General Electric (GE) has added a fresh environmental target to its high-profile Ecomagination green initiative, committing to cut its fresh water use by a fifth by 2012.

The engineering conglomerate said the goal represented one of the "most aggressive corporate water-reduction targets to date" and is expected to save 7.4 million cubic metres per year, enough to fill more than 3,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

GE chairman and chief executive Jeff Immelt said that the company would use many of the water use assessment tools and water conservation technologies it offers to customers to achieve the goal, including systems for re-using treated waste water in boilers, heat exchangers, cooling units and manufacturing processes.

As well as delivering environmental benefits there is also a strong business case for deploying such technologies, according to Jeff Garwood, president and CEO of GE's water and process technologies division. "Water conservation and re-use can be a valuable tool for customers to reduce operating costs and create new sources of revenue," he explained, adding that water-saving processes and technologies allow firms to "minimise their exposure to water scarcity, reduce costs and water footprints".

The announcement came as GE published a new white paper outlining a range of best practices that the company believes should be adopted by policymakers to promote water conservations.

The paper, entitled Addressing Water Scarcity Through Recycling and Reuse: A Menu for Policymakers, urges regional and national policymakers to provide more information on water saving to end users, offer more incentives to encourage water conservation, and require higher levels of water recycling and re-use.

"Policymakers are looking for ways to expand water recycling and re-use initiatives, but until now finding information on how best to do that was tough, " said Garwood. "By providing a menu of policy tools ranging from less-intensive mechanisms, such as public outreach programs, to more proactive, regulatory approaches, our paper will help governments, communities and businesses effectively evaluate their options."

The move comes just a day after a major new report from the US government warned that many western states would face serious water shortages over the coming decades as a result of climate change.