Drought as one of the CSR issue: Drought as a threat for society and testing the companies' attitude
Abstract
Nowadays, people perceive much more intense the environmental problems. In particular, young people are aware of the risks associated with changing the environment and express themselves intensively and openly.
The young people from Z generation are joining the initiate "Fridays for Future", and follow such influencers who behave responsibly and sustainably. Is it a precursor to a new approach to consumer behavior as a care for nature? According to research conducted in the Czech Republic in 2017 and 2018 by the IPSOS research agency, yes, it could be (IPSOS, 2018).
Of course, companies are aware of this trend and are respond to it through their business and/or marketing strategy. Various CSR programs are implemented in these strategies.
Through them, companies solve the community, climate change, the use of chemicals and pesticides in the production process, but also drought and other problems. Some companies need a lot of water in their production program that they are trying to reduce.
It's one way how to fight with drought. Drought caused by high water consumption, is a problem that affects an individual's life without realizing it.The problems of large water consumption are closely related to other phenomena, such as drought and water pollution.
Anthropogenic water pollution is a global problem that society is trying to solve limiting the consumption of toxic substances (pesticides, herbicides) and plastics. Water pollution with heavy metals and metalloids can be caused by human activities (mainly mining), but these substances enter into the groundwater naturally from geological bedrock.
Drought, but leads to increased concentration of these hazardous substances, thus becoming a potential risk to the health of people and animals (Bondu, 2016). One example of such dangerous substances is arsenic.
The greatest water pollution by arsenic occurs in South Asia (Bangladesh, China), but the toxicity of arsenic in the aquatic environment is not only a problem in Asia but also in Europe (Barringer, 2013, Ohno, 2005).