Join us as we discuss solutions to the world’s most pressing water challenges, from the COVID-19 pandemic to business water resilience.
August 18 I Lessons from India and South Africa: Setting Site Water Targets to Drive Action
To effectively mitigate water risk and improve water security, setting site water targets is a business imperative. Companies must understand the factors affecting water resources in the regions in which they operate as they take steps to address risks. Developing site water targets that account for local context drives informed actions at the local level and helps companies make meaningful change. This CEO Water Mandate webinar will showcase lessons learned piloting the site water targets guide in the Noyyal-Bhavani River Basin, India, and Upper Vaal River Basin and Berg and Breede River Basins, South Africa. Companies will discuss their experience setting site water targets collectively, how site water targets fit into their water stewardship strategy, and how this work drives action in the long-term. The Pacific Institute is Co-Secretariat of the CEO Water Mandate, a UN Global Compact initiative that mobilizes business leaders on water, sanitation, and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Date: August 18, 2020 I 8:00-9:00am PT
Language: English
Learn more here.
Register here.
World Water Week
Though Stockholm World Water Week was cancelled due to COVID-19, the Stockholm International Water Institute will help coordinate virtual sessions for those originally accepted for events in 2020 as a way to bridge the gap between the 2019 and 2021 World Water Weeks.
The UN Global Compact’s CEO Water Mandate, for which the Pacific Institute serves as Co-Secretariat, will hold a number of virtual sessions during the week of August 24-27, 2020 for World Water Week related to its work on nature-based solutions, business resilience, and a common water accounting framework. In addition, the Pacific Institute will participate in a webinar on climate-related water conflicts.
August 24 I World Water Week Session: Aligning Measurement and Metrics for Basin Resilience
Globally we face a water crisis of increasing competition to access freshwater resources of declining water quantity and quality exacerbated by climate change. The key to a thriving water-based economy under such shocks and changes is to aim for a resilient basin. A basin is water resilient by design when the water services expected by stakeholders are available even when exposed to shocks and stresses such as climate change, extreme weather events, increased demand, etc. Creating resilience at the basin scale will require coordination, transparency, and alignment of common goals between all stakeholders-public, private, and civil society. At the heart of measuring basin water resilience lies a common understanding and coherence of water accounting measures. Yet across sectors, there are no standard approaches or a standard set of metrics that address resilience at the site up to the basin scale. Such a globally accepted Water Accounting Framework that can be used to assess basin level water system resilience and the contributions of stakeholders, individually and collectively, to resilience is critical.
This CEO Water Mandate event will probe into work underway to 1) align measurement and metrics across public and private sectors, and 2) incorporate scalable metrics to measure water resilience. It will provide a forum to discuss and gather input from public, private, and civil society stakeholders as to the utility, scope, and pilot applications of this ongoing body of work. The Pacific Institute is Co-Secretariat of the CEO Water Mandate, a UN Global Compact initiative that mobilizes business leaders on water, sanitation, and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Date: August 24, 2020 I 8:00-8:45am PT
Language: English
Register here.
August 24 I World Water Week Session: Building Resilience at All Levels – from Local to National
With a largely urbanized population, Brazil faces unresolved historical social and infrastructure deficits, resulting in precarious urbanization territories. Especially in big cities, old challenges, as insufficient freshwater reserves, incomplete water distribution and sewage treatment, pollution of water sources, are aggravated by climate change, demanding new policies towards water security. The objectives of this CEO Water Mandate webinar are to 1) broaden the understanding among utilities and the productive sector that climate risks, urban governance, and poverty are issues that must be addressed in an articulated manner 2) give young people in low-income urban areas a voice to expose how they are affected by insufficient water infrastructure 3) expose scientific evidences of the consequences of regional and local deforestation on the water security of large Brazilian cities 4) present examples of well succeeded actions and programs and their financial strategies and 5) generate intersectoral alliances, focusing on water security objectives. The Pacific Institute is Co-Secretariat of the CEO Water Mandate, a UN Global Compact initiative that mobilizes business leaders on water, sanitation, and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Date: August 24, 2020 I 10:00-10:45am PT
Language: Portuguese
Register here.
