Water Stewardship Collaboration encourages companies and other stakeholders to use shared water resources in a socially just, environmentally sustainable and economically beneficial way. It helps companies to understand their own water use within the catchment context and to be aware of shared risk in terms of water governance, water balance and water quality: benefiting people and benefiting nature.

Climate change, geographical factors and human activity pose challenges for groundwater and surface water. The global water demand for manufacturing industries is forecast to increase by 400 per cent between 2000 and 2050. At the same time the quality of the water supplied to communities and industry is deteriorating, which constitutes a major threat both to human health and to companies which require high-quality water for their processes. Water consumption as well as water pollution per unit of industrial output need to be reduced significantly. This requires the cooperation of all water users, with industry and digital water services playing a major role. 

International businesses have a good understanding of the sustainable use of water resources and of matters related to emissions and discharges, and they understand that water resources must be used primarily for human purposes. Industry is in urgent need of smart solutions to facilitate water recovery and to tackle problematic waters. The current water challenges have highlighted the need to rapidly digitalize water infrastructures, in order to ensure the quality and safety of water supplied to factories and to other industrial plants.

Water Stewardship Collaboration ensures companies have access to high-quality water, allowing processes and treatment plants to operate efficiently, while minimizing operating costs and harmful emissions. It helps companies to reduce their water related risks, protect precious freshwater habitats and increase environmental sustainability.