Does the concept of 'creating shared value' hold water?

摘要

In its entirety, the sentiment of CSV is sensible - if society fails, so does business. The financial crisis provides an example of the symbiosis between corporate performance and social well-being: and of the obligations faced by businesses and the government to confirm that business behaves in ways which advance the public and private good. The objective is not to look at CSV in its entirety, but rather to focus on its representation of water use, delving deeper into what CSV means for this specific and unique resource. The central tenet of both water stewardship and CSV - that companies share a need with the public for reliable water services and sustainable water resources management - is sound. Inevitably, some companies will demonstrate the foresight to recognize incentives for engaging more with society and the environment in mind. Trends in water resources suggest that many will have no choice. CSV theory needs to be better-supported with evidence from other science and policy domains which account for water realities in a hydrological and social sense to better-reflect business water risk. Without articulating how society benefits from better water management and what the role of companies is within that, CSV may remain solidly embedded in notions of resource efficiency and savings, often with poor water resource stewardship outcomes. Water challenges require much more from business than just estimating water volumes and reducing usage compared to targets; this thinking is perhaps the result of how companies address greenhouse gas emissions. Effective water stewardship requires an understanding of how external conditions define the risks to business now and under changing demographics and climate, and anticipates how business will respond to these issues at a local level. Efficient irrigation equipment and water reduction schemes may be enough to manage resources, even at impressive, albeit elementary, levels in the realm of shared value, but they are likely to be insufficient in the wider realm of risk mitigation and water resource management for society and business. We propose integrating water stewardship thinking into CSV to address an increasingly important private and public sector challenge - how to provide access to water for ecosystems, businesses, agriculture and society.