August 25 I World Water Week Session: How Does Business Prepare for Short-Term Shocks and Long-Term Resilience to Climate Change?
The world’s economy is crucially dependent on water. Agriculture (70 percent) and industry (20 percent) constitute most uses of the world’s freshwater consumption. Climate change introduces uncertainties into the water cycle that require businesses to adapt and innovate in order to endure and thrive. Businesses of all sectors must approach climate change systemically, changing their overall business strategy to better understand, anticipate and navigate new risks and opportunities. Such an approach will need to be inclusive and consider broader dynamics within the catchment under different scenario and timeframes. Companies are partnering with stakeholders on reforestation and wetlands reconstruction and working with regulatory agencies to improve water management. Meanwhile, green solutions underpinned by innovative financing models are creating new opportunities at all levels including for local communities. But much more needs to be done to mainstream resilience planning across sectors and value chains. This CEO Water Mandate webinar will explore business water resilience in these uncertain times. The Pacific Institute is Co-Secretariat of the CEO Water Mandate, a UN Global Compact initiative that mobilizes business leaders on water, sanitation, and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Date: August 25, 2020 I 6:00-6:45am PT
Language: English
Register here.
August 25 I World Water Week Session: Nature-Based Solutions to Address Water Scarcity Due to Climate Change
This CEO Water Mandate webinar will enable the dialogue around the central role that nature-based solutions (NBS) plays in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, highlighting the social, economic and environmental co-benefits. The contributions of NBS to improve water security and create resilience in a future scenario of water scarcity will be discussed. The objective of the session is to enable dialogue around the central role that NBS plays to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, highlighting the social, economic and environmental co-benefits. The aim of this session is to demonstrate how NBS can contribute to improve water security and create resilience in a future scenario of water scarcity due to the growing demand for water that will occur, especially in countries with developing or emerging economies. It is vital that the private sector prepare now to cope with the intensified impacts in the global water cycle due to climate change. The Pacific Institute is Co-Secretariat of the CEO Water Mandate, a UN Global Compact initiative that mobilizes business leaders on water, sanitation, and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Date: August 25, 2020 I 10:00-10:45am PT
Language: Portuguese
Register here.
August 26 I World Water Week Session: Multi-stakeholder Cooperation to Leverage the SDG6 in the Business Agenda
This CEO Water Mandate session will enable the creation of a dialogue around the undeniable link between climate change and its impact on water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). The session will bring together representatives from different countries to discuss the impacts on access to water and sanitation that they are facing due to climate change. The focus of the session will be on the impacts that countries located in the South Hemisphere are facing. It will be an opportunity for cooperation between United Nations Global Compact Local Networks, companies, NGO’s, and UN Agencies, an opportunity to take action to improve access to water and sanitation in order to be more resilient and deal with the effects of climate change. The goal is to explore opportunities for multi-stakeholder cooperation to address WASH impacts exacerbated by climate change impacts. The Pacific Institute is Co-Secretariat of the CEO Water Mandate, a UN Global Compact initiative that mobilizes business leaders on water, sanitation, and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Date: August 26, 2020 I 10:00-10:45am PT
Language: Portuguese
Register here.
August 28 I World Water Week Session: Reducing the Risks of Climate-Related Water Conflicts
While a wide range of tools and approaches are available for improving cooperation over water resources, the challenges posed by climate change add a new dimension to such efforts. This session will feature three case studies that demonstrate the practical application of the legal, technical, economic, and social tools employed on-the-ground for identifying and reducing the risks of such conflicts, followed by a big picture discussion around these solutions, including limits, gaps and opportunities.
Date: August 28, 2020 I 7:00-8:00am PT
Language: English
Register here.
Past webinars may be viewed on our videos page.
