Please see a link to the press release on the Ceres site here
The release announces a new investor led effort to move the biggest corporate water users and polluters to value and act on water as a financial risk. Water is a major systemic risk and challenge facing institutional investors and financial institutions worldwide. Water is a unique resource that underpins all drivers of economic growth - food production, energy generation, industrial activities, human health and political stability. Yet water is chronically mismanaged in much of the world, and the accelerating physical impacts of climate change are making water supplies increasingly unstable. Investors and many financial institutions with exposure to most large industries and many global regions face potentially large--and often unrecognized-- water risks.
Anne Simpson, Ceres Board Member and Global Head of Sustainability at Franklin Templeton comments in the release: “The world’s fresh water supply is under severe stress in all regions, which poses risks not just to local communities, but also to those companies reliant upon water across their value chains. Investors have a critical role to play in helping companies assess those risks, and to respond to the opportunities ahead as we build resilience to climate change. The Valuing Water Finance Initiative reflects investors’ fiduciary duty to generate sustainable risk adjusted returns on behalf of the millions of people who rely upon those investments for their financial security. Benjamin Franklin wisely commented that ‘when the well is dry, we know the worth of water.’ We are perilously close to that point and as fiduciaries must act.”
What is the Valuing Water Finance Initiative?
Launched in August 2022, Ceres’ Valuing Water Finance Initiative (VWFI) is a new global investor-led effort to engage 72 of the largest corporate water users and polluters to value and act on water as a financial risk and drive the necessary large-scale change to better protect water systems. The initiative launched with a group of 64 signatories representing $9.8 trillion in assets under management. This initiative continues to grow as the private sector increasingly recognizes the water crisis's material risks. This initiative also builds on previous water research and resources developed by the Ceres Water Program and Investor Water Hub and other critical stakeholders and uses the UN Valuing Water Principles as guideposts
For more information, please FAQ/Document attached and further links: Valuing Water Finance Initiative | Ceres and About us - Valuing Water Initiative
Who is Ceres?
Ceres is a nonprofit organization working with the most influential capital market leaders to solve the world’s greatest sustainability challenges. Through powerful networks and global collaborations of investors, companies, and nonprofits, they drive action and inspire equitable market-based and policy solutions throughout the economy to build a just and sustainable future. For more information, visit ceres.org and follow @CeresNews.