Global Water Tool

Components Excel workbook ( 5.2 MB) Online Mapping (accessible from the Excel workbook) Background Material Flash Demo Flyer ( 935 kb) PowerPoint Presentation ( 4.7 MB/ 3.7 MB) Press release ( 688 kb) Susbcribe to the WBCSD Water & SD newsletter!

The WBCSD’s Global Water Tool, launched at World Water Week 2007 in Stockholm and updated in 2009 for the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul, is a free and easy-to-use tool for companies and organizations to map their water use and assess risks relative to their global operations and supply chains.

Where are your water risks?

• How many of your sites are in extremely water-scarce areas? Which sites are at greatest risk? How will that look in the future?
• How many of your employees live in countries that lack access to improved water and sanitation?
• How many of your suppliers are in water scarce areas now? How many will be in 2025?

“To manage your water globally, you need to know the water situation locally.”

This tool will help you answer these questions and more.

It does not provide specific guidance on local situations, which require more in-depth systematic analysis.

What does it do?

The tool:

• Compares your company’s water uses (including staff presence, industrial use, and supply chain) with validated water and sanitation availability information – on a country and watershed basis.
• Allows calculation of water consumption & efficiency.
• Establishes relative water risks in your company’s portfolio to prioritize action – including more detailed assessment.
• Creates key water GRI Indicators, inventories, risk and performance metrics and geographic mapping.
• Enables effective communication with internal and external stakeholders on your company’s water issues.

Who is it for?

Companies and any other stakeholders who need to better understand the water issues in their operations and that of their extended supply chain.

Components (further information)

1. Excel Workbook ( 5.3 MB) for inventory, calculation of key water GRI Indicators, external data connection, and metrics calculations.
2. Online Mapping (accessible from the Excel workbook) based on inventory of company site locations. Site locations are mapped with external water and sanitation datasets. Supplier site locations may also be mapped.

Advisory Board

The WBCSD’s Water Working Group stewarded development of the Global Water Tool. WBCSD Member and global engineering company CH2M HILL led the tool’s development.

An Advisory Board, comprised of 22 WBCSD member companies (see list on the right) in a wide range of industries, provided oversight and pilot testing.

Further information

We appreciate your feedback on the tool - please address it to GlobalWaterTool@wbcsd.org.

Please note that we do not provide support for the implementation of the Global Water Tool. Please refer to the help section included in the tool.