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Water Conservation

4/30/2015

The famous poetic line “water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink” may hold more truth than most retailers realize.

“Less than 1% of water is drinkable and readily available, and less than 1% of that is surface water,” Jerry Yudelson, president, Green Building Initiative, told SPECS attendees. His session, “Water Conservation — Become a Water Wizard, Not a Water Wastrel,” focused on the macro-issues affecting global water usage, as well as micro-issues specifically affecting how retailers use the world’s most vital resource.

On the macro-scale, Yudelson explained that due to climate change, there is an increasing number of droughts around the world. Despite dwindling resources, water usage is expected to increase 10% or more per year.

For retailers, Yudelson said water poses a significant business risk and is actually more of a current threat than climate change.

“Climate change is a long-term threat,” he stated. “Water is an immediate threat.”

With regard to retail stores, Yudelson cautioned that installing lower-density fixtures is not an automatic solution.

“If you put a bunch of water-conserving fixtures in an old building, you won’t have enough water to flush the lines,” he explained. “There are unintended consequences to reduced water usage, such as to localized drain lines and public health.”

Yudelson said retailers have a “dynamic opportunity” to do something now about water conservation. “Starbucks stores ran water continuously a few years ago,” said Yudelson. “They stopped.”

Other suggestions Yudelson had for retailers looking to reduce their water footprint include vetting the supply chain to reduce water use both in raw materials (such as cotton) and in production. He also recommended changing store landscaping to reduce the need for irrigation, as well as the use of advanced technology.

“You can use cloud technology to monitor water usage,” said Yudelson. “Retailers should learn new technology.”

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