Absolute water usage decreased 9% from 485,951 m3 in 2007 to 441,905 m3 in 2008, allowing us to exceed our five year, 10% reduction target. On a normalised basis, we achieved an equivalent 24% reduction between 2007 and 2008 and a 35% reduction between 2003 and 2008.
We achieved reductions through ongoing measures like sprinkler system adjustments, leak identification and repair, and the increasing introduction of waterless urinals. Employee numbers stayed reasonably constant between 2007 and 2008 and did not significantly impact water usage.
Reed Elsevier endorses the United Nations CEO Water Mandate, which seeks to address the challenges posed by water scarcity and quality to communities and ecosystems. We are acutely aware that water is the world’s most vital and irreplaceable resource. Unlike carbon, however, water related issues are fundamentally related to location and exposure to water stress. We therefore introduced a watershed risk management system in 2008, identifying the river basins our sites draw water from using the World Business Council for Sustainable Development Global Water Tool. As a predominantly office based company, the majority of our water comes from central supply, but we are exploring opportunities for reclaimed ‘grey water’ systems.
From a survey of almost 100 key locations compared against the 1995 World Resources Institute guidelines, 36% of our sites are in areas at risk of severe water stress, and a further 14% are in areas of water stress, where food production and economic development problems may occur due to lack of water.
We will be focusing water reduction efforts on locations in water stressed areas, although we are already more efficient here, with the 50% of sites in water stressed areas consuming just 34% of our total water. But percentages do not reveal the complete picture: the majority of our offices located in water stressed areas are in the UK, US and Netherlands, countries with high capability for water adaptation and mitigation.
In 2008, we began mapping the water footprint of our supply chain. With online training, tools and support, we received data from 19% of key suppliers in our Socially Responsible Supplier programme. We calculated a relative impact of 1,379,182 m3 based on the percentage of their water used for production on our behalf. We intend to increase the amount of supplier water data we capture and to map it against water stress. We will work with affected suppliers to manage the water impact of producing our products. Read more information about RE and water stress.