Working with private companies and industries, primarily on the subject of water and climate change

The Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) is a knowledge based organisation strong not only in knowledge but also its multidiscipline research and international links. The knowledge resources of CEH are under exploited and there is a need to better engage with industry, stakeholders and other international operators. The overriding aim is to consolidate outputs from previous projects with stakeholders and increase working with private companies and industries, for both economic and ecosystem benefit. The primary focus will be to stimulate the exchange of knowledge on the subject of water resources and climate change. Water security and climate proofing are challenges end-users need to include in their strategic plans, and they can benefit from the cutting-edge science conducted by CEH researchers. However to reap both economic and ecosystem benefits a strong cooperation between the research community and end-users is needed and this will be the role of the KE fellow.

Through projects such as FRUITFUL, CEH has established a track record of transforming basic and applied research into policy advice and management tools for regulators and industry. CEH’s past performance in delivering high economic returns will be of benefit to this KE Fellow. Of relevance is the documentation generated by the Study on Economic Impacts of Research Funded by NERC (November 2006). For example software tools such as the Flood Estimation Handbook (FEH) which can deliver at least 1-5% improved estimations of flood events and ultimately can reduce the economic cost of flood damage by £12 -45 million per annum.

The work plan for the KE fellow will have economic impact by influencing policy, industry and overall quality of ecosystem services. However it is anticipated that the greatest impact will occurs through establishing contacts with the private sector and industry. One mechanism for achieving this will be joining existing networks to promote CEH’s knowledge and remain informed on Best Practices approach (e.g. Association of European Science and technology transfer professionals; Institute of knowledge transfer). Additionally developing a close working relationship with PepsiCo and GSK based on shared decision making will provide a strong base for contacting and forming new working relationships with other industry leaders in the field.

1. Establishing a Network
Awareness of current projects and work carried out by CEH is an important role for the KE fellow. One of the first tasks of the KE fellow will be a review of current research work and identifying outputs that could be relevant to other stakeholders or industry. Describing how CEH’s water and climate change research fits into the bigger picture will be attractive to national and international audiences. Stake holders, such as river basin managers, need to incorporate EU directives and assisting to facilitate their implementation by using our knowledge (e.g. Water Framework Directive & incorporating climate change into river basin plans: through advanced modelling of climate change impacts) is an area of potential cooperation. The establishment of a network will increase the efficient transfer of information and aid in cementing collaboration work as well as creating the environment for new collaborative projects to be developed.
One dissemination/ feedback method to be set up towards this goal is a profile on the networking site LinkedIn.

2. Industry partnership development
Creating projects which are based on mutual interest is an important step in developing good working relationships with industry. By starting with PepsiCo and GSK we aim to show our expertise in this area and use the experience to engage with other private sector companies. Maintaining a secure water supply for manufacturing products is a key concern for PepsiCo. The risk of flood events to their UK manufacturing is expected to increase as a result of climate change, and engaging with CEH researchers will benefit PepsiCo to develop robust plans. PepsiCo has already formulated a number of priority issues to be answered by CEH:

1. Better understanding and quantification of water availability in 4 of our [PepsiCo] high priority sites in water stressed areas
2. What is the water availability risk to our [PepsiCo] UK sites?
3. What is the current and future flood risk to our [PepsiCo] UK potato corps and sites?

It is anticipated that solution to the above listed issues will be applicable to other manufacturing companies. Similarly the work with GSK will address questions relevant to others in their field- such as Roche pharmaceuticals. Proximity matters and the personal contact needed in developing working relationships with industry will require the KE Fellow to travel to the headquarters of PepsiCo and GSK, as well as attending relevant conferences and trade fairs (to be identified during the course of the fellowship).

By proving the KE fellow recognises the need by industry to maintain a balance between economic development and environmental protection, will assist in approaching other companies. Establishing a working relationship with industry through the test cases developed jointly with PepsiCo and GSK will provide a platform to substantiate the benefits of engaging with NERC-CEH research.

3. Measuring economic impact
Estimating the economic impact is challenging as clear monetary benefits are difficult to quantify. Consequently the Treasury Green Book will be consulted to identify indices or indexes related to estimating cost benefits. If a company changes its management plans to climate proof their operations, there will be an opportunity for cost saving but a direct cost measurement is difficult due to the long-term benefits of more robust plans. The social/public perception of individual companies is important, for example PepsiCo is the first large company to declare its support for the human right to water. Consideration must also be given to public perception; particularly from an investment point of view it is important as multinationals need to maintain good public relations. The NERC Green Economy Strategy is working with financial services companies. One possible outcome of this collaboration is the development of an index for the environmental sustainability of a company. This initiative could potentially draw on the exemplar test cases developed with PepsiCo and GSK leading to synergies beneficial to both PepsiCo/GSK and NERC. If such an index was widely acceptable, it would contribute to analysts’ views of the long term viability of companies and could influence share prices.


4. Potential Future partnerships
The lessons learned from working with PepsiCo and GSK will be crucial to engaging other companies. Today many companies feel the pressure of preserving water security making this work applicable to a wide range of companies; and its economic impact very strong. Consequently working through the London based organisation Ethical Corporation, which has a strong membership from the industry sector; and the Corporate Social Responsibility of their members increases the potential of engaging with this wider community.

The data outputs of CEH are substantial as well as the modelling capabilities of our researchers making their application into non-tradition areas relevant. One possible benefit of developing a working partnership with industry is to develop possible novel approaches to communicating key issues of: water security; virtual water trading; water scarcity hotspots, or climate proofing.

Promotion of the data resources of CEH will be achieved through the advertisement and development of the CEH Information Gateway- this is a new database designed to enable the opening up of the substantial data holdings resulting from CEH research. The KE fellow will be able to identify beneficiaries, resulting in a list of potential end users, and advise the Gateway developers on potential future audiences.