We recently hosted an ESG expert call with Ms. Kirsten James, director of the water program at CERES, to discuss the approaches and resources available to assess the financial materiality of water risks, especially risk that relates to the availability of and access to water (in this note, we call these "water risks"). According to Ms. James, there will be a 56% shortfall in water supplies by 2030 under a business-as-usual scenario, and water pollution has impacted surface waters and groundwaters globally.  As such, water can present material financial risks to companies and investors. Agriculture, food products,  semiconductor, energy and chemical industries  were highlighted as particularly exposed to such  water risks. A replay of the call is available here and the presentation slides and transcript are included in this report.