Access to water - an introduction
Below are select introductory materials on business and access to water. Further reports from a wide range of sources are in the "Access to water" section of our site.
- Key international standards
- Key reports & guidance
- Concerns, company responses & non-responses
- Positive steps by companies
- Lawsuits regarding access to water
Key international standards
Intl. Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: article 11.1
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: General Comment 15
Draft guidelines for the realization of the right to drinking water and sanitation [PDF], UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights
Human rights and access to safe drinking water and sanitation [PDF], UN Human Rights Council: paragraphs 7, 9
Key reports & guidance
The right to water [PDF], WHO, OHCHR, COHRE, CESR, Water Aid, Feb 2003
World Water Day and related events, Mar 2009
Draft - Business, Human Rights and the Right to Water Challenges, Dilemmas and Opportunities, Roundtable Consultative Report [PDF], Institute for Human Rights and Business, Jan 2009
Concerns, company responses & non-responses
The Resource Centre invites companies to respond to allegations of misconduct. Below are examples of allegations and company responses regarding access to water. We also indicate when a company has not responded.
Mexico: Allegations that Minefinders' subsidiary pollutes water sources, Aug 2008. Minefinders response.
New Caledonia: Indigenous group protests Inco's Goro mine, concerned about future impacts on water supply, Apr 2006. Inco response.
Pakistan: Concerns that Nestlé's 'Pure Life' exacerbates drinking water crisis, Apr 2005. Nestlé response.
Positive steps by companies
Global: Policy statements recognising the right to water by PepsiCo, Suez ("Access to water is a basic human right", "The right to water: the birth of an international human right"), Veolia
Eastern Europe/Central Asia: UNDP & Coca-Cola launch 5-year clean drinking water partnership in Commonwealth of Independent States & Europe
India, Nepal: UN-HABITAT & Coca-Cola agree on projects to improve access to water
Zimbabwe: Procter & Gamble and NGO provide water purification packets to help prevent cholera.
Lawsuits regarding access to water
Biwater-Tanzania arbitration over water provision in Dar es Salaam
Related stories and components
Procter & Gamble and Population Services International responding to cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe by providing 10 million liters of safe drinking water
Author: Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble and global health organization Population Services International (PSI) will provide 10 million liters of safe drinking water to help prevent cholera in Zimbabwe. More than one-thousand people have died from the current cholera...
- Related in-depth areas: Access to water - an introduction
- Related companies: Procter & Gamble
Author: Stockholm International Water Week, Borealis, Uponor
À l’occasion de la Semaine Mondiale de l’Eau de Stockholm, Borealis [joint venture de International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) of Abu Dhabi & OMV]...et Uponor...ont annoncé une initiative commune visant à appliquer pour la première fois...
Author: Jaime Avilés, La Jornada [México]
…Aguas de Barcelona (Agbar)…en 2001 se apoderó del sistema hídrico de la capital de Coahuila…Pese a que…la Ley…de Salud “prohíbe…que se le suspendan los servicios de agua potable a los edificios habitados”, Agsal [Aguas de Saltillo, de la que Agbar es...
- Related stories: México: Denuncian que compañía de agua Agbar "viola el derecho humano al agua" en Coahuila
- Related in-depth areas: Access to water - an introduction
- Related companies: Grupo Agbar
UN-HABITAT, Coca-Cola team up for clean water in South Asia
Author: UN News Centre
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) signed an agreement today with the soft drink conglomerate Coca-Cola to collaborate on projects to improve community access to water and sanitation in India and Nepal. Anna Tibaijuka,...
- Related in-depth areas: Access to water - an introduction
- Related companies: Coca-Cola
Carlsberg beer factory pollutes water in Gansu [China]
Author: Jongo News
A joint venture of world-renowned beer brand Carlsberg has polluted the water source of Tianshui city in Gansu province for more than ten years according to a report from CCTV...Benma Beer Factory [is] a joint venture of Carlsberg...[T]he water from...
- Related stories: China: Joint-venture involving Carlsberg found to be polluting local water supplies
- Related in-depth areas: Access to water - an introduction
- Related companies: Carlsberg Breweries
Encouraging Development [Egypt]
Author: Andrew Bossone, Business Today [Egypt]
Now the focus [of aid for development] has switched from one-time donations in the form of money, buildings or equipment, and is moving toward sustainable long-term projects and reforms with local and often private-sector partners...Intel is running a...
- Related in-depth areas: Access to water - an introduction
- Related companies: Barclays Citibank (part of Citigroup) Citigroup Coca-Cola Intel Procter & Gamble Vodafone
UNDP and The Coca-Cola Company Work Together for Clean Water
Author: UN-Business Focal Points
UNDP Regional Bureau for Europe, the CIS and The Coca-Cola Company announced a USD 6 million partnership agreement to cooperate on improving access to safe drinking water and other water projects in the region...The five-year partnership between RBEC...
- Related in-depth areas: Access to water - an introduction
- Related companies: Coca-Cola
Development Protest: Goro delayed by blockade [New Caledonia] [subscription only]
Author: Canadian Mining Journal
The wave of indigenous protest over the development of the Goro nickel mine (69% owned by INCO LTD. of Toronto) came to a head earlier this week. Kanak chiefs and villagers blockaded all land access to the plant, power plant and mine site beginning on...
- Related stories: New Caledonia: Indigenous group blockades access to Inco's Goro nickel mine, concerned about impacts on their water supply
- Related in-depth areas: Access to water - an introduction
- Related companies: Inco (part of Companhia Vale do Rio Doce)
Pharma factories poison village water [India]
Author: Khushwant Singh, Times of India
Four major pharma factories Ranbaxy Laboratories, Montari Industries (now closed), Max India and DSM India and a paper mill in the area have poisoned ground water with their toxic wastes to such an extent that the department of water supply and...
- Related stories: India: Ranbaxy, DSM India, Max India & others accused of poisoning ground water with toxic waste
- Related in-depth areas: Access to water - an introduction Environment - An introduction
- Related companies: DSM Max India Ranbaxy Laboratories
Major Rally Against Coca-Cola in India: Communities Oppose Proposed Coca-Cola Bottling Plant
Author: India Resource Center
...over 1,500 people rallied against a proposed Coca-Cola bottling plant [proposal by South India Bottling Company Private Limited, a Coca-Cola franchisee] in Gangaikondan village in Tirunelveli district in southern India on August 9, 2005...Water...
- Related stories: Gangaikondan, India: Protest against proposed Coca-Cola bottling factory, on grounds it will exacerbate water scarcity in the area
- Related in-depth areas: Access to water - an introduction
- Related companies: Coca-Cola