Developing a sustainability index for companies' efforts on responsible use of water

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate an initial set of formative indicators to measure the level of efforts on sustainable use of water by companies from different sectors to eventually generate an index with a ranking of such companies. Design/methodology/approach - The authors started with unstructured data from an open-ended survey conducted by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) on over 300 global companies. Using data from 158 of the companies in that survey from 27 different two-digit UK SIC codes, the authors devised the indicators, translated these into questions requiring response on a seven-point Likert scale, and then coded the companies' response in the CDP survey for the questionnaire. Findings - First, all the questions were valid in that responses could be provided. Second, in open-ended surveys like CDP's survey, companies provided information only on selected dimensions and not on others. Third, across sectors, companies are putting more effort on usage efficiency relative to where the water comes from or where it goes after use. Research limitations/implications - The questions still require field-testing for validation and user acceptance. Practical implications - The proposed questions could become part of a survey for companies to self-assess or to disclose information on the sustainable use of water. An index created using disclosed data would motivate companies to make more effort towards sustainable use of water. Originality/value - The authors believe this to be the first effort towards formulating a sustainability index of companies' use of water.