The Increasingly Problematic Water Issue in Businesses
We all know that water is essential for life. Yet countless businesses throughout the world are simply failing to recognise the risks associated with the depletion and degradation of it. In fact, very few organisations actually measure their water use, which is foolish considering demand is expected to rise by 40% in the twenty years leading up to 2030.
The very depletion problem that we just mentioned is causing serious impacts in countries throughout the world. It has a direct impact on production in industries such as agriculture, food and drink. China has had severe water shortages in Tianjin and Beijing recently. China is going to have to spend $3.3 billion at the very least on building desalination plants over the next five years. These desalination plants are used to get fresh water from seawater.
Dealing with water stress can lead to a climate change, with greater levels of carbon emissions. It can also cause wide environmental damage. The desalination plants use energy taken from fossil fuels. This will result in poor local air quality.
You could be surprised how expensive water consumption and disposal can be within a business. Water is put to waste too often. It’s taken for granted here in Britain, it’s as simple as that. This is seen both in and out of the office. This is why businesses should be looking to include water measurements and reductions. This will help reduce costs and sustain development strategies.
Let’s look at it this way, a cubic metre of water may cost anywhere between £1 and £6. This depends on the mains water supply. Having this water pumping for an hour might cost around £14 in electricity. It would cost a further £33 in gas costs to have the water heated for steam.
This cubic metre of water can be responsible for up to 270 kilograms of carbon emissions. All of that and it’s only one cubic metre. It takes 2,500 cubic metres of water to fill an Olympic swimming pool. So now if you think about it, you can see that water costs can quickly add up. Now what if I said on average in the United Kingdom, businesses use approximately 10 billion cubic metres of water a year. Now you’re really wondering how much water you’ve been wasting, and effectively how much money you have spent.
By taking action on how water is used and measured will not only help the environment and economy. It will help your business save money.