Companies can help solve water scarcity. Here’s how

Water scarcity affects approximately 4 billion people globally, with 500 million living in areas where consumption exceeds renewable resources by more than double. The document advocates for the private sector to collaborate with governments and NGOs to improve water resource governance, specifically in agriculture—which consumes 70% of freshwater—operational efficiencies, aquifer restoration, and community access. It highlights a corporate commitment to achieve an additional 25% improvement in water-use efficiency by 2025 and details a partnership with The Nature Conservancy to protect watersheds supplying major cities in Latin America.

• Water scarcity is a global crisis affecting about 4 billion people, with 500 million residing in regions where water consumption is more than twice the locally renewable resources.
• South America holds 28% of the world's freshwater, but the region faces declining water quality due to soil erosion and deforestation, while global warming accelerates the melting of glaciers that supply these resources.
• The agriculture sector is the primary consumer of freshwater globally, accounting for approximately 70% of usage.
• The author's organization aims for a 25% increase in water-use efficiency in direct operations by 2025, following a 25.8% improvement achieved between 2006 and 2015. In Latin America, beverage business water use efficiency improved by 17.9% from 2008 to 2016.
• A partnership with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) called "Water for the Planet" works to protect and replenish watersheds for several major Latin American cities: Monterrey, Mexico City, São Paulo, Guatemala City, and Bogota.

APA

Newman, B. (2018). Companies can help solve water scarcity. Here’s how. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/companies-can-help-solve-water-scarcity-here-s-how/

Chicago

Newman, Brian. Companies can help solve water scarcity. Here’s how. World Economic Forum, 2018. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/companies-can-help-solve-water-scarcity-here-s-how/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Newman |first1=Brian |title=Companies can help solve water scarcity. Here’s how |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=15 March 2018 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/companies-can-help-solve-water-scarcity-here-s-how/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{newman2018companies, author = {Newman, Brian}, title = {{Companies can help solve water scarcity. Here’s how}}, publisher = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2018}, month = mar, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/companies-can-help-solve-water-scarcity-here-s-how/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }