The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Global Water Tool is a free, publically available resource for identifying corporate water risks and opportunities which provides easy access to, and analysis of, critical water data. The spreadsheet-based Tool includes a workbook (data input, inventory by site, key reporting indicators and metrics calculations), a mapping function to plot sites with datasets, and a Google Earth interface for spatial viewing.
The Tool is quite sophisticated and potential users need to have a fairly good understanding of their site’s water usage including appropriate data. Not all of the Tool’s facilities work because of variable regional data availability. However, experimenting with the workbook and exploring its many facets is an education in itself on water availability and quality in an industrial context. Furthermore, it does highlight the importance of understanding your neighbours’ usage (and abusage!) of water and how this may affect your business and future.
The Global Water Tool can be freely downloaded from the World Business Council for Sustainable Development website (www.wbcsd.org ) which is a site that is packed with useful environmental management and sustainability tools and documentary resources.