According to a recent survey conducted in 25 nations, nine out of 10 people believe water is a crucial issue for the world today. Similar numbers of people expect governments and corporations, as well as themselves, to take active roles in ensuring the availability of clean water. They also agree that they need to know more about how to act to preserve clean water and make sure everyone has access to it.

More than five million people die each year due to a lack of safe drinking water, and the United Nations estimates that 5.5 billion people will lack adequate access to fresh water in the next 20 years. Water scarcity and threats to water quality have emerged as serious threats to peoples and businesses around the world.

Molson Coors Brewing Company earlier this year entered into a strategic collaboration with Circle of Blue in support of their mutual and long-term commitment to protecting global fresh water supplies. (Circle of Blue is the international network of leading journalists, scientists and communicators focused on global water issues.)

The collaboration's first initiative was to launch an independent survey of public awareness and concern for fresh water issues in 25 countries around the world, with a deeper evaluation of attitudes about fresh water conservation in a smaller subset of seven countries. The research and survey analysis were conducted by Globescan, a nonpartisan research and polling firm, and provide the first substantive global benchmark for civic engagement on fresh water issues.

Molson Coors Brewing Company president and CEO Peter Swinburn (pictured above, left) joined Circle of Blue in presenting the survey results at World Water Week on Aug. 18 in Stockholm.

“Safeguarding supplies of fresh water is essential to the sustainability of the Molson Coors business. Strategically, it is important to us to learn how policy makers, government leaders and our own customers and employees view this precious resource, and to develop new ideas about how to engage them in water issues in their communities,” said Swinburn. “By supporting Circle of Blue's critical reporting and research efforts we will be able to provide leadership and valuable insights about attitudes around the world toward retaining and restoring the world’s critical fresh water supplies.”

Striving to use less water, all Molson Coors breweries achieved their 2008 goal of an overall 4 percent reduction in water use. The relationship with Circle of Blue deepens Molson Coors' commitment to the United Nations CEO Water Mandate, which seeks to engage a critical mass of business leaders around the world to address the emerging global water crisis. In keeping with the Water Mandate’s call for businesses to address water sustainability in their operations and supply chain and disclose their progress, Molson Coors has developed water metrics, which are posted on its Web site and published in its corporate responsibility report. The results of the survey will inform future water targets and strategies for the company.

“The availability and management of clean water is one of the most important issues we face today for our health, our economy, our food and our future,” said J. Carl Ganter, Circle of Blue's co-founder and director. “Our goal as a non-advocacy journalism and research organization is to engage the best, most creative thinking and expertise, and focus on solutions that offer sustainable responses. Molson Coors has been a leader in this conversation, and we’re very pleased to have their support in this survey effort.”

Molson Coors is a longstanding and active member of the Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable (BIER) where global beverage companies work together to advance water conservation and resource protection. In the U.S. market, the company has established partnerships with organizations focused on regional water resource management. In partnership with the River Network, the company supports watershed protection programs in several states across the U.S. Molson Coors is also working with the international organization Water for People to further advance the principles of integrated water resource management.

For more information about Molson Coors and its global responsibility strategy, visit http://www.molsoncoors.com/responsibility. To view Swinburn’s presentation in Sweden, click here.