Watermarq

We have just put out a brief paper on how companies use an 'internal price' to reflect the value of water, beyond the tariffs that they pay. Frankly, it came as a surprise to us that nearly 8 in 10 companies in our sample disclose that they either use, or are exploring the use of, an internal water price. We thought it would be much lower than that. As you'd expect, the devil is in the detail. The full paper is available on the home page of our website (https://www.wtrmrq.com), but here are 5 take-aways: 1️⃣ The methods that companies use to derive an internal water price are overwhelmingly proprietary. So it's hard to know what assumptions are being used, and how different the assumptions are between companies and across industries. 2️⃣ The application of internal pricing is also unclear in terms of purpose, robustness, context specificity etc. And it's hard to tell whether internal prices are being used as a signal of cost or value (or both, or neither). 3️⃣ There are significant differences in the sophistication of approaches between companies that use an internal water price. Like, significant. 4️⃣ 'No standard methodology', 'lack of fit with company structure', 'insufficient data' and 'insignificance of water costs' were some of the reasons given as impediments to using an internal price, within companies' public disclosures 5️⃣ We were struck by how little there was in the narrative reporting about how companies were using emerging technologies to improve their access to better quality data that could inform internal water pricing. I won't sully this post with a sales pitch, but we consider the findings from this exercise to be encouraging for the work that we're pursuing as a company. Finally I'd like to thank a few people who kindly allowed us to include some comments in support of this paper: Patricia Calderon, Adrian Sym, Stuart Orr, Jennifer Willetts, PhD, Luke Sussams and Henk Ovink. Of course, any errors or omissions in this paper are the sole responsibility of Watermarq.

Besides speaking at the #Zambia #at 60 #conference during a climate change panel discussion, I also had the opportunity to present my masters research findings to the president of Zambia H.E Hakainde Hichilema during a poster session. My research focused primarily on groundwater security in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia and identified groundwater security risks, their drivers, and practical solutions. During my interaction with the President, he showed interest in my work and I ran him through the Geospatial techniques I used to assess the groundwater situation in the city, the encroachment of groundwater recharge areas such as forestry 27 & 26 and the practical solutions to these challenges. After these interactions, the president committed to ensuring the uptake of my research findings/recommendations and hearing him re-emphasize this in his press briefing upon returning to Zambia is truly humbling. This gesture by the president and his government to uptake research findings is what the academic community needs in order to actively contribute to national development. A big thank you to my supervisors Prof. Simon Dadson, Dr. Neil Hart and Dr. Alex Money for guiding me from inception to completion of the research. Additionally, a huge appreciation to the team in Zambia who helped with data requirements Dr. Tewodros Tena, Water Resources Management Authority, Chewe Chishala, PMP® and #LusakaWater. And finally a big thank you to the #Rhodes #Zambian #constituency national secretary Dr. Namukale Chintu, and the team for putting together this conference as well as Dr. Roy Moobola for coordinating the poster session component of the conference. #GroundwaterSecurity #Urbanization #LusakaZambia

Delighted to learn today that Jennifer Willetts, PhD, a member of Watermarq's Advisory Board, has been promoted to Head of Sustainable Solutions at Franklin Templeton, one of the world's largest institutional investors. Whenever I advocate that Watermarq can provide the answers, Jen has gently but determinedly pushed us on whether we're asking the right questions. As a practitioner with some serious academic chops, she has consistently been an invaluable source of advice. Congratulations Jen.

📢 Join us next Thursday in London for “Wet Networks: Managing Water for the Environment”. ✈ From sustainable aviation fuel produced from sewage, to providing clean water to rural communities in Sierra Leone, you’ll hear about some of the latest innovations in the industry, directly from the experts themselves. Our speakers include: 💧 Guy Thompson of Wessex Water 💧 Bethan Adams of Watermarq 💧 Corina Shika Kwami, PhD of Purpose 💧 James Hygate of Firefly Green Fuels 💧 Karen Binns and Sean Mills of Rory’s Well (www.roryswell.org) 💦 All chaired by Dr Leo Carswell of WRc. 💡 Secure your spot for cutting-edge insights, expert perspectives, networking opportunities, and more: Register here for in-person attendance: https://bit.ly/44HjE9Y Register here for online attendance//bit.ly/4al14pw Wet Networks: Managing Water for the Environment 🗓️ 17:00 - 20:30,Thursday 6th June 📍Arup, 8 Fitzroy Street, London W1T 4BJ WRc and Arup are supported by The UK Water Partnership, Spring, CIWEM (The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management), Future Water, British Water, Water Industry Forum, UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR) Martin Shouler, Felix Hughes, Elsa Germain, Kirsten Smith, Francisco Fuenzalida Concha, Maia Diffey, Arup, Olivia Daly #managingwaterfortheenvironment #WetNetworks #waterinnovation #waterindustry #watermanagement #generationrestoration

"A new standard could provide consensus on key ideas (such as ‘net-positive water impact’ and ‘replenishment’) and a clearer pathway into water stewardship for non-state actors wishing to engage for the first time,” said BSI Meanwhile, more than 1,000 companies told CDP they engage with their supply chains on water, but only 118, including The Coca-Cola Company, L'Oréal and Kao Corporation, integrate water targets into the remuneration policies of their chief procurement officers. Alex Money, Cate Lamb https://lnkd.in/eBeYfd5X