At a key UN environmental meeting in New York, ICC called for ownership of water to remain in public hands and stressed the importance of the role of business in water services management.

Over 100 ministers attended the twelfth session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-12), which took place at UN headquarters at the end of April. The session was the first to be addressed by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Steve Lennon (ESKOM, South Africa), chair of ICC's Commission on Environment and Energy, delivered a statement on behalf of business and took several questions from ministers and government delegates. He underscored the need for governments and business to work together, the importance of good governance and the role of partnerships in achieving targets.

"The business sector firmly believes that water ownership should remain in public hands, at the level of local government, with the potential for contracting with the private sector for the operation of water and sanitation services," Mr. Lennon said.

"The bottom line is that we have the answers to service delivery – we just need to create the enabling environment, develop the financing mechanisms, apply the technologies, and develop the related capacity, all through effective partnerships."

The meeting sought to review the progress made in reaching the targets defined at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002, such as improving access to fresh water and sanitation, particularly among disadvantaged communities.

Norwegian Environment Minister Børge Brende, who chaired the meeting, called on delegates to embark on a decade of keeping promises and declared: "The international community is not on track and efforts must be scaled up. Achieving the targets is doable."

U.S. Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky identified four conditions favorable to unleashing what she describes as the vast untapped potential of local entrepreneurs, including: an enabling environment, capacity building, financing and partnerships. She said that the power of the private sector in terms of finance, technology and human resources is greater than that of government. The EU highlighted the role of the private sector in the provision of infrastructure and service delivery, and stressed the importance of corporate social responsibility.

Other speakers from business and industry included: Thierry Chambolle (Suez), Anne Weir (Unilever), Björn Stigson (World Business Council for Sustainable Development), Annik Dollacker (Bayer), Alain Mathys (Suez) and Jack Whelan (ICC).

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