Water Risk & Scarcity Exposure evaluates how a company identifies, quantifies and manages the physical, regulatory and reputational threats it faces from operating - or sourcing - in water-stressed catchments. The topic includes:

• mapping facilities, suppliers and key agricultural/raw-material regions against basin-level indicators of scarcity (baseline water stress, drought frequency, seasonal variability, groundwater depletion);
• assessing physical risks (supply interruptions, quality deterioration, flood damage), regulatory risks (withdrawal caps, discharge permits, tariffs) and social licence risks (community conflicts, NGO campaigns) linked to shared water resources;
• estimating financial exposure - production downtime, capex for alternative sources/treatment, cost of compliance - and integrating results into enterprise-risk frameworks and scenario analyses;
• setting risk-based targets, contingency plans and investment priorities (e.g., diversification of water sources, water-efficient technologies, basin stewardship initiatives);
• disclosure of methodologies and hotspot locations in line with tools such as the WRI Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas, WWF Water Risk Filter, GRI 303, EU ESRS E3 and ISSB/TCFD water-related guidance.