Water Stewardship Strategies in Large Companies in Germany: GRI sustainability reporting

Abstract

Large companies in Germany are required to report on the sustainability, address impact of their business activities according to a new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) enforced by the European Commission in 2023. The sustainability reporting standard is under development by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) and the CSRD announced it would adopt the first set of standards by mid-2023 and require compliance in 2024 for reports published in 2025. Until then, the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD) remains in force where companies may report on their sustainability using existing sustainability reporting set standards. This study is targeted towards companies reporting within the sustainability reporting framework set by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). It aims to provide them with a benchmarked strategy they can follow when planning their water stewardship. Moreover, it aims to provide benchmarking water strategy solutions that they can adapt and adopt to improve their water management efficiency. Information on water stewardship strategies involving policies, water materiality, water risk analysis, addition of equipment, modifying existing equipment, replacing materials with water-sustainable ones was collected and benchmarked according to the relative ease of adoption and water conservation efficacy. Keywords: sustainability reporting, water, Global Reporting Initiative, GRI, Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, CSRD, Germany