This week, the Carbon Trust called for smarter water use in business as it released a survey documenting the lack of water conservation action on the part of international business leaders.

The Trust is offering a new Water Standard accreditation that certifies organisations who exhibit a responsible use of resources. The first past the post in garnering the new standard are Coca-Cola and Sainsbury’s.

The initiative was spawned due to a lack of global standards regarding water reduction, causing a shift in remit for the UK’s Carbon Trust. In fact, only one in seven of 475 companies around the world had explicit targets set for water reduction or performance reporting.

Paul Crewe, head of sustainability at Sainsbury’s, says, “We are delighted to be one of the first companies to be recognised by the Carbon Trust Water Standard for reducing our water consumption, particularly at this crucial time of increasing natural resource scarcity.  We will achieve our target of a 50 per cent relative reduction in water use by the end of next month which is a saving equivalent to 393 Olympic sized swimming pools each year.”

Coke is not only a newly-minted water wise corporation, it has partnered with the WWF in the past to promote water efficiency and conservation. Director of corporate responsibility and sustainability at the soft drink giant says the company’s European properties have worked to establish a water sustainable operation, though work remains to increase efficiency.

The Carbon Trust also provides advice for businesses, public sector organisations and international markets to increase water efficiency and reduce the reliance on carbon energy.