UFI Webinar Available Online
AMWA members can now access a recording of the March 1 webinar on the 2010 Utility Financial Information (UFI) database on the association’s UFI webpage. More than 100 AMWA members took part in a one-hour webinar that provided: a brief review of the data compiled from the 106 survey responses; a discussion of the types of analyses utilities can conduct using the database to develop financial information tailored to their specific needs; and opportunities for trending between the 2008 and 2010 UFI databases. AMWA’s survey consultants Peiffer Brandt and Rocky Craley of Raftelis Financial Consultants, Inc. conducted the session.
The UFI webinar and the PowerPoint slides can be accessed online.
Water Intensive Businesses Report Shortages, High Prices
A report commissioned by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) found that large companies in water-intensive sectors are already experiencing detrimental impacts including disruption to operations from drought or flooding, declining water quality necessitating costly on-site pre-treatment and increases in water prices. In a survey of companies in 25 countries, 39 percent of the 147 respondents said they were experiencing these negative impacts. About 50 percent said that the risks to their businesses because of water problems were current or near term – one to five years.
According to the report, CDP Water Disclosure, the companies most at risk were in the food and drink, tobacco, and metals and mining sectors. The majority of companies (89 percent) have already developed specific water policies, strategies and plans, and 60 percent have set water-related performance targets. The report also identified companies showing best practices in response to water problems, providing insight into the strategies deployed by many of the largest companies in the world in relation to water use and ways to drive sustainability.
Information on the Carbon Disclosure Project is online.