VOA科学技术2023--Environmental Group Says Few Companies Meet Water Use Targets

Environmental Group Says Few Companies Meet Water Use Targets

Major corporations in industries that produce clothing, food, drinks and technology services use a lot of water.

However, many companies say they want to be more responsible about the freshwater they use. Drought, floods and extreme weather also threaten their supply chains.

The nonprofit environmental group Ceres ranked 72 companies for their sustainability efforts. Ceres said few of the businesses are close to reaching the 2030 goals set by the group, which is based in Boston, Massachusetts.

Last year, Ceres launched an effort to push companies with large water usage to protect water resources. Recently, the group released a study that included the corporations Coca-Cola, General Mills and Amazon.

"There's no doubt that companies need to do better," said Kirsten James. She is a program director for water at Ceres.

Ceres said the companies were chosen from four industries based on their size and use of water. They were ranked based on several factors, including promises to protect the amount and quality of the water they use, as well as the environments that supply it. They were also tested on whether they helped improve access to water and sanitation² in communities where they do business. Ceres used publicly available information, including information the companies provided to the government through March.

None of the companies scored above 70 percent of the points available. Some were considered to be on track to meet the goals set by the nonprofit group, with scores of at least 50 percent.

Coca-Cola said its water use in 2022 was 10 percent more efficient compared to 2015. The company said it hopes to have 100 percent circular water use. That is where all water is used and returned to the watersheds⁴ it has been drawn⁵ from.

But the company did not say how likely it was to reach that target, nor how much progress it has made. Coca-Cola also said producing its products does not use as much water as growing what goes into the products it sells.

"The agricultural ingredients that we use use vastly more water to produce than the actual manufacturing process," said Michael Goltzman. He is vice¹ president of Coca Cola and a sustainability head.

Reports say technology companies, like Amazon and Apple, use a lot of water to cool the computers in their large data centers. The Ceres study rated both companies below 20 percent progress toward the nonprofit's targets.

Food company General Mills was among the companies closest to meeting the 2030 targets, at 65 percent.

Mary Jane Melendez is the company's chief sustainability officer. She said 85 percent of the company's water use is in agriculture. Extreme weather in the U.S. has reportedly affected⁶ the company in recent years.

Melendez gave examples of weather-related problems. She said freezing and thawing⁸ hurt the company's supply of sugar beets⁹. She also said drought affected its oats supply.

Michael Kiparsky is director of the Wheeler Water Institute at the University of California, Berkeley. He said that corporations have an interest in protecting their operations from water shortages. That could push them to make bigger steps to protect freshwater resources.

Kiparsky pointed¹⁰ out there is no way to enforce Ceres' targets. But he asked, "Does money talk? When it talks, it talks pretty loud," he said.

Words in This Story

drought — n. a period of much less rain than normal

sustainability — n. the ability to continue to use a resource without using it up

factor –n. Something that produces a result

access — n. the ability to get or use something

sanitation — n. the equipment and structures needed to process waste and wastewater in a place

efficient — adj. using the right amount of a resource without using too much

watershed³ — n. the land area drained by a large river system

vast — adj. very large or wide

thaw⁷ — v. when ice or something that is frozen returns to a higher temperature and melts

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 sanitation   

n.公共卫生，环境卫生，卫生设备

参考例句：

• The location is exceptionally poor,viewed from the sanitation point.从卫生角度来看，这个地段非常糟糕。
• Many illnesses are the result,f inadequate sanitation.许多疾病都来源于不健全的卫生设施。

3 watershed   

n.转折点，分水岭，分界线

参考例句：

• Our marriage was at a watershed.我们的婚姻到了一个转折关头。
• It forms the watershed between the two rivers.它成了两条河流的分水岭。

4 watersheds   

n.分水岭( watershed的名词复数 )；分水线；转折点；流域

参考例句：

• Hyetographs are important in estimating stormflow hydrographs from upstream watersheds. 降雨历线资料为上游集水区推估洪水流量历线的重要依据。 来自互联网
• Sediments check dam in small watersheds in loess hilly gully area come from three proportion, i. 黄土丘陵沟壑区治沟骨干工程泥沙淤积来源于坡面侵蚀、沟道侵蚀和库区岸坡坍塌。 来自互联网

5 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 thaw   

v.（使）融化，（使）变得友善；n.融化，缓和

参考例句：

• The snow is beginning to thaw.雪已开始融化。
• The spring thaw caused heavy flooding.春天解冻引起了洪水泛滥。

8 thawing   

n.熔化，融化v.（气候）解冻( thaw的现在分词 )；（态度、感情等）缓和；（冰、雪及冷冻食物）溶化；软化

参考例句：

• The ice is thawing. 冰在融化。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• It had been snowing and thawing and the streets were sloppy. 天一直在下雪，雪又一直在融化，街上泥泞不堪。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

9 beets   

甜菜( beet的名词复数 )； 甜菜根； （因愤怒、难堪或觉得热而）脸红

参考例句：

• Beets are Hank's favorite vegetable. 甜菜根是汉克最爱吃的蔬菜。
• In this enlargement, barley, alfalfa, and sugar beets can be differentiated. 在这张放大的照片上，大麦，苜蓿和甜菜都能被区分开。

10 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。