Water stewardship and corporate sustainability: a case study of reputation management in the food and drinks industry

Jones, Peter ORCID: 0000-0002-9566-9393, Hillier, David and Comfort, Daphne (2015) Water stewardship and corporate sustainability: a case study of reputation management in the food and drinks industry. Journal of Public Affairs, 15 (1). pp. 116-126. doi:10.1002/pa.1534

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Abstract

The aim of this paper is to provide an exploratory review of the extent to which some of the leading companies in the food and drinks industry are publicly addressing water stewardship as part of their corporate sustainability strategies. The paper begins with an introductory outline of the growing importance of water stewardship and a brief discussion of corporate sustainability. The paper draws its empirical material from the most recent information on water stewardship posted by the leading companies in the food and drinks industry's corporate websites. The findings reveal that the vast majority of the selected companies address a number of elements concerning water stewardship as part of their more general approach to corporate sustainability. However, corporate commitments to water stewardship can be interpreted as being driven as much by business imperatives as by any specific concerns for environmental sustainability or a genuine desire to maintain the viability and integrity of natural ecosystems. More critically, the authors suggest that the selected companies' commitments to water stewardship are framed within existing business models focused on technological improvements in eco-efficiency and continuing economic growth. The paper provides an accessible review of the water stewardship issues being pursued by the leading players in the food and drinks industry, and as such, it will interest academics, students, political commentators and business managers interested in water stewardship and corporate sustainability.

Item Type:	Article
Article Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Jones, Peter and Hillier, David and Comfort, Daphne (2015) Water stewardship and corporate sustainability: a case study of reputation management in the food and drinks industry. Journal of Public Affairs, 15 (1). pp. 116-126, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pa.1534. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Water stewardship, eco-efficiency, technology, sustainability
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences H Social Sciences > HF Commerce
Divisions:	Schools and Research Institutes > School of Business, Computing and Social Sciences
Research Priority Areas:	Applied Business & Technology
Depositing User:	Susan Turner
Date Deposited:	23 Feb 2015 13:05
Last Modified:	05 Aug 2023 11:56
URI:	https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/1905

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