Better Health for All

Cadiz, Inc.'s core business of providing clean, affordable water to underserved communities, including through the installation of water filtration systems, delivers exceptional health benefits by reducing exposure to arsenic, nitrates, and other harmful chemicals.

The company's business model does not involve products with established negative health outcomes. Cadiz focuses on providing affordable water to communities, including those lacking reliable clean water, and has established a $5 million Southern California Clean Water Fund dedicated to water quality issues in disadvantaged communities. The company explicitly focuses on marginalized, underserved, and low-income populations, partnering with groups like the Farmworkers Institute and Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians. Cadiz also mitigates health risks associated with toxic dust from the Salton Sea by providing water for environmental restoration. The company provides training for the installation, operation, and maintenance of water filtration systems. Cadiz emphasizes transparency through public environmental reviews and monthly data reporting for its Groundwater Management, Monitoring and Mitigation Plan. The company also engages in sustainable and organic farming practices.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

The company has a small workforce of 1 to 50 employees.

There is no public record of any substantiated labor-law or human-rights violations in the past three years. No specific, concrete data points were found for living wage coverage, CEO to median pay ratio, collective bargaining share, safety incident rate, pay equity ratio, worker engagement score, insecure contract share, or health insurance coverage.

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

No specific, concrete data points were found in the provided articles to assess Cadiz, Inc. against the Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing KPIs. Information regarding fair trade certifications, audit frequency, forced/child labor incidents, supply chain traceability, remediation speed, ethical clause coverage, materials risk, or actual supplier diversity spend was not available.

A statement about 80% of investment in construction materials being 'pledged' to local businesses is a forward-looking statement and not considered evidence of action for scoring purposes.

Honest & Fair Business

The company faces significant ethical controversies, including allegations of unethical conduct and attempts to influence a board member's vote through threats and offers of pecuniary gain.

Concerns have been raised regarding conflicts of interest involving a former government official and a law firm owning company shares. Its CEO pleaded guilty to criminal charges in 1983 for dealing in securities without a license. Government approvals for its pipeline project have been rescinded and reissued by different administrations, with environmental groups challenging these decisions in court. There are substantial discrepancies between the company's estimated safe water extraction levels of 50,000 acre-feet annually and independent or government studies, which estimate levels between 3,000 and 30,000 acre-feet. Despite these issues, no ethics-related regulatory fines have been reported in the past three years, though regulatory challenges and allegations indicate scrutiny. No financial restatements have been indicated. The company has a formal anti-bribery and anti-corruption policy, established in 2021, which includes due diligence for third parties, requires accurate books and records, and mandates annual certification of compliance from all employees, officers, and directors. A whistleblower policy is also in place, prohibiting retaliation for good faith reports and maintaining confidentiality.

Kind to Animals

The company's proposed water project is described as potentially causing irreparable damage to the environment and threatening one of the most intact ecosystems in the US, including Bonanza Spring, a vital water source for bighorn sheep, migrating birds, and insects.

The project threatens to dry up natural desert springs and dehydrate lakebeds, impacting threatened and endangered species such as the desert tortoise, desert bighorn sheep, Mojave fringe-toed lizard, and desert kit fox. The project proposes to extract 16 billion gallons of water annually for 50 years, which an Environmental Impact Report indicates would create a “cone of depression” in the aquifer. While Cadiz established the 7,400-acre Fenner Valley Desert Tortoise Conservation Bank in 2015, partnering with San Diego Zoo Global for species research and a head start program, the scale of potential habitat destruction from the water project outweighs these mitigation efforts. The company's project has faced legal challenges and public opposition from environmental groups like the Center for Biological Diversity and NPCA, who have sued the Department of the Interior and Bureau of Land Management for policy changes benefiting the project. Cadiz has also been criticized for failing to understand the hydrology of the area and incorrectly assessing spring sources. Cadiz collaborated with Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions starting in 2009 on a holistic land and water management strategy, and its JV partnership SoCal Hemp executed an MOU in 2020 with Victor Valley College to support research into farming hemp in a desert environment.

No War, No Weapons

Cadiz, Inc. is a water solutions provider with no evidence of involvement in defense or arms-related activities.

The company is a member of the UN Global Compact, demonstrating alignment with global sustainability principles. Its Code of Conduct & Ethics requires all employees, officers, and directors to certify annually their compliance, with the Human Resources Officer requesting this certification. The company endeavors to do business only with partners whose workers are present voluntarily, not at risk of physical harm, fairly compensated, allowed free association, not exploited, and who do not use child labor, and comply with applicable wage laws. Contractors, suppliers, and business partners are expected to adhere to the company's ethical standards.

Planet-Friendly Business

Cadiz Inc.'s proposed water extraction project threatens to severely damage habitat for rare desert wildlife, including tortoises and bighorn sheep, by unsustainably pumping 16 billion gallons of water annually, which federal scientists found to be up to 25 times more than natural recharge.

This direct threat to habitats leads to a negative score, despite the company operating a 7,400-acre Fenner Valley Desert Tortoise Conservation Bank. A federal court vacated a pipeline permit for the project, agreeing with the Biden administration that approvals were fast-tracked without required tribal consultation or environmental impact review, citing serious legal errors. The court noted there was no Environmental Assessment or Environmental Impact Statement for the pipeline rights-of-way. The company faces new lawsuits targeting its pipeline repurposing. Cadiz states a commitment to using renewable energy (solar, wind, hydropower) whenever possible, but provides no specific percentage of energy sourced from renewables. The company established the Southern California Clean Water Fund with $5 million to address water quality issues in disadvantaged communities. It also pledged to hire 10% veterans and dedicate 80% of construction investment to local San Bernardino County businesses.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

Cadiz Inc. faces significant challenges regarding respect for cultures and communities. A lawsuit filed by tribal and national park groups challenges a decision that threatens Mojave National Preserve, a sacred cultural landscape for California Tribes.

The lawsuit alleges that the company's pipeline project would impact water sources sustaining habitat for rare desert wildlife. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is criticized for issuing a right-of-way to Cadiz Real Estate LLC without legally required tribal consultation and environmental review, exempting the pipeline decision from environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and consultation under the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). This indicates a lack of proactive engagement and consultation with indigenous communities and a potential disregard for cultural site protection. Insufficient information is available regarding grievance mechanisms, local employment ratios, and cultural training completion, limiting a more comprehensive assessment. The company's core business model of groundwater extraction in a sensitive desert region creates inherent risks to cultural resources.

Safe & Smart Tech

Cadiz, Inc. states a policy to comply with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations, including the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), and requires annual certification from employees, officers, and directors regarding compliance with its Code of Conduct & Ethics.

The company also has a policy requiring employees, officers, directors, contractors, and business partners to maintain the confidentiality of all entrusted information. For user data, the company states that users may edit information used to record, subscribe, or cancel services at any time. The company's cybersecurity risk management program includes the use of external service providers for security control assessment/testing.