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Suez
Environnement Embarks on a New Way of Doing Business
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Suez revised
its business model with the goal of
achieving sustainable and autonomous water
services.
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In a world where almost one
billion people lack access to an improved water
source, access to potable drinking water is an
urgent human need. Access is often complicated,
however, by a lack of physical infrastructure,
appropriate contractual frameworks, or even (in the
case of "unofficial" or squatter communities)
government support.
Two years ago, Suez
Environnement (Suez), one of the world's largest
private providers of water and sanitation services,
convened international experts, governmental and
non-governmental organizations, and other opinion
leaders in Paris and New York, and asked these
stakeholders to help define what it means to be a
socially responsible provider of one of life's
essential resources.
This past February, leadership
from Suez and its U.S. subsidiary, United Water,
reconvened these stakeholders to report on the
company's new business model, which incorporates
stakeholder ideas and suggestions for meeting the
water needs of diverse communities — particularly
where water quality and access are critical issues —
maintaining high standards of environmental
stewardship; and meeting its obligations to
shareholders.
"Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR) data are now at least as important as
financial data," explained Suez Executive Vice
President Dominique Pin. "Our sustainable
development policy is at the heart of our corporate
strategy." Rather than relegate CSR to an isolated
program or corporate relations function, Suez has
revised its business model, shifting from what it
calls the "logic of contracts" (still applicable in
the developed countries where Suez does business) to
the "logic of process" — a continuous sequence of
multi-party dialogue, capacity building, and social
empowerment, with the goal of achieving sustainable
and autonomous water services.
As one segment of its new
business model, Suez intends to provide technical
assistance and humanitarian aid to finance water
supply and sanitation projects in poor communities
through the Suez Environnement Foundation.
Forty-five percent of the Foundation's €3 million
budget will help finance projects through
Aquassistance, its employees' association, and
through a variety of other NGOs, such as the Red
Cross. Another 30% will go toward training and
capacity building services. In Burkina Faso, to name
one example, the Foundation has partnered with the
NGO Secours Catholique to support community
initiatives on water, sanitation, and hygiene,
resulting in 55 new water distribution points in 38
villages, as well as the construction of latrines
and provision of water management and hygiene
training.
Karin Krchnak, Senior Advisor on
International Water Policy for The Nature
Conservancy, commended Suez for its proactive
approach. Erica Lasdon, a senior social research
analyst and portfolio team manager for Calvert,
added that Suez's "programs and policies [to promote
transparency and fight corruption] are quite
impressive, and I'm pleased to see them."
Mr. Pin underscored the
importance of this stakeholder dialogue to Suez in
the face of a worldwide water crisis. "We have to
listen more attentively to stakeholders and respond
to their high expectations. [The crisis] will
particularly affect the poor, which accentuates our
social responsibility and the role Suez plays in
delivering the essentials of life for all."
"I'm thrilled at the company's
progress," said Brad Gentry, Senior Lecturer and
Co-director of the Center for Business and the
Environment at Yale University, as well as a member
of Suez's Foresight Advisory Council. "[They] have
covered almost all the points we talked about [at
the last stakeholder dialogue meeting]. I like that
the company's priorities are actionable, measurable,
empowering, linked to core business models, and
provide for engagement with the full range of people
affected by water services."
RESOLVE Contacts:
Gail Bingham and
Dana Goodson
Water Win:
Collaboration strengthens safe drinking water
framework
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Stakeholder
recommendations will
ensure safety of
America's drinking water.
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On September 18, 2008, a
stakeholder advisory committee achieved strong
consensus on recommendations to the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to improve the
Total Coliform Rule (TCR), the principal regulatory
tool under the Safe Drinking Water Act that protects
the quality of potable water in the distribution
system – and the one rule that affects all public
water systems in the United States.
The TCR, which sets legal limits
for the presence of total coliforms (TC) in drinking
water and requires all public water systems to
monitor for the presence of TC in the distribution
system, was last revised in 1989. Numerous changes
have occurred since that time, both in the number of
new regulations that have been promulgated under the
Safe Drinking Water Act and in scientific knowledge.
In 2007, EPA established the Total Coliform
Rule/Distribution System Advisory Committee
(TCRDSAC) and charged it with developing an
Agreement in Principle (AIP) on recommended
revisions to the TCR, and on what information is
needed to better understand and address possible
public health impacts from potential degradation of
drinking water quality in distribution systems.
