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The CEOs of 19 corporations - such as the Dow Chemical Company,
Unilever and Westpac Bank - have signed a letter calling on
G8 leaders to address the issue of water during their upcoming
Hokkaido Toyako Summit from July 7-9 in Japan.
The business leaders have all endorsed the UN Global Compact's
CEO Water Mandate, which was launched by Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon last July.
'It is increasingly clear that lack of access to clean
water and sanitation in many parts of the world causes great
suffering in humanitarian, social, environmental and economic
terms and seriously undermines development goals .... Thus,
water is not just an environmental issue – it is a poverty
and development issue, an economic issue and, therefore, a
business issue' - the letter states.
In 2000, world leaders committed to the Millennium Development
Goals - including a concrete target to halve, by 2015, the
proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking
water and basic sanitation. The letter calls on G8 leaders
to deliver on this commitment.
The signing chief executives represent the following companies
- Diageo; Hayleys PLC; Hindustan Construction Company; Läckeby
Water AB; Levi Strauss & Co.; Liqum Oy; Metito (Overseas)
Limited; Nestlé S.A.; Netafim Ltd.; PepsiCo, Inc.; SABMiller
plc; Siemens AG; Suez; SunOpta Inc.; The Coca-Cola Company;
The Dow Chemical Company; Unilever; Westpac Banking Corporation;
WPP.
To download the CEO letter - Click
Here
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