We live in a world in which 2.6bn people consume water from unsafe and polluted sources, according to United Nations figures. Against this, it takes up to 100,000 litres to produce 1kg of beef, 75 litres to make one computer chip and 780 litres to create one litre of fruit juice, says Waterwise, a UK non-governmental organisation – an idea known as “embedded water”.

These realities are now colliding, with serious consequences for business. “Everyone understands that water is essential to life. But many are just beginning to grasp how essential it is to everything in life – food, energy, transportation, nature, leisure, identity, culture and virtually all products used on a daily basis,” says Lloyd Timberlake of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, a business think-tank, which next week launches a report on the subject.