Shared Risks and Interests

Abstract

Some practitioners have suggested there is a strong business case for companies to advance sustainable water management in their operations, supply chain, and society more broadly. The concept of “shared risk” articulates that the conditions that drive water risks for industry also create risk for other segments of society and that there is a shared interest across sectors in more sustainable water management and robust water governance processes. Others have challenged the legitimacy of this concept, citing inherent conflicts between corporate and other societal uses of water and a history of corporate policies that prioritize profit over the public interest. This chapter explores this debate. In doing so, it strives to demonstrate shared interest among sectors and an opportunity for companies to contribute to sustainable water management, but it also acknowledges that there are indeed conflicting interests that pose real threats to the public interest. Though there is significant potential for a more progressive and enlightened corporate stance in the ways companies view and advance public interest goals, we are surely only at the beginning of this paradigm shift. Ultimately, this chapter aims to foster a nuanced debate of how the private sector can meaningfully support and facilitate strong water governance in ways that simultaneously improve business viability and advance the public interest.