The Netherlands Embassy along with IWMI convened the fourth and final session in a series of dialogues on Climate Change and Water recently.
The focus this time was on the private sector and the specific risks, challenges and opportunities for collaboration in an increasingly climate-threatened environment.
Netherlands Ambassador Bonnie Horbach said, “Businesses have the biggest role to play in tackling climate change and water scarcity, responsible businesses are those not looking at profit alone but the future sustainability of their business.
“To mitigate the effects of climate change, we need to collaborate and move beyond corporate green washing and make firm commitments as businesses are key in the transformation process,” she said.
Ambassador Horbach called for governments, business entities, CSOs and individuals to work together “to develop effective solutions and ensure the sustainable development of our planet”. She affirmed the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands’ commitment to support countries that develop, implement and drive these transformative plans. Sri Lanka has opportunities to be a front runner in ensuring sustainable business practices both as a supplier and investment destination, she pointed out.
Principal Research and Country Manager of IWMI, Dr. Simon Langan said, “Not only should we try to mitigate but we have to know how to adapt. Addressing climate change was not a quick fix; it was intergenerational and would involve many decades. He too stressed that partnerships and collaboration were vital for arriving at solutions.” Panellists from the private sector included Dr. Roshan Rajadurai of Hayleys Plantations, Ms. Sharika Senanayake of MAS Holdings and Sean Henricus of Heineken Lanka Ltd. They represented three key water intensive sectors in Sri Lanka; the agricultural, apparel and brewery industries.
The private sector panellists discussed the impacts of climate change and water-related challenges on their respective industries. Climate has a huge impact on the tea industry, Dr. Rajadurai said. He said that a slight variation in the climate has a big impact in tea production.
There are many livelihoods dependent on the production of tea and it is imperative that every effort should go into sustaining the crop. Collaborative partnerships that included sharing best sustainability practices, know-how, data and experience, are crucial.
Henricus spoke of the critical impacts of climate change on the beer industry as all ingredients used in the manufacturing of beer were climate sensitive, primarily water. Water, the main ingredient, is sourced from Sri Lanka and hence a sustainability agenda is a key focus of Heineken.
Water treatment in all Heineken’s operating facilities is ongoing but they also aim to reduce the quantity of water used in the production of beer. This required intensive research in the brewing process.
He saw opportunity in global collaboration. Working with both public and private sector organisations to develop drought resistance systems for the production of the other key ingredients - hops and malt – would be a big step forward for the industry, he said.
Heineken was also keen to partner with other private sector organizations for identifying water stressed areas that required help.
Ms. Sharika Senanayake stated that adding value in all areas that the industry is involved in, is an important mandate for MAS Holdings as the apparel industry is one of Sri Lanka’s largest. Access to water and the quality of water is extremely essential for their production processes too.
MAS also is taking steps to reduce water-use intensity. Their target is water reduction by 65% by 2025. “I believe in absolute reduction’ she said. She saw a dearth in research data required for minimum water intensity in production and increasing water quality.
She called for assistance in this area from both the relevant government institutions and academia. She stated that water security is not just the availability of water but reviewing how it is being used whether in consumption, fishing or production.
There was a collective agreement by the private sector representatives that collaborative partnerships and a knowledge hub for accessing and sharing information, experiences and best practices is an essential requirement for cohesive action.
IWMI’s panelist Dr Niranga Alahakoon elaborated on a pilot project for providing bundled solutions for farmers including seed systems, index insurance and climate information. This complementary bundle of solutions is designed to protect farmers from climate-related risks such as drought and floods. Dr. Alahakoon cited the possibility of developing this project further to assist other sectors that are vulnerable to climate change.
The discussion concluded with an interactive question-and-answer session.