Mumbai: Hindustan Construction Company today became the first Indian company to join  a campaign by 18 global corporations in an unprecedented statement to the G8 countries, urging heads of state and government to take action on the emerging global crisis in water and sanitation.

The call-to-action was made in a letter signed by the chief executive officers of some of the world's largest companies, all of whom are signatories of The CEO Water Mandate, a special initiative of the United Nations Global Compact that was launched by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in July 2007.

In the letter, made public by endorsing companies and the United Nations, the business leaders call on the G8 countries to actively address the issue of water during their upcoming Hokkaido Toyako Summit on 7-9 July in Japan. The G8 includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.  (Read the letter: The CEO Water Mandate) 

"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", the letter states.

It is estimated that approximately 1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water, and 2.6 billion do not have access to adequate sanitation. The letter cites a recent United Nations Development Report, which argues that the costs to sub-Saharan African economies of not having basic universal access to water and sanitation represent about 5 per cent of gross domestic product.

"Thus, water is not just an environmental issue - it is a poverty and development issue, an economic issue, and therefore a business issue", the chief executives state.

The letter notes that 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 leaders of the G8 countries to take a number of steps, including: re-affirming the importance of achieving the Millennium Development Goal related to water in G8 Summit preparatory documents and in final communiqués; fulfilling their Gleneagles commitment on water and sanitation by ensuring that allocations for safe drinking water and sanitation increase as a per cent of all official development assistance (ODA), and that ODA increases overall; and encouraging non-G8 nations to pay more attention to the Millennium Development Goal related to water.

The business leaders also urge the G8 leaders to work more actively with the international business community, through initiatives such as The CEO Water Mandate.

"HCC has made water sustainability and stewardship a corporate priority", said Ajit Gulabchand, ëhairman and managing director, HCC. "As an endorser of The CEO Water Mandate, we pledged to provide our inputs and perspectives to public-policy makers on the issue of water. This letter is an expression of this commitment, and I am pleased to join other business leaders in urging key governments to take action".

HCC has undertaken a comprehensive water-use assessment at all its project site locations to understand the extent to which the company uses water in the direct production of goods and services. On receiving the water usage audit, the company plans to research on alternate methodologies and set targets for operations related to water conservation and waste-water treatment. The company also plans to encourage its suppliers to improve their water conservation, quality monitoring, waste-water treatment and recycling practices.