged to meet the rising demand from investors seeking information on how companies are managing water risk. According to a November 2011 survey by the Carbon Disclosure Project's Water Disclosure program, more than half (59 percent) of the 190 surveyed companies report exposure to water-related risks such as flooding, scarcity, and reputational damage. On the flip side, almost two-thirds (63 percent) of respondents identify water-related commercial opportunities, most of which (79 percent) are near term. The most commonly identified opportunities: cost reductions from increased water efficiency, revenue from new water-related products or services, and improved brand value.
水风险阿特拉斯使公司和投资者能够分析它们以颗粒细节面对的水风险，用地图聚集和称重指标，只能捕获当地监管结构，甚至潜在的声誉影响。
“强劲的风险评估是产品开发的基础loping strategic water resource management plans at the business, watershed, and municipal levels," says WRI. "The maps generated by Aqueduct combine advanced hydrological data with geographically-specific indicators that capture the social, economic, and governance factors that affect companies and economies."
The Water Risk Atlas framework consists of three primary categories of water-related business risk:
- 访问和增长限制：缺水稀缺的风险;
- Cost Risks:从恶化的水质，规则更严格的规定，或增加水价;
- Disruption Potential:risks from poor water governance, increasing competition for water resources, and social concern around water issues.
These categories are divided into nine subcategories, with a total of 21 indicators aggregated to determine the overall water risk.
完成后，现有地图将包括全球地图，用于当前和未来的水资源稀缺和水质，以及世界各地的最具水分强调经济的经济河流盆地的详细，多变量风险地图，从黄河流域开始在北方。下一页：美国的科罗拉多河，中国的长江，南非的橙森盆地和澳大利亚的穆雷 - 达令盆地，根据金融时代。
展出的An Arfeduct Alliance，该联盟增加了彭博，Dow Chemical Company，Talisman能量和联合技术作为8月推出的赞助商，计划很快开发一个更新的互动网络平台，包括全球和盆地的地图和有关水相关风险的信息。
