By Pacific Institute Staff
The UN CEO Water Mandate is a unique public-private initiative – established by the UN Global Compact in 2007 and endorsed by global companies from a variety of industry sectors – designed to assist companies in the development, implementation, and disclosure of corporate water stewardship practices and policies. It was created out of the acknowledgement that 1) global water challenges create risk for the private sector, public sector, local communities, and the environment alike and 2) business practices can have a profound effect on water resources, ecosystems, and communities.
The Mandate is based on the notion that there is a business imperative and a responsibility for companies to promote efficient and clean practices in their operations and to encourage and facilitate sustainable water management in the watersheds in which they operate. It is founded on the belief that cross-sectoral collaboration on shared water-related goals is the most effective path to sustainable water management and that the private sector can be a vital partner in this effort. In order to realize these broad goals, the Mandate conducts research identifying and exploring critical water-related business issues, develops operational guidance that helps companies implement good practice, and convenes multi-stakeholder conferences whereby companies and key stakeholders discuss core water challenges and effective and equitable solutions to them. Endorsing companies strive to operate in a more sustainable manner and acknowledge that they have a responsibility to make water resources management a priority and to work with governments, UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders to address global and local water challenges.
Endorsers pursue good practice in each of the Mandate’s six commitment areas:
- Direct Operations
- Supply Chain and Watershed Management
- Collective Action
- Public Policy
- Community Engagement
- Transparency
Endorsers of the CEO Water Mandate recognize that through individual and collective action they can contribute to the vision of the UN Global Compact and the realization of the Millennium Development Goals. Under a Memorandum of Understanding established between the Pacific Institute and the UN Global Compact in May 2008, the Institute serves as part of the CEO Water Mandate Secretariat and as the “operational arm” of the initiative. In this capacity, the Institute coordinates the initiative’s working conferences and spearheads the advancement of the initiative’s workstreams on various areas of corporate water management. To learn more about the CEO Water Mandate, go to: www.ceowatermandate.org
About The CEO Water Mandate
Meeting Summaries
- 11th Working Conference Meeting Summary, March 4-7, 2013
- 10th Working Conference Meeting Summary, August 27-30, 2012
- 9th Working Conference Meeting Summary, June 15-17, 2012
- 8th Working Conference Meeting Summary, August 25-26, 2011
- 7th Working Conference Meeting Summary, May 16-17, 2011
- 6th Working Conference Meeting Summary, November 15-17, 2010
- 5th Working Conference Meeting Summary, April 14-16, 2010
- 4th Working Conference Meeting Summary, August 16-18, 2009
- 3rd Working Conference Meeting Summary, March 15-17, 2009
- 2nd Working Conference Meeting Summary, August 21-22, 2008
- Inaugural Working Conference Meeting Summary, March 5-6, 2008