Water Reporting: Indicators, Standards, and Communication

Client

Sydvatten is one of Sweden’s largest producers of drinking water, supplying around one million residents in the Skåne region. The municipally owned company owns and operates the Bolmen Tunnel, the two water treatment plants Ringsjöverket and Vombverket, as well as the primary pipeline system for distributing drinking water. Through collaboration within Sydvatten, its 17 member municipalities are able to ensure that residents, schools, hospitals, and businesses have access to a safe, sustainable, and cost-effective drinking water supply.

In addition to water supply, Sydvatten conducts research on topics such as how water quality is affected by climate change, with the aim of ensuring that future generations in Skåne continue to have access to clean and healthy drinking water.

Background

Water is a vital resource for all companies, as it plays a role in many aspects of their operations. In sectors such as manufacturing, food production, and life sciences, water is essential for production processes, cleaning, and cooling. Because water is such a critical resource, it is crucial for companies to use it efficiently while minimizing their environmental impact. Access to clean water is crucial for companies to produce goods and services sustainably, and many therefore report on water as a material aspect in their sustainability reports.

Task

The purpose of this project is to analyze how large organizations report on water-related issues. This may include companies in the water sector, major water consumers, significant polluters, organizations whose core operations rely on clean water, or other companies that consider water a material issue. These organizations (the exact number to be determined in consultation with the supervisor and Sydvatten) will be studied primarily through their sustainability reports. The goal is to map the indicators and metrics they report on within the water domain, as well as how they communicate this information.

Building on this background, an analysis and comparison will then be conducted with Sydvatten’s current water reporting. Are there areas that Sydvatten should begin to monitor, measure, and report on? Can exemplary approaches to communication be identified that Sydvatten could draw inspiration from in its own reporting, with a focus on water?

Additionally, the project will include an analysis of the requirements set by various sustainability standards for water-related reporting, such as GRI, CSRD, and CDP. The aim is to determine whether differences can be observed in how companies report based on the standards they follow.