Evaluating Policies and Disclosures of Sugar Companies on Water Stewardship in the Sharda Basin

In India, agriculture is the largest consumer of water followed by industry. Several industries are not only huge consumers of ground and surface water but also contaminate the nearby water bodies harming the aquatic and human lives dependent on it. In the Mahakali basin, Oxfam India strives to achieve positive changes in the lives of marginalized and vulnerable riparian communities. One of its objectives is to influence improvement of policies and practices of the private sector and other actors in a way that they respect the rights of river basin communities to water resources, actively resulting in reduced conflict. 

Through a study we have tried to evaluate and determine the policies and disclosure mechanisms of three sugar companies and their affiliate distilleries, in Palia Kalan block of Lakhimpur Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh, namely Bajaj Hindustan Sugar Ltd., Gobind Sugar Mills Ltd. and Kisan Sahakari Chini Mills. The study findings present a very vague and inconsistent approach by the sugar companies in their commitment to the corporate water stewardship agenda. There is a visible gap in policy and practice disclosures and as such, these gaps can be discussed with the companies in particular and the sector in general through multi-stakeholder consultations. The way forward can be discussed in detail, thereby paving the way to a structured platform to address issues and implement best practices on the road to the corporate water stewardship journey. It is in this context that, the study also tries to provide some insights into the corporate water stewardship agenda and offers some key recommendations for positive uptake of corporate water stewardship practices in the production processes of the companies and the sector in general.

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