World Water Day, celebrated on March 22nd, reminds us of the importance of this essential resource and the urgent need to fully integrate it into the sustainability agenda. Until now, the focus has largely been on SDG 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation, which is crucial, but not enough.
The sustainability conversation has been dominated by carbon footprints and global warming, overshadowing the critical role of water—despite it being a cross-cutting resource across all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Today, water scarcity is not a future issue, but an ongoing crisis. To address this challenge, we must redefine our relationship with water and recognize its impact on industry, communities, and ecosystems.
To understand the magnitude of the problem, it’s helpful to look at how the United Nations has approached water at key moments in history. In 1977, the First UN Water Conference in Mar del Plata recognized access to water as a fundamental human right. However, what’s truly striking is not just that nearly five decades passed until the Second UN Water Conference in 2023 in New York—but that during that time, the world population doubled, from 4 billion to 8 billion, leading to an unprecedented increase in water demand. Despite this demographic and economic growth, water resource management has not evolved at the same pace, which has deepened the water crisis and left many regions in a critical state in terms of access and sustainability.
At this second conference, a stark global scenario was highlighted: “too much water, too little water, and pollution.” This diagnosis makes it clear that the water issue is not limited to scarcity—it also stems from unequal distribution and inefficient management. The water crisis is not just about availability, but about how we manage and regenerate the resource. It is imperative to shift the narrative from a passive crisis to the implementation of concrete solutions that enable smarter and more sustainable water management. To achieve this, it is essential to strengthen education on water issues and to commit to models that prioritize regeneration and efficient use of water.
According to the United Nations, each person needs at least 100 liters of water per day to meet their basic needs. However, beyond direct human consumption, each individual indirectly uses 3,000 to 5,000 liters daily, embedded in food, clothing, and all the goods and services we consume—including technology and the internet. This means that 90% of water is consumed through production and services, a fact that has been overlooked for nearly five decades.
Throughout March, Water Month, many media outlets will focus on SDG 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation, describing the crisis without offering effective solutions. Yet few will mention SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production, which is where most of the water is actually used. Focusing only on SDG 6 keeps us stuck in merely describing the problem, without addressing the much-needed change in how we manage and regenerate water.
In this context, the Water Positive initiative represents a real opportunity to talk about sustainable development—shifting from simply discussing impact to generating measurable water benefits. Instead of extracting more water from the hydrological cycle, industry can help purify and regenerate more fresh water. The numbers make it clear: the current model is not viable. The solution does not lie in limiting water use, but in changing how we manage it—viewing water not just as a resource, but as a strategic asset within the regenerative economy.
The Volumetric Water Benefits (VWB) market enables companies not only to reduce their impact on water resources but also to generate measurable and verifiable environmental benefits. This system can be understood as similar to the carbon credit market, but applied to water. Instead of simply reducing consumption, it finances projects that recover, conserve, and regenerate water in the watersheds where companies operate or have an indirect impact.
Imagine a factory that uses large volumes of water in its production. Instead of merely consuming this resource, it invests in projects that restore wetlands, improve rainwater harvesting and filtration infrastructure, or implement technologies to optimize water use. This not only allows the company to replenish the water used, but also increases the availability and quality of water in the region, delivering a tangible benefit both for industry and for local communities.
The value of this model lies in turning water regeneration into an economic asset within the bioeconomy. In doing so, companies not only operate sustainably, but also actively contribute to improving water security. This approach transforms how water is perceived in the corporate world—from being an operational cost to becoming a strategic element of resilience and sustainable development.
The goal of this new paradigm is clear: it’s not about slowing development, but about integrating it with environmental regeneration. The future of water depends not only on improving efficiency in its use, but also on enhancing its regeneration, strengthening ecosystem resilience, and taking active responsibility for its conservation.
The good news is that corporate giants like Microsoft, Google, Meta, Amazon, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestlé are already embracing this approach, proving that water sustainability is not a utopia, but a reality in the making. For the first time, we’re not just talking about the future—we’re talking about a present in which companies are taking concrete steps. Those who act today will not only reduce their risks but will also lead the transformation toward a more sustainable, resilient, and competitive model.
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