To look ahead, we must start by looking back – not out of nostalgia, but with strategic intent. We’ve developed technologies that once seemed like science fiction, yet over 2 billion people still lack access to safe drinking water and sanitation. If we continue repeating the same design and implementation errors, by 2050, over 3 billion people could face the same exclusion. This future is avoidable. Still, the symptoms worsen: scarcity, excess, and contamination, all driven by a disrupted water cycle and a climate crisis amplifying its effects across every basin on the planet. A once virtuous cycle is now misaligned, not due to a lack of technology, but due to a lack of knowledge and systemic application.
It has been 46 years since the 1977 Mar del Plata summit – the first global water conference—followed by the 2023 UN Water Conference in New York. In that time, the world’s population has doubled—from 4 to over 8 billion—and so has the production of goods, food, and energy, intensifying pressure on ecosystems, aquifers, and rivers. Entire generations have grown up without learning that water is central to sustainability. Without blue, there is no green. And today, we are paying the price for that educational gap. This imbalance reveals a historic oversight: while sustainability took root as a global agenda, water was left behind. “Green” became the symbol of ecology, yet all green life depends on blue. Without water, there is no photosynthesis, no cooling, no carbon sequestration. No regeneration. A sustainability vision without water at its core is not just incomplete—it’s naïve.
This is where the Water Positive approach becomes essential, as the connective tissue of a new logic of sustainability. Being Water Positive means returning more water to the environment than is withdrawn—and doing so in a way that is measurable, traceable, and additional. It’s not about offsetting; it’s about actively regenerating the hydrological cycle, restoring ecosystem functions, and addressing planetary imbalances.
As Dr María Neira (WHO) noted, we’ve broken the natural water cycle by extracting more than the Earth can purify. This has led to three interconnected symptoms of the same systemic failure: scarcity in some areas, excess in others, and pollution that affects us all.
Being Water Positive means returning more water to the environment than is withdrawn—in a way that is measurable, traceable, and additional
The Water Positive model aims to correct this by activating hydrological functions like infiltration, aquifer recharge, and soil retention, while also generating new water through rainwater harvesting, reuse, and sustainable desalination. The goal is to reduce net impact throughout the value chain and strengthen ecosystem resilience.
Its strategic leverage becomes clear when grounded in SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), which tackles the root cause of water stress: nearly 90% of water is consumed indirectly as embedded “virtual water” in goods and services. SDG 6, while critical, often lacks the investment and policy agility to address these deeper dynamics.
By adopting SDG 12, Water Positive companies shift from compensating to rebalancing. Their interventions align with double materiality and frameworks like the CSRD, making water stewardship a shared infrastructure for restoration across the basin. It’s about producing while reinvesting in the systems that sustain us, turning formerly sidelined solutions into scalable sources of regenerative value. And in doing so, they activate impact that spans both water quantity and quality, traced from intent to outcome, with the transparency and accountability that true stewardship requires.
These transformations require more than investments or advanced technology—they demand a new model of water governance, where regeneration is not optional, but the core purpose. This is where water stewardship becomes the operational framework of the Water Positive model: a way to embed shared responsibility, basin logic, and co-management between companies, governments, and communities.
Water Positive is not a label—it is a strategy that connects efficiency with justice, regeneration with productivity, and metrics with meaning
The following five processes represent different ways to activate the Water Positive approach, combining technical effectiveness, scalability, and governance mechanisms aligned with double materiality and SDG integration. They help identify emerging strategies that generate positive water impact in terms of quantity, quality, and location:
Efficient and regenerative agriculture. Efficient irrigation—like drip systems, sensors, or drought-resistant crops—can cut water use by up to 25%, offering quick, measurable results without altering production models. Ideal for short-term goals. Regenerative agriculture targets long-term outcomes: restoring soil, improving retention, capturing carbon, and boosting biodiversity via cover crops, compost, and no-till practices.
Reducing Non-Revenue Water (NRW). About 35% of treated water is lost to leaks, theft, or metering errors. Reducing NRW recovers water already extracted and treated, boosts energy efficiency, and eases pressure on freshwater sources. This appeals to utilities, municipalities, and developers seeking measurable gains within operational scopes.
Rainwater harvesting. This merges ancestral practice with modern innovation. Collecting rain from rooftops, cisterns, and storage systems eases demand on aquifers and surface waters. As a decentralized source, it needs quality assurance—not just volume—especially for recharge or use. It must also address contaminants like microplastics and PFAS. Valued for scalability and versatility, it supports climate-resilient communities.
Water reuse and recycling. A core of circular systems, this treats wastewater or process water for reuse in irrigation, industry, or non-potable uses. It cuts withdrawals, stabilizes supply, and aligns with circular economy goals. Under Water Positive, reuse must be additional and meet strict standards—including for emerging contaminants. It’s vital in cities, mining, agribusiness, and all water-intensive sectors. Quality is as critical as volume.
Sustainable desalination. Once energy-intensive, modern desalination—especially reverse osmosis—is now highly efficient, nearing theoretical limits. Purifying a glass of water uses energy comparable to an internet search. It adds new water without stressing inland sources and plays a growing role in strategic planning.
These processes go beyond shared technologies or isolated metrics—they illustrate the types of projects that leading corporations are now prioritizing. The more effectively we measure, register, and trace them—accounting for both quantity and quality, and aligning with SDGs—the greater their regenerative and strategic value. This approach transforms water action into tangible, auditable