The initiative has been launched by sustainability experts WRAP, in partnership with WWF and the Rivers Trust, as part of Courtauld Commitment 2025.
Signatories to WRAP’s 10-year Courtauld Commitment 2025 include food and drink manufacturers ABP Food Group, Bidfood, Coca-Cola GB and Nestlé, plus top retailers, hospitality and foodservice businesses and trade bodies.
Those signed to the commitment have agreed to monitor water use in their own operations and have improved efficiency. They are also participating in collective action to improve the quality and availability of water.
Initial focus will be on six UK catchment project areas identified by the Rivers Trust as critical for sourcing key foods such as fresh produce, dairy and crops.
The areas that all suffer water stress include: Cam & Ely Ouse and Broadlands (East Anglia); Medway (South East); Tamar (South West); Eden (Cumbria); and Wye & Usk (South West and Wales).
Get involved
WRAP, which oversees business engagement in the projects, is keen to see the whole food and drink sector get involved.
“Water stewardship is an area that none of us can afford to take for granted,” said WRAP director Peter Maddox.
“The United Nations predicts that global demand for fresh water will exceed supply by 40% in 2030 due to climate change, human action and population growth. And in the UK, the supply chains that deliver more than half of our food are prone to disruptions like water scarcity.”
‘Crucial resource’
Liz Lowe, sustainability manager Coca-Cola Great Britain, said: “Water is the number one ingredient in all our drinks, but we believe no business can take this crucial resource for granted.
“Our water stewardship strategy sees us protecting the water sources we use, continually optimising the amount of water we use in our production processes and ensuring we return any waste water back to the environment.
“Through our partnership with WWF-UK, we’re working directly with farmers on water-sensitive and sustainable farming practices across areas where sugar beet, an ingredient in some of our drinks, is grown.”
Precious resource
Andrew Griffiths, head of environmental sustainability, Nestlé UK, added: “Water is a shared and precious resource which is critical to our very existence. As part of our water stewardship programme, we have reduced our water consumption, per tonne of product produced, by over 60% across our own operations in the UK and Ireland, in the last 10 years.
“We are also working with our dairy farmers, delivery partners and other key stakeholders to incentivise and test opportunities on farms to enhance water quality in conjunction with soil quality, biodiversity, animal health and productivity.
“The challenges associated with water, however, can only be addressed, sustainably and at scale, through genuine pre-competitive collaboration.”