The Stream, October 23: Businesses and Water

The Carbon Disclosure Project of London, UK has released the Water Disclosure Report 2012 which summarizes the voluntary water use reports of 318 companies from around the world. 53 percent of participating businesses reported experiencing “detrimental water-related business impacts.” Notably, the findings revealed that “the Energy sector has recorded the lowest response rate of any sector for the past two years.” According to Bloomberg, the report – released today – coincides with the Bloomberg New Energy Finance water forum in San Diego.

Proposed Changes to Canada Water Law
The Vancouver Sun reports that changes to Canada’s 1882 Navigable Waters Protection Act have been proposed within a budget implementation bill in Parliament. The Act would be replaced by a new Navigation Protection Act. The aim of the legislation, according to Transport Minister Denis Lebel, was to decrease the red tape imposed on industry by provisions of the present Navigable Waters Protection Act. View a map of the 97 lakes, 62 rivers, and coastal ocean waters covered by the proposed legislation on o.canada.com.

Keystone XL Pipeline Back in Action
TransCanada, the company operating the Keystone XL pipeline, has resumed oil flows now that safety checks have been completed, The Washington Post reported. Concerns about leaks in a portion of the pipeline between Missouri and Illinois had been cleared since Saturday.

Veolia and Suez Environment Deny Merger Talks
Bloomberg reported that stock values slid for two of Europe’s water companies, Veolia and Suez Environment, after both companies denied holding merger talks earlier this month. Combined the companies hold 55 percent of France’s drinking water market by population.

UN Report: Impact of Disaster on Asia-Pacific
Today the the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction released the report Reducing Vulnerability and Exposure to Disasters: The Asia-Pacific Disaster Report 2012. Among the key findings: development can both positive reduce vulnerability and negatively contributes to expanding populations to exposure to disaster; vulnerability to disaster can be improved by investment; and that “ecosystem management, land-use planning, supply chain management, and disaster recovery have the potential to reduce exposure” to risk.

The Stream is a daily digest spotting global water trends. To get more water news, follow Circle of Blue on Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.