The Other 99%

Corporate concerns regarding the California drought from GreenBiz

 

"California’s drought is more than a California problem.  

 

That point was underscored Thursday, when General Mills, Gap, Symantec, Coca-Cola, Driscoll's and other cross-sector companies dependent on California supply chains joined forces with the sustainable business group Ceres to press state lawmakers — and residents — toward more urgent and innovative responses to water scarcity.

 

“We rely on thousands of California farmers to provide us with high quality products,” said General Mills Senior Manager of Global Sustainability Ellen Silva on a conference call announcing the Ceres-organized campaign to gmobilize private-public partnerships to address California’s record setting water shortage.

 

“We’ve committed to water conservation in our operations, but it goes beyond our walls. Ninety-nine percent of the water used (to make General Mills products) is outside of our operations,” Silva said. So the company needs to work with the farmers in its supply chain but also the water districts and state government, she said, to manage water resources and hedge against future scarcity."