Corporate Water Stewardship

Water poses one of the greatest threats to the economy and is increasingly reported as a material risk to the private sector. Water scarcity, floods, droughts, and other water risks can cause operational and supplier disruptions, higher operational costs, brand damage and heightened regulatory uncertainty.

WRI’s Water program helps companies stay at the forefront of thought leadership in water stewardship, and drive innovation in water-related data, tools and strategies. Working with WRI, companies turn big ideas into action to address water risks, improve sustainable water management and seize the ever-growing list of water opportunities.

By working together, companies can make invaluable contributions to solving shared water challenges, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, and supporting human rights, while also driving business growth and making each company more resilient.

Following WRI’s three-step approach to drive change on the ground, WRI empowers companies to reduce business risk and advance sustainable water management:

• Count it: We start with the best available data and methods to conduct independent research and draw on the latest technologies to identify water risks and opportunities.
• Change it: Informed by data, we build a strong evidence base to positively influence water policies and strategies.
• Scale it: We work with partners to expand our efforts and drive collective action, allowing decision-makers to carry out innovative solutions and elevate their impact.

Our work on corporate water stewardship includes:

• Aqueduct, an open source tool and geodatabase that helps decision-makers understand where and how water risks and opportunities are emerging worldwide;
• Contextual water target setting, including guidance and resources for setting water targets and goals informed by local watershed risks and aligned with public policy priorities;
• Corporate water risk reporting and disclosure, by developing metrics and approaches to measuring and communicating water risk for financial and non-financial stakeholders;
• Mapping public water management, a new approach for crowdsourcing information on the state of public water management to inform on required water policy reform;
• Natural infrastructure for water, which uses landscape management strategies like restoration, conservation and sustainable management to provide essential services like clean and abundant water supply, aquifer recharge and flood control.
• Understanding the cost of water stewardship, a method and database that uncovers the cost to meet Sustainable Development Goal 6 and sustain long-term water security;
• Volumetric benefit accounting, a method to quantify improvements in watershed conditions associated with investments in water stewardship;
• Mapping the water-food and water-energy nexus, including research and data analytics to quantify the risks and opportunities at the intersection of water and food and water and energy;
• Water risk and opportunity assessments, to help organizations measure and quantify water-related risks and opportunities across consumer markets, operations, and supply chains; and
• Water stewardship strategies, which ensure business continuity and drive long-term value. WRI partners with companies to create and enhances impactful water stewardship strategies.

Some of the companies we’ve worked with include:

For more information please contact Colin Strong, Research Analyst.