As large companies such as Coca-Cola and Dow Chemical work to reduce water consumption as well as their exposure to water risks across the globe, a new software tool will soon be available to help. But while many solutions to the environmental problems faced by companies are developed by non-governmental organisations, the new water assessment tool is the result of collaboration between the companies themselves.

Tapping into the knowledge and experience of its members, the work of the Water Working Group is just one example of the cooperative, member-led nature of the initiatives to emerge from the Geneva-based World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

Launched just before the Rio Earth Summit of 1992, the WBCSD was established with the aim of putting the resources of multinational businesses behind the promotion of sustainable development and giving industry a powerful new voice in global debates on environmental issues.

Gaining the credibility needed for this voice to be heard has not been easy, and in the past some activist organisations have criticised the WBCSD for a distinct lack of action.

Nevertheless, by 2002, at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg, it was able to team up with one of the most influential of corporate critics, Greenpeace, to deliver a united message demanding greater action by governments on climate change.

Today, the organisation has 200 members drawn from 20 industrial sectors in more than 30 countries. Since its launch as an environmental body it has expanded its activities, promoting strategies to enable businesses to foster development through their commercial activities.

Initiatives to which members contribute their expertise and experience include not only water management but also energy efficiency in buildings and sustainable forestry management.

The WBCSD also publishes reports and books to help companies keep up to speed on developments in the areas in which they operate. For their part, members – who are invited to join the council by the executive committee – agree to make their knowledge and experience available to the organisation and report on their environmental and social performance.

In addition, the WBCSD has partnerships with United Nations agencies and multilateral institutions such as the World Bank, as well as with non-governmental organisations and non-profit organisations such as the World Wildlife Fund and the Earthwatch Institute.

Indeed, the WBCSD’s extensive list of partnerships reflects the view of its president, Björn Stigson, that organisations cannot go it alone when trying to address intractable social and environmental problems.

“The painful choices will require partnerships that can create trust for the difficult trade-offs that we need to make to create a sustainable future,” he told a conference in Oslo in March. “No part of society can do this on their own; we are in this together.”