More than one in six people worldwide - 894 million – do not have access to improved water sources, and 2.5 billion people, including almost one billion children, live without even basic sanitation. Every day 6,000 children die from diseases associated with lack of access to safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene. 

Water is a human right recognized by the member states of the United Nations General Assembly and Human Rights Council which established the mandate to assist governments and stakeholders, including corporations, to respect, protect and fulfill the human right to water.  ICCR members highlight a number of actions that companies may take to ensure that there are policies in place that uphold the human right to water wherever they operate. 

Featured ICCR Initiative

Investors Standing with the Standing Rock Sioux: ICCR Members advocate for North Dakota tribe impacted by the Dakota Access Pipeline. The project threatens to disrupt sacred lands and will have environmental impacts inlcuding water impacts on residents of the Standing Rock Sioux reservation.

Featured Resources

Community Voices for Global Water Justice (Corporate Examiner):  In 2013, ICCR convened a roundtable on the human right to water, bringing together investors and representatives from NGOs, community groups, and corporations.

Stakeholder Responsibilities in Managing Access to Water.  Sets out the respective rights and responsibilities regarding water use for communities, corporations, and other stakeholders.

UN: Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation. The United Nations has established access to safe drinking water and sanitation as a basic human right.

Right to Water and Sanitation. Additional resources for individuals and investors on the human right to water.

Featured Best Practice

Companies across a variety of sectors  have adopted Human Right to Water policies, including:

·  American States Water

·  Archer Daniels Midland

·  California Water Services Group

·  PepsiCo

·  Campbell’s Soup

·  Green Mountain Coffee Roasters

·  Intel Corporation

·  Johnson & Johnson

·  Mead Johnson Nutrition

·  Procter and Gamble

·  Connecticut Water Service (Shareholder engagement by ICCR members, notably UUSC. and NorthStar Asset Management facilitated the adoption of this HRTW policy)