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United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Sustainable Development

Wastewater Zero

World Business Council for Sustainable Development (
Non-governmental organization (NGO)
)
#SDGAction48770
Description
Description
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) launched the "Wastewater Zero" initiative in 2020 to raise the business sector ambition on SDG 6.3. The initiative aims to reduce the impact of industrial wastewater (quantitative, qualitative and GHG) by bringing companies on a journey from compliance to impact driven actions. It is based on 3 pillars: 1/ A light weight commitment based on existing standards and frameworks and using CDP reporting (timeline progression: own facilities compliance; tier 1 suppliers compliance; science-based evaluation of impacts to drive collective action at watershed scale) 2/ A tool to prioritize the sites where action is most impactful. The Wastewater Impact Assessment Tool (WIAT) is available in test version. This tool is being improved for a launch in Q1 2023. WIAT is a facility scale water quality tool that provides a global overview on the level of impacts of the corporation’s own facilities and pressure context of its suppliers. 3/ An impact assessment guide (under development in alignment with the Science Based Targets for Nature - freshwater methodology) These three components support businesses in the following 4 steps: Commit, asses, transform, and disclose. It builds on the existing disclosure mechanism by CDP, and complements other existing initiatives in the sector, such as the AWS standard.
Expected Impact
Businesses together have a direct impact on more than 70% of the water pollution and use. Consequently, the containment of discharges, planned or unplanned, authorized or not, is a must, not only for environmental protection but also for business continuity, globally. This action framework aims to significantly increase business actions towards meeting SDG6.3.
Partners

Companies: H&M ; UPL ; Chevron

Other NGOs: CDP ; UN-Habitat

Additional information
We are in the discussion with more multi-national companies and targeting to have a few more commit at the time of the UN 2023 conference.

Goal 6

Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

Goal 6

6.1

By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all

6.1.1

Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services

6.2

By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations

6.2.1

Proportion of population using (a) safely managed sanitation services and (b) a hand-washing facility with soap and water

6.3

By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally

6.3.1

Proportion of domestic and industrial wastewater flows safely treated

6.3.2

Proportion of bodies of water with good ambient water quality

6.4

By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity
6.4.1

Change in water-use efficiency over time

6.4.2

Level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of available freshwater resources

6.5

By 2030, implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate

6.5.1

Degree of integrated water resources management 

6.5.2

Proportion of transboundary basin area with an operational arrangement for water cooperation

6.6

By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes
6.6.1

Change in the extent of water-related ecosystems over time

6.a

By 2030, expand international cooperation and capacity-building support to developing countries in water- and sanitation-related activities and programmes, including water harvesting, desalination, water efficiency, wastewater treatment, recycling and reuse technologies
6.a.1

Amount of water- and sanitation-related official development assistance that is part of a government-coordinated spending plan

6.b

Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management

6.b.1

Proportion of local administrative units with established and operational policies and procedures for participation of local communities in water and sanitation management

Name Description
5 Multi-national companies committed to impact driven actions to meet SDG 6.3 in their own facilities and supply chains
10 Multi-national companies using the wastewater impact assessment tool to shape their actions towards SDG 6.3
By 2030 most food and beverage, manufacturing, and textile companies implement impact driven actions with a watershed approach
Financing (in USD)
further financial support of the initiative would enable to develop the Wastewater Impact Assessment Tool into a watershed scale science based target setting tool
In-kind contribution
Further dissemination of the initiative and in particular of the Wastewater Impact Assessment Tool could be supported by the UN platform
No progress reports have been submitted. Please sign in and click here to submit one.
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Timeline
01 June 2020 (start date)
01 June 2030 (date of completion)
Entity
World Business Council for Sustainable Development
SDGs
6
Region
  1. Africa
  2. Europe
  3. Asia and Pacific
  4. North America
  5. Latin America and the Caribbean
  6. West Asia
Other beneficiaries

Water using companies (WBCSD members and beyond) ; all water users within watersheds in which these companies have facilities

Countries
India
India
Sweden
Sweden
Ibero-American Network of Life Cycle Assesment
United States of America
United States of America
Contact Information

Tom, Senior Director, Nature Action & Member of the WBCSD Extended Leadership Group

Tom.Williams@wbcsd.org