Since 2011, H&M Group and WWF have addressed water issues in the fashion industry. And the work has been fruitful – not only has it made H&M Group’s operations and value chain cleaner and more water efficient, but has also brought together companies, policy makers and communities to find ways to share water resources more sustainably.
Ten years have passed since H&M Group and WWF first partnered on water. During this time the partnership has, following WWFs model for water stewardship, focused on making the H&M Group supply chain’s water use more responsible and on engaging the wider industry on the issue of water.
Working in countries with intense textile production, such as China and Turkey, has sparked water awareness in these regions. Models to improve water management in industrial parks are expanding to other regions and hundreds of suppliers and industrial park managers participate in annual training programs that WWF and H&M Group have been part of initiating.
To date, around ten global companies have joined WWF’s programs on water stewardship. This means addressing water risks in their supplier factories – spreading water stewardship practices further in the industry.
The partnership continues to pave way in the area of water stewardship, adapting water targets to context and preparing to take the steps towards science based targets for water (when the methodology has been developed) in H&M Group globally.
When our water journey with WWF started, we were exploring unknown territory. Today, we are glad we were bold enough to take those steps. It’s a different landscape now – both suppliers and brands are starting to realize the magnitude of water risks, and are joining in to tackle challenges together with us.
SHARIFUL HOQUE, Global Water Responsible, H&M Group
There is a critical need for companies to shift from business-as-usual performances towards efforts in line with nature’s boundaries. We work with businesses to rapidly transition towards science-based targets and welcome the opportunity to work with the H&M Group as they continue to demonstrate leadership on water stewardship.
Alexis morgan, GLOBAL WATER STEWARDSHIP LEAD AT WWF
Water is essential for all life on Earth. But problems with freshwater availability and contamination are spreading across the globe. Today, around 2,3 billion people live under water stress. According to WWF’s Living Planet Report 2020, global freshwater species populations have on average declined with 84 percent since 1970. In addition, World Economic Forum has ranked the water crisis among the ten top risks facing our society.
Many industries, such as the fashion industry, is reliant on abundant amounts of clean water, but often also contributes to the contamination of it. It is therefore vital that the private sector takes responsibility and come together with business peers, policy makers, NGOs and communities to deal with these challenges.
This is why WWF and H&M Group entered a collaboration on water stewardship in 2011; to improve water management across H&M’s value chain as well as to work collectively with others, within and beyond the fashion industry, for a more responsible water use.
A company needs to address the water impact, but for river basins where multiple users are based, this will not be enough. Therefore, the core of WWF’s water stewardship work is the idea of collaboration. Water is a shared resource and to make it sustainable, all water users in a river basin must work together.
For the partnership, applying this way of thinking has meant improving H&M Group’s internal water management (step 1-3) as well as working with business peers, NGOs, policy makers and local communities to address shared water challenges at various levels (step 4-5).
South Africa’s Drakensberg grasslands are home to more than 2500 species of plants and endangered birds such as the wattled crane. Fresh water from this area provides crucial clean drinking water for millions of people. It’s also an important landscape for sheep farming. But this landscape and its health as an important freshwater catchment area is under threat due to human activity. In 2021, WWF and H&M Group started a regenerative wool production partnership project in this landscape.
In 2016, the partnership released two reports illustrating the gap between water policy and implementation in Bangladesh and how it is likely to affect the country’s economic growth. The reports acted as a catalyst for a new program set to focus on water issues.
Between 2014-2020, the partnership engaged in river basin work in the Taihu area in China. The work targeted suppliers, policy makers, local communities and brands – ranging from supplier trainings and scalable industry park programs, to initiating meeting forums where joint water challenges could be addressed.
Water challenges can never be solved by a company or organization alone. An important part of the H&M Group and WWF partnership work has been to raise awareness on water risks – but also on the opportunities and the solutions needed to fix them – to other brands.
The first important step of becoming a water steward, is to gain an understanding of the water challenges, how these are impacted by the business, and then take measures to address them.
In 2017, WWF Turkey with partners started a cleaner production movement in the Buyuk Menderes river basin, supported by the WWF H&M Group partnership. Following the initiative, WWF Turkey and the partnership released a guide demonstrating clean tech best practice to encourage other textile suppliers and brands to invest in clean tech.
The fashion and textile industry has a critical role to play in supporting SDG 6 commitments, not just around reducing its own impacts but also in supporting other actors, including governments in achieving water goals.
All industries face water risks, but risks vary given the context of industry and its locations. Setting relevant water targets for a company is challenging, as they must support strategic corporate goals while also account for shared water challenges in different contexts. H&M Group was an early adopter of the WWFs Water Risk Filter and now works to set contextual water targets.
Have resources and funding in place early – if possible, overestimate for unexpected events. Unchartered work can be difficult to foresee, and might, if not prepared for, bring work to a halt.
Organizations have different cultures, purposes and visions, which can, in a partnership like this, be a challenge. Having transparency and keeping focus on shared goals, can help you stay on track.
…especially when work is breaking new ground. Tools and models can bring guidance, but one always need to work locally to understand key issues and involve local stakeholders to find relevant solutions.
Expectations on timing, pace and who will do what might differ from organization to organization, so make sure to define and communicate that clearly.
Solving complex problems as water management in an entire river basin with pioneering methods requires long term perspective, patience, expertise and a lot of engagement.
Water has a local context. Taking this into account when forming a transformational water strategy helps companies use resources more efficiently, while delivering more meaningful impact for company, nature and people.
Senior Manager Corporate Partnerships
