Using A Quantitative Triple Bottom Line Approach To Make A Strong Business Case

By Robert Raucher, Ph.D., founding partner and principal, Stratus Consulting

Fully understanding and explaining the financial, social, and environmental benefits of a water project can be essential to gaining approval.

It is always good practice to make a sound and effective business case — or value proposition — when a utility is seeking support for a large capital outlay or other investment. Utility managers, governing boards, and economic regulators (such as public service commissions) are keenly interested in moderating future rate increases on water and wastewater utility customers, especially in difficult economic times. They need to be well convinced that the problem to be addressed is real, that there are high costs or other serious consequences if the utility fails to act, and that the proposed investment is a wise choice that will leave the community better off than if no action were taken, and also better off than if an alternative potential solution were selected.

Utility customers and local stakeholder organizations may also be skeptical of the need for a specific large-scale investment that their utility is considering. Concerns may reflect a broader array of issues than just the cost and the ultimate impact on rates. There may be strongly held opinions about the environmental or social consequences of a proposed utility project. For example, utilities often face opposition to efforts to invest in desalination, water reuse, reservoir expansion, or other such options to increase local water supply reliability for the community as it grows and as its current water sources become fully tapped. Such public concerns extend beyond the overall fiscal costs and often include potential impacts on local ecosystems, community identity, energy demands, carbon footprints, and so forth.