Access to fresh water is essential for human life and wellbeing and is recognised by the UN as a human right. The Sustainable Development Goals, adopted by the UN as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, include key targets related to sustainable water management under Goal 6: ‘Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all’. These targets aim, for example, to achieve universal access to safe and affordable drinking water, improve water quality, and address water scarcity. The amount of water withdrawn by a company and the quality of its discharges can impact the functioning of the ecosystem in numerous ways. Direct impacts on a catchment can have wider impacts on the quality of life in an area, including social and economic consequences for local communities and indigenous peoples. Since water is a shared resource, and water-related impacts are localised, companies are increasingly being encouraged to: Prioritise action in areas with water stress. Understand and respond to local contexts, including local social and environmental impacts. Aim to benefit and respect the needs and priorities of all water users in an area. Align their approaches and collective actions with other water users and with effective public policy. Through a comprehensive understanding of its water use, a company can assess the impacts it has on water resources that benefit the ecosystem, other water users, and the company itself. The disclosures in this topic only cover water withdrawal, since discharge may not be relevant for a majority of SMEs. It is however encouraged for SMEs to go beyond these disclosures if the company withdraws significant amounts of water directly from natural sources or discharges significant amounts of water/ effluents. The Environmental Quality Act 1974 (Act 127) regulates industrial wastewater treatment and discharge through the Environmental Quality (Industrial Effluent) Regulations 2009.
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