{
  "id": 3131191,
  "title": "Beyond the utility bill, into the boardroom: The business case for investing in water resilience",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/beyond-the-utility-bill-into-the-boardroom-the-business-case-for",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-24T23:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Business Times - Singapore",
    "slug": "the-business-times-singapore",
    "url": "https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/international/asean/beyond-utility-bill-boardroom-business-case-investing-water-resilience"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The business case for investing in water resilience has become increasingly urgent, according to panellists at the latest Sustainability Impact Dialogue. As climate swings worsen and digital infrastructure demands grow, water-related hazards have become deadlier and costlier worldwide. Businesses can no longer view water simply as a utility bill, but must recognize the natural resource as an asset that should be reflected on balance sheets.\n\nWater risk could cost global economies an estimated US$1.3 trillion between 2025 and 2030, with manufacturing, distribution, and retail sectors bearing the brunt of losses. The banking, insurance, and energy and utilities sectors are also vulnerable, facing potential losses of over US$4.2 trillion by 2050.\n\nGraeme Riddell, managing director at Marsh Risk, notes that water-related hazards have only become a concern for company boards and senior management after a major disruption occurs. Companies in flood- or drought-prone countries must learn from their experiences and invest in water resilience before facing significant disruptions.\n\nHowever, a significant funding gap exists between investor appetite and the need for climate-resilient infrastructure. According to the Asian Development Bank, US$4 trillion is required to meet water infrastructure needs in the Asia and Pacific region from 2025 to 2040, but current annual investments are less than two-fifths of what is necessary, leaving a yearly shortfall of over US$150 billion.\n\nSouth-east Asia needs about US$26.6 billion annually, but only 40% of that amount has been funded, with only 2% coming from the private sector. The reliance on regional governments to establish proper regulatory regimes remains a challenge, as water tariffs often do not reflect the true costs of supplying water, making infrastructure projects less attractive to investors.\n\nBuilding internal tools to price water risks internally is a growing trend among multinational corporations, with senior procurement executives incorporating water-related targets into performance indicators. However, identifying, pricing, and ensuring the investability and bankability of water projects pose further challenges. Investors scrutinize a project's scalability, growth potential, revenue assurance, counterparty risk, project risk allocation, and impact. To ensure bankability, companies can explore blended finance options, long-term green sukuk issuances, or work with philanthropic funds and multilateral development banks.",
  "summary": "Firms should not wait till a major disruption to recognise the risks: Sustainability Impact Dialogue panellists",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}