By Harriet Cullum

Water is in every product we make. For Diageo, managing our impact on water – and being good stewards of this precious shared resource – is integral to achieving our performance ambition, to maintaining our licence to operate and to our response to the climate risk. We report fully and transparently on our water risks and performance – including in our Annual Report and accompanying ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) Reporting Index – and are consistently rated high performers in external indices and rankings.

Diageo therefore warmly welcomes the EU Water Resilience Strategy: together we can accelerate adaptation and lead the transition towards sustainable water management.

However, we might be the most water-efficient distillery or brewery, but it would unfortunately not be enough. The climate crisis is a water crisis, and it is disproportionately impacting the most vulnerable in society. The only way to tackle it is to adopt a holistic, whole-of-society approach. Collaboration and collective action are essential for building broader supply chain resilience. Companies, governments, civil society, communities and scientific experts need to work together at global, country and local levels to advocate a fair and inclusive response to the crisis. Together we can share knowledge, exchange good practices and technological expertise in water management, and pool resources to identify and implement concrete solutions for addressing our shared water challenge.

Synergies could be created with the Water Action Hub, a global online collaboration and knowledge-sharing platform developed by the UN's CEO Water Mandate to help companies and other organisations address water risk, advance sustainable water management and build collective action from an economic and shared water risk perspective.

A water-resilient Europe is a climate-resilient Europe, with a thriving, innovative agricultural sector which relies on efficient water use and water-efficient ingredients. If we want to address the water crisis effectively, these pillars cannot be mutually exclusive. Water, carbon, soil health and biodiversity are all inter-connected. As a result, the key to achieving better outcomes for water is to consider the broader landscape, the players operating within it, and their co-dependencies.

We believe that regenerative agriculture and landscape management have the potential to generate combined benefits, such as reducing and storing carbon emissions, optimising fertiliser use and addressing water quality challenges and nature loss over the longer term. To get there, digitalisation – coupled with education and upskilling – will be pivotal. We look forward to partnering with the EU to ensure that our supply chains take account of the transition towards sustainable agriculture and efficient water use.

Finally, innovation and new technologies are critical for improving water-use efficiency and building climate resilience. For example, we are continuously improving our operational excellence through investment in less water-intensive processes and technologies (such as water-less cooling towers and optimised water use associated with clean-in-place systems through sensor technology), as well as in water reuse and water recycling projects.

We are doing our part: for more than twenty years, Diageo has been investing in water, our most precious resource, adopting a holistic strategy which incorporates the interdependencies between water security, climate change risk, access to drinking water, gender equality, nature and regenerative agriculture in order to help unlock the investment needed to address the water crisis.

A key pillar to our approach to water is that it should remain people-centric. We strive to provide access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in water-stressed communities near our sites and in water-stressed areas that supply our raw materials. Since 2020 we have implemented 35 WASH projects, benefiting nearly 200 000 people, mostly in rural communities.

While we are well positioned to meet our water efficiency targets for our direct operations, addressing water recycling and upcycling beyond the four walls of our sites presents untapped potential for securing water resilience in Europe. Together we can promote, incentivise and reward water reuse and recycling. There is therefore a strong business case for investment in water, not only to accelerate and scale up the combined impact we can have together, but also to help build resilient, inclusive communities. As a result, we see the EU Water Strategy as a key enabler for European industry to partner with the EU so as to accelerate the transition towards sustainable water management.

To conclude, a water-resilient Europe will be a competitive Europe, as it will be driven by sustainable innovation, technology development and job creation. European industry has accumulated decades-long expertise and can play a leading role in supporting this transition. We are excited to be part of this project and to contribute to this journey.

Harriet Cullum is a sustainability leader and Global Head of Water, Agriculture and Nature at Diageo, a global leader in premium drinks, across spirits and beer. She previously served as Global Head of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) Insights and was in charge of ESG reporting.

Diageo is Europe’s leading global premium drinks producer that owns and produces over 200 brands (including internationally renowned names such as Baileys, Guinness, Tanqueray and Johnnie Walker) and operates across more than 180 countries.