Two simple facts explain why The Nature Conservancy works with corporations to improve their water use: (1) over-depletion of rivers, lakes and aquifers is a leading cause of ecological degradation, affecting the prosperity of local communities around the world; and (2) corporations are the world’s largest water users, with nearly two-thirds of all water consumption going into producing ingredients for corporate supply chains.

Water issues also are rising to the top of the list of concerns for large corporations, particularly those that rely on clean water supplies to support their operations and supply chains. This growing concern over water is a recent phenomenon, undoubtedly provoked by highly-publicized events around the globe and across myriad industries in which water shortages or pollution led to severe disruption of business operations or damaged a company’s reputation.

These and hundreds of other similar controversies have awakened many corporations to their water-related business risks — risks to both their operations and to their reputations — and prompted them to take action to evaluate and manage these risks.

Many corporations are drawn to The Nature Conservancy as a partner in water solutions because of our reputation for sound science and decades of experience on the ground, testing solutions in watersheds around the world. We help companies apply pragmatic, effective strategies for minimizing their water risks while bringing natural ecosystems back to health.