Sustainability Performance in the Water Supply
In order to render the sustainability performance of German water utilities measurable and evaluable, the team identified operational figures which it compiled into a catalogue.
Research approach
This catalogue then served as a socio-ecological rating system which provided a basis for surveys within the companies involved. In collaboration with its corporate partners, the team used the system to prepare a sustainability report. The 'Successful Communication of Sustainability Performance' handout now provides the sector with an effective tool, illustrating how water utilities can apply the rating system and use it to credibly communicate their achievements in the field of sustainability.
Background
Water utilities are faced with the challenge of finding a way to communicate their sustainability performance in a way that is credible both to insiders and to the outside world. This calls for an adequate means of measuring and evaluating their sustainability track record.
Project partners
- IWW Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wasserforschung gemeinnützige GmbH
- Arbeitsgruppe für regionale Struktur- und Umweltforschung GmbH (ARSU)
- Kommunale Wasserwerke Leipzig GmbH
- Städtische Werke AG, Kassel
- Oldenburgisch-Ostfriesischer Wasserverband
Funding
Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
Publications
Schramm, Engelbert (2008): Erfolgreiche Kommunikation von Nachhaltigkeitsleistungen. In: IWW Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wasserforschung gemeinnützige GmbH (Hg.): Prozesskennzahlen und Benchmarking. Perspektiven einer nachhaltigen Wasserwirtschaft. Dokumentation zum 21. Mülheimer Wassertechnischen Seminar vom 06.03.2008. Berichte aus dem IWW, 47. Mülheim an der Ruhr: Eigenverlag, 151-168
Schramm, Engelbert (2007): "Nachhaltigkeitsleistungen erfolgreich kommunizieren". Eine Handreichung für die Trinkwasserversorgung. Unter Mitarbeit von Nadine Staben. ISOE-Materialien Soziale Ökologie, 25. Frankfurt am Main: ISOE - Institut für sozial-ökologische Forschung
Duration
Contact person
Project team
Research unit
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