Global Water Scarcity: Risks and Challenges for Business

A new Lloyd’s 360 Risk Insight report says businesses must act now in the face of diminishing water supplies.

Businesses around the world must act now if they are to fend off the threat of a growing water shortage.

This stark warning comes from the latest Lloyd’s 360 Risk Insight report, ‘Global water scarcity,’ which looks at the issue of water scarcity and its impact on business. The report, produced in conjunction with the WWF, reveals that global water resources are under increasing threat, with water supplies and aquifers – underground layers of water-bearing rock and other materials – drying up.

According to the report, only 3% of water in the world is fresh water and only 1% is readily usable to humans. What’s more, increased demand for food and water resulting from population growth; climate change; and higher per capita water requirements resulting from increased living standards are all threatening this already limited supply.