China:: Water Tops The List Of Environmental Concerns

A survey on water has recently been published by Circle of Blue, an American multi-media news and science organization, and GlobeScan, a global public opinion polling firm, and some of the findings should be kept in mind, especially from a communications and corporate reputation point of view :

• Water pollution is seen as a top environmental priority in China, exceeding climate change

This does not come as a surprise. China is witnessing an acute water crisis: two thirds of China’s approximately 660 cities have less than they need and 110 of them suffer severe shortages.

Why “Exceeding climate change”? Because water is perceived as a more local issue, with immediate threats in daily life and drastic health impacts. Growing public awareness, accompanied by greater official and media attention to the problem, have for instance prompted rising complaints and protests about water pollution all across the country, with high frequency.

• Government considered most responsible for providing clean water, but companies are also on the radar!

Whether domestic or foreign, companies operating in China are increasingly held accountable with regards to water issues, by local residents and grassroots NGOs (see this name-and-shame corporate water pollution map here), by the government at both local and central levels (see this recent “blacklisting” of water polluters here), the media, and of course, the netizens themselves.

CSR and community outreach are among the most effective ways to pre-empt any risk-related issue and maintain its license to operate in China by 1) operating in an environmentally-sound manner and exceeding standards, 2) engaging key stakeholders by leveraging diverse communications channels.

• Chinese respondents do not feel empowered to address water problems

Chinese consumers and citizens are the first victims of water pollution and scarcity, and while they are increasingly voicing their concerns online and offline, they are also willing to help improve conditions on the ground, and most especially to BE part of the solution.

This is definitely THE area where companies and NGOs can add great value, by empowering consumers, employees or the larger public as agents of change, giving them a greater purpose, furthering engagement and dialogue, and therefore trust.

• China is not alone. Water Also Tops Climate Change Worldwide

The China poll is part of a comprehensive international study which surveyed 1,000 people in 15 countries, and probed 500 in each of the following countries on specific questions: Canada, India, Mexico, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States (and  China).

The survey also finds that people around the world view water issues as as the most important facet of the world’s environmental crisis, greater than air pollution, depletion of natural resources, loss of habitat and climate change.

When communicating about climate change, we often recommend to talk directly to people’s concerns and needs, i.e. energy-saving and costs, but why not also talking about water issues as they aredirectly linked  to climate change (i.e. scarcity, pricing, etc.) and to people’s top environmental concern? What do you think?

Full survey results, including, pictures, interactive maps, and detail for each of the seven featured countries, are available here. A webcast of the survey launch is available online here.