Ethical and Social Responsibility Summative
-The Triple Bottom Line-

Part 1
Issue- Water scarcity
Clean, safe and enough water is scarce. Currently, nearly one billion individuals within the developing world do not have access to clean safe water. Yet, we have a tendency to take it for granted, we waste it, and even pay more to drink it from little plastic bottles. Water scarcity is the dearth of enough water (quantity) or shortage to access safe water (quality). It's hard for many people to imagine that clean and safe water isn't something that can be taken for granted. But, within the developing world, finding a reliable supply of safe water is commonly time consuming and costly. The issue of water scarcity is a growing one. As more individuals place ever increasing demands on limited supplies of water, the cost and energy to create and perhaps even maintain access to water will increase. Experts also suggest within the close future water becoming a commodity like Oil and Gold. Some specialists also say that there could be wars fought over water supply. Today only two third of humans have access to adequate clean water and is said that the number is to be decreased to only a third having access.

I choose this issue of water scarcity because of the impacts it could have on us and the whole world. With rapid population increase we are using water more than ever, we are dependant on water and there is only a limited amount of fresh water for all of us. Every child born is adding to the people we have to share the water with. Experts suggest water prices will increase drastically if we keep using at the rate we currently are and also water being available to only a few countries around the world. This could lead to many wars over water. This would not only affect developing countries but also eventually affect newly industrialised and developed countries. Although developed countries aren’t currently facing problems with water scarcity, this doesn't mean that we shouldn't be worried, water scarcity could also be faced by developed countries. If action is not taken immediately we could be facing a very major global crisis.

Quench recycling showers is a company that attempted to address the issue of water scarcity. Their mission is “To deliver a shower that’s better than anything you’ve experienced before”. They sell showers that recycle water with in turn saves water, energy and money and at the same time delivering an “unbeatable” level of power. They suggest that showering with quench saves enormous amounts of water and makes a daily contribution to the environment. The reason Quench showers are successful at saving water and energy because they recirculate the water that is being used. Approximately 4 litres of water is collected by the reservoir, upon activating quench mode by user the water re-circulates over and over again. The water is filtered, pressurised and heated to the temperature that is set by the user. They minimize energy consumption as the pre-heated water is being recirculated

Abbott Laboratories is an American pharmaceuticals and health care products company. It has about 90,000 employees and operates in over 130 countries. It offers pharmaceutical products, medical devices, diagnostic assays, nutritional products and animal health products. Many products are made by Abbott to satisfy customer needs. The production of these products requires substantial amounts water. Abbott is working constantly to conserve water. One of their key priorities is to save costs and resources, and to ensure clean, fresh water for the future.

Steps Abbott is taking to insure water conservation

At Abbott’s site in Sligo, Ireland, they’re managing water use in a sustainable way through initiatives such as rainwater harvesting.
At a plant in Singapore a water stressed area they are implement employee suggestions for conservation.
Employees noticed that recirculation pumps ran constantly, even when the water was not