Water Utilities and Services
The water utilities and services sector is critical to securing the availability and sustainability of water and sanitation for all - a basic human right and core to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6. However, the sector’s impacts and dependencies on nature in providing this public service are increasing, driven by growing demand and accelerating changes in our climate.
This places water utilities and services at the heart of the world’s response to the interconnected nature and climate crises. If not transformed urgently and conscientiously, the sector will continue to have significant impacts on nature, with unsustainable freshwater use and competition for water resources resulting in a global water crisis. The natural ecosystems and biodiversity that the sector interacts with are already in peril, particularly freshwater species which have seen an 83% decline globally since 1970. Water quality is also deteriorating, and 2 billion people do not currently have access to safe drinking water.
The sector actions serve as a guide to transform business practices and value chains and ensure the water utilities and services sector plays its part in halting and reversing nature loss by 2030 - the mission at the heart of the Global Biodiversity Framework.
The overview and report were led by Business for Nature and Accenture.
Scroll down to access additional resources, including the sector overview in Spanish.
Impacts on nature
Water utilities and services companies should direct their efforts towards addressing the most significant impacts on nature in their operations and value chains, namely:
Freshwater use
Pollution
Land and water use change and degradation
Greenhouse gas emissions
Dependencies on nature
The water utilities and services sector is dependent on ecosystem services to function and grow. Companies rely heavily on:
Water flow maintenance
Freshwater quantity (surface and ground water)
Freshwater quality (surface and ground water)
Soil quality
