Water stewardship refers to the ethical management of water resources to meet invested stakeholders’ sustainability goals, equity, and economic development. 

Water stewardship is vital because water is a finite resource that is being consumed at a rapid pace. Add on the millions of gallons of water polluted daily by modern economies, and you have a water crisis that threatens the well-being of every human on the planet.

Stewardship responsibility means consuming water consciously with an eye toward ethical management for the benefit of others.

Track your water stewardship

Everyone is responsible for water stewardship, including entities like businesses. Anyone or anything that uses water is responsible for its stewardship. Fortunately, ethical management is simple with sustainability specialists like FigBytes.

FigBytes is a fully integrated Environment, Health, and Safety (EHS) and sustainability management platform that streamlines an organization’s data across the board. EHS platforms automate reporting and utilize dynamic communication tools to help businesses overcome common challenges in water stewardship. 

What is ethical management?

Ethics are moral values that govern human behavior. Ethical management is the implementation of moral values into management plans to ensure that resources like water are conserved and protected from abuse. 

As climate change and pollution grow as a topic of concern for the global economy, business owners must be accountable for the externalities of their business to conserve Earth’s most incredible natural resource. 

What is stopping water stewardship?

Capitalist interests have stalled the universal adoption of water stewardship and its subsequent development and implementation. For business, water stewardship is a cost on a spreadsheet. Conserving and protecting water resources provides no intrinsic benefit to most business models.

 Economically speaking, water stewardship makes little sense for business owners, at least in the short term.

However, water stewardship is vital to business longevity. As water resources continue to dwindle, the operation costs of businesses that consume water will rise or become entirely unprofitable. More importantly, the humanitarian need for water stewardship is at an all-time high. As the global economy grows, resources for underprivileged communities shrink.

How can water stewardship be implemented?

The implementation of water stewardship depends on savvy entrepreneurs who can place a dollar value on sustainability. The dollar value of water stewardship may come in the form of tax incentives from governing bodies or revenue from packaging and selling the practice of water stewardship.

What is the solution?

The solution to the lack of global water stewardship is reframing the risk inherent in wantonly consuming a limited, communal resource. Protecting and conserving water resources shouldn’t be viewed as a cost but as a beneficial public relations approach that provides real value to communities across the globe.

Consumers are conscious of the threats posed to water by unchecked economic growth. Businesses can corner a burgeoning niche market with ethical action by transitioning to a green business model or adopting green-forward water stewardship programs.

Before you go

Consider the impact water stewardship has on humanity. Ethical water stewardship provides people with food, water, and economic opportunity.