As a result of its
deliberations, the TCRDSAC reached consensus on a
more proactive approach designed to trigger systems
with positive TC/E.
coli samples to do an assessment,
identify the presence of "sanitary defects," and
correct such defects accordingly. The Committee also
reached consensus on recommendations for research
and information collection efforts.
"This is a roadmap for
strengthening safeguards against harmful bacteria in
distribution lines and ensuring America's water
remains among the safest in the world," said
Benjamin H. Grumbles, EPA's assistant administrator
for water.
EPA invested extensive staff
time and resources in support of its commitment to a
collaborative rule revision process. The RESOLVE
team, which facilitated the TCRDSAC and its
Technical Work Group over a 15-month period, also
notes the extensive efforts many member
organizations made to keep their national
memberships informed during the Committee's
deliberations. As a result, the AIP goes beyond
concurrence to active support of the
recommendations.
"EPA's Office of Ground Water
and Drinking Water has a long-standing commitment to
collaborative relationships with all stakeholders,"
said Lynn Thorp of Clean Water Action. "This
provided a strong foundation for the TCRDSAC."
Other factors contributing to
the success of the process included a clear process
map and the adoption of a set of ten explicit
criteria against which to evaluate a revised TCR.
Along with the facilitation team, respected neutral
technical experts worked for the committee as a
whole, presenting jointly produced findings to the
Committee.
David Baird, City Manager of
Milford, Delaware and representative for the
National Rural Water Association, said the
recommendations "improve a very complex rule for all
of the country's over 150,000 small and rural
communities. This proposal makes the rule more
affordable in small towns and allows for enhanced
public health protection by focusing our
communities' public health resources on the most
pressing risks."
Click here for more information.
RESOLVE Contacts:
Kathy Grant and
Gail Bingham
Voluntary standard coupled with legislation
raises the bar for "green" cleaning
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Stakeholder
interest in the GS-37 revision
was exceptionally
high.
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Concerned about the health and
environmental impacts of chemicals used in cleaning
products, the states of New York and Illinois have
passed laws requiring schools to adopt "green"
cleaning programs. The implications for cleaning
product manufacturers are potentially enormous,
especially as other states consider similar bills to
ensure the health and safety of school children, the
occupational safety of custodial workers exposed to
cleaning products, and the lifecycle impacts of
those products on the environment.
New York's Green Clean Schools
Act (9/1/06) references Green Seal, an independent
eco-labeling program that works with manufacturers,
purchasers, and end users to develop environmental
certification standards used to certify more than
3,000 products and services. But the state's Health
Services Division wanted to ensure that GS-37,
"Environmental Standard for General-Purpose
Bathroom, Glass, and Carpet Cleaners Used for
Industrial and Institutional Purposes," reflected
the most current scientific data on chemicals
suspected of causing asthma, and that it addressed
problems resulting from chronic inhalation as well
as toxic effects of skin exposure.
Green Seal typically reviews its
standards at least every five years, following ISO
principles and procedures and other guidance to
encourage stakeholder participation in a transparent
review process, and to ensure that certification
standards are based on sound scientific principles
and data.
Given the green clean schools
legislation, stakeholder interest in the GS-37
revision was exceptionally high. RESOLVE was brought
in to facilitate a process that involved nearly 400
registered stakeholders, a technical team, and an
Executive Committee representing industry, health
experts, children's advocates, and the State of New
York.
Following a 21-month process
during which shared learning took place, stakeholder
positions shifted, and areas of sustained opposition
narrowed, Green Seal concluded that respiratory
concerns could not be addressed without ruling out
certain chemicals. The revised standard, which
addressed issues such as inhalation exposure
(including asthmagens and chronic inhalation),
indoor air protection, skin exposure, packaging
innovations, and communication requirements for
labels and material safety data sheets, was not
endorsed by all stakeholders.
Green Seal President and CEO Dr.
Arthur B. Weissman noted the challenge of achieving
consensus among all parties on an environmental
leadership standard, even with "extraordinary
efforts" to reach agreement. Weissman nevertheless
expressed the hope that "many progressive
manufacturers will see the benefit of conforming to
a leadership standard that promotes more sustainable
cleaning products and will ensure a healthier,
cleaner environment for all."
RESOLVE Contact:
Jennifer Peyser
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