How corporations can help solve the water crisis

Christophe Beck – Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Ecolab

I recently had the opportunity to speak at the first United Nations (UN) Water Conference in almost 50 years. Bringing together nearly 10,000 attendees from the business, government and nonprofit worlds, the conference addressed one of the largest issues of our time – the global water crisis. As leaders met to learn, understand, and address this crisis, I underscored in my General Assembly remarks that this challenge requires more than commitments and pledges.

We know that more than two billion people lack safe drinking water, and this issue will only get worse in the coming years. According to the World Resources Institute (WRI), by 2030, our planet faces a 56% water deficit. This means that by 2030, 1.6 billion people will lack safely managed drinking water, 2.8 billion people will lack safely managed sanitation, and 1.9 billion people will lack basic hand hygiene facilities. We also know the water crisis is top of mind for consumers. In Ecolab’s Water, Sustainability and Climate Change survey, 45% of consumers agreed that companies aren’t doing enough to tackle climate change, and nearly 75% thought companies should make climate change a “high” priority.

I believe that the business community has both the responsibility and opportunity to take stronger and more decisive action to prevent further catastrophe. Here are three actions businesses can take now to help.

First, companies can dedicate funding to protect this vital shared resource. According to research by the Pacific Institute, nearly 90% of climate impacts are related to water, but only 3% of climate finance focuses on water systems. This is a tragic disparity in resource allocation.

In 2020, Ecolab co-founded the CEO-led Water Resilience Coalition (WRC) with other global leaders including Microsoft, Levi Strauss and Diageo. At the UN Water Conference, the Coalition grew an innovative water investment portfolio focused on water, sanitation and hygiene projects, launching a nearly $140 million water equity fund with investments from Ecolab, Starbucks, Gap Inc., Reckitt and Dupont, as well at the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation. These were not donations, but investments in a portfolio with a $1 billion opportunity pipeline that includes blended finance mechanisms, microfinance and impact bonds. The portfolio is overseen by WaterEquity, the world’s first asset manager focused solely on the global water crisis. This approach demonstrates a new strategy for the private-sector – rather than traditional philanthropy, it’s one that catalyzes co-investment and helps address critical global issues while also generating positive financial returns. By re-investing water savings back into finance mechanisms that address water access issues, businesses can together begin tackling the magnitude of this crisis.

Second, for nearly every industry, water is critical to business. It’s either part of a company’s product or it is used in the creation of that product. Better management of water in operations throughout the product lifecycle will reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. At Ecolab, we have conducted over 500 assessments in manufacturing across multiple industries and found that more efficient water management can enable reduced water consumption up to 44%, energy use up to 22%, and greenhouse gas emissions up to 12%. By more efficiently managing how water is moved, heated, cooled, and treated in commercial use, companies can decrease their energy use and save money. In 2022 alone, we helped customers conserve nearly 220 million gallons of water through better management—equivalent to the drinking water needs of more than 750 million people—and helped reduce 3.6 million metric tons in greenhouse gas emissions. Productivity improvement, water, energy and waste conservation projects led to more than $1.1 billion globally in total value delivered for our customers. Efficient water management and resourcing is a fundamental, yet often overlooked, factor in delivering enterprise sustainability goals. Companies must look internally to identify these opportunities that will help their business and significantly impact global water and climate goals.

Finally, if we are to succeed, we must work together. A unique challenge requires a unique solution involving diverse and accountable partnerships. We know we need to do more, and these partnerships will drive collective action and more direct results. The Water Resilience Coalition is an example of how partnerships can help achieve specific goals. This community of like-minded business leaders improves water resilience by refining supply chain operations, investing in nature-based solutions, and measuring water availability, quality, and accessibility in the most stressed water basins. It is just one example of how different industries can partner to use their expertise, power, and funds to achieve both business and climate goals.

So, I call on the private sector to do more than just committing to reduce emissions by 2030 or raising awareness of the water crisis. I challenge us all to take measurable and timely action through operations, funding, and partnerships that directly benefit global water systems. The opportunity is ours for the taking. It only takes 150 companies and their supply chains to directly impact one third of the world’s freshwater use. Together, we can do our part to protect the world’s population from water insecurity.