Business Leaders’ Open Callto Accelerate Action on Water
We, leaders of the business community, are deeply concerned about the global
water crisis, intensifying due to climate change. Businesses can —and must—
play a critical role in turning the tide.
Together, we commit our businesses to take bold action on water. We call on the global
business community to join us. We commit to building water resilience across our global
operations and supply chains, and to join hands to achieve collective positive water impact in atleast 100 vulnerable prioritized water basins by 2030.

Acknowledging the Severity of the Water Crisis
We must translate concern into rapid action. Water insecurity is one of the mostpressing sustainability challenges of the 21st century, presenting humanitarian, environmental, andeconomic concerns. More than 2 billion people lack safe drinking wateri; a 40 percent water deficit
is projected by 2030ii; and water-protecting ecosystems have experienced rapid destructioniii.
Climate change continues to significantly intensify these risks, adding further urgency to act.

Business Imperative on Water
Our businesses can—and must—be pivotal levers of change. Businesses aresignificant users of water thereby impacting water resources. As global private operators,
business must also manage water resources. Water challenges pose business continuity,
regulatory, climate, and employee health risks. These impacts on our own businesses, however,are not —and cannot be—the sole reasons to act. Resilient water systems are vital to address thedual climate and nature crises. They also profoundly underpin society’s ability to achieve multiple
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for food security, human health, biodiversity, genderequality, and other priorities. While many businesses have invested in water stewardship
solutions, more businesses must join the effort—and we must speed our progress.

www.wateractionnow.org

Business Leaders’ Open Call to Accelerate Global Action
To achieve off-track SDG 6 targets, we must rapidly accelerate action onwater and businesses must do their part by prioritizing individual businessactions and uniting in collective action with other businesses, civil society, andgovernments. Our commitment is clear:
1. We will work to improve water resilience across our companies in basins where we operate.
In our direct operations, we will seek to scale leading climate-resilient water management
approaches by setting actionable water resilience targets and applying resilience andmitigation planning.
2. Within our supply chains, we will work to implement strategies to scale leading practice andencourage our suppliers to adopt resilient water practices across water quantity, quality, andaccessibility.
3. We also will join hands to have a collective positive water impact in at least 100 vulnerable
global water basins by 2030, focusing on the most stressed basins in each company’soperations and supply chains. We plan to measure positive water annually based on
improvements in basin-wide conditions for water availability, quality, and accessibility.
a) We will work to make tailored investments in nature-based and other equitable, climateresilient solutions that strengthen local water resilience.
b) We will seek to work collaboratively with other businesses, governments, and civil society
actors, using a human rights-based approach, to engage with local and under-represented
communities, advance co-financing mechanisms to close the financing gap, and apply ourbusinesses’ expertise to innovate solutions.
c) We will work to amplify our shared voices to support policies, practices, and regulations
supporting quantifiable corporate water stewardship practices.
d) We will seek to support the elevation of water on the global agenda, including the climate
and nature agendas, through the United National Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC), Convention on Biodiversity (CBD), UN 2023 Water Conference, andother platforms.

Historic Turning Point for Water
This must be a turning point. We commit to acting, and seek to join with businessleaders, governments, and civil society actors to directly call upon business leaders to decisively
accelerate action on water resilience—across our own businesses, in the communities we serve,and in water-stressed basins around the world.

Now is the time for water action.

www.wateractionnow.org