Water
The natural environment plays a critical role in sustaining life and supporting the production of our food system. Our Natural Resource Stewardship Strategy prioritises driving a positive impact across water, biodiversity and soil. The natural environment is complex and interconnected and making progress in these areas helps us also deliver our broader carbon and climate change programme.
Globally, the demand for water is rising. However, with increased extreme weather events such as drought being caused by climate change estimates expect the gap between water demand and supply to grow, with a dramatic and unequal increase in demand between countries.
Agricultural supply chains use the vast majority of global freshwater resources. Poor management practices can lead to pollution and water scarcity in already water stressed areas. As a signatory of the WRAP Courtauld 2030 Roadmap, we are working to deliver the 2030 commitment to source 50% of the UK’s fresh food from areas with sustainable water management. By integrating this commitment into our supply chains, we are taking action in the highest water risk and impact area of our business.
We are also committing to reducing our operational water usage year on year, as we recognise that our own business water usage is an area we can impact and manage to use water more efficiently and intelligently.
50% of fresh food to be sourced from areas with sustainable water management:
In collaboration with key suppliers, we are mapping high impact areas of our fresh food supply chains to understand the challenges and opportunities for more sustainable water management.
Alongside our supply chain mapping, we also support a number of global water stewardship projects in collaboration with WRAP. Improving water use and building resilience in global supply chains is vital to sustainably feed a growing population with healthy and affordable products.
Case studies
Case study: Water Stewardship in South Spain
One million tonnes of fruit and veg are imported into the UK annually from Southern Spain1 and 33% of Asda’s fruit and vegetable imports come from the region. Southern Spain is one of the most at-risk sourcing regions for UK supply in terms of water scarcity. Agriculture is a key driver and accounts for between 70-80% of water use in recent years. The water stress in Southern Spain is having a negative impact on already fragile ecosystems.
As part of a cross-industry group working with WRAP2, Asda have made a three year commitment and funding to the ‘Water Stewardship in South Spain’ project, which is taking action to significantly reduce water-related risks in the fruit and veg production areas of Andalusia, Murcia and Valencia. The programme manages a collective action to increase water collection at the catchment or river basin level, in addition to a range of interventions including nature-based solutions, farmer engagement and knowledge sharing, working with certification bodies and joint advocacy to improve water governance.
Credit: WRAP. Map showing the hottest areas in Southern Spain.
1United Kingdom Food Security Report 2021: Theme 2: UK Food Supply Sources – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
2Water Stewardship in Southern Spain: Live project | WRAP.
Water Sensitive Farming
In the UK, both summer droughts, record breaking rainfall and winter flooding are hitting the headlines more and more as our climate changes. Such extremes are clearly bad news for agriculture, which is why we are working with our UK farmers to understand water risks in our supply chain.
Saving water across Asda stores
As a large organisation we have focussed on fixing leaks, making sure our existing systems are working effectively and adopting water reduction technologies. For example, in a number of our depots we have deployed rainwater harvesting systems and implemented waterless urinals and low usage taps in our stores and offices. We also closely monitor our water consumption using meter readings automatically taken every 30 minutes, any increases in consumption will result in an investigation.