Global frameworks and rules are being established for climate change, and such movements have begun for water as well. Suntory was selected as one of the three pilot companies for the "freshwater" hub, along with General Mills and P&G, by an international organization SBTN and has involved in developing a methodology. SBTN develops methodologies for setting science-based targets (SBTs) to reduce environmental impacts in order to avoid the loss of nature in five areas: water, land, biodiversity, oceans, and climate. In this context, Suntory participated in the pilot as a company testing the SBTs for Water methodology for setting water targets.
In September 2022, the corporate technical guidance draft for setting science-based targets for freshwater was published and Suntory's pilot study case on freshwater was introduced as well. In this pilot study, we proposed challenges and solutions for capturing data on water use of raw ingredients in the regions where they are sourced. The draft guidance published this time reflects these suggestions.
Referring to the approach of the water risk assessments learnt from this pilot study, Suntory has revised its "Environmental Target 2030" in January 2022. Furthermore, for the future, we are working to contribute to the creation of a global framework, including the development of new water risk assessment indicators in collaboration with universities and other water experts.
You can read more about the pilot study case here in the external website.