Our whole planet is dependent on the well-functioning of the marine ecosystem and on available and clean water resources (European Environmental Agency 2021).
Water resources and marine ecosystems are at risk
But water resources and marine ecosystems are endangered. The current amount of emitted global greenhouse gases leads to ocean warming, acidification and the loss of oxygen in the water which threatens the balance of marine ecosystems. This changes the natural living conditions of species and brings some of them to the brink of extinction. Moreover, oceans have absorbed more than 90% of excess heat in the climate system but their temperature is now at record levels, resulting in widespread marine heatwaves which further contribute to endanger marine ecosystems. Since oceans absorb about 30% of anthropogenic CO2 emissions, they play a critical role in keeping earth’s temperature at moderate levels (UN 2021).
To focus on the pressing issue of this topic, the conservation and sustainable usage of oceans, seas and marine resources has become one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (UN 2021). Also, the IPCC’s sixth assessment report, which was published in August this year, drew attention the many climate change impacts that are manifested through the global water cycle (IPCC 2021).
Since businesses emit a large amount of greenhouse gases, they are largely responsible for this heating. To make companies accountable and address the urgent need to protect water and marine resources, CDP added new water-related questions into its questionnaires. These include, for example, questions about an organization’s total water withdrawal efficiency figure and about the presence of at least one board member with competence on water-related issues (CDP 2021). But completing the CDP questionnaire is not always an easy task and improvements are easier to gain with experts on your side.
How DFGE can help you
As a CDP silver climate change consultancy partner DFGE helps responding companies with the completion of their CDP questionnaire from data collection to final submission. With our expertise and as accredited provider, we can minimize efforts and resources at your end and ensure a successful participation with our CSR reporting solutions. DFGE offers support and advice on CDP participation – in the form of workshops, data collection and suggested responses (“Professional”), but also as a complete service (“Enterprise”) including the preparation of the company-wide Carbon Footprint, detailed gap-analysis, and suggestions for CDP responses.
We look forward to supporting you with our more than 20 years of sustainability expertise and our customized services! Contact us for more information at or +49.8192.99733-20.
Sources
- United Nations 2021: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/oceans/
- IPCC 2021: AR6 Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis — IPCC
- European Environmental Agency: https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/water/intro
- CDP 2021: https://www.cdp.net/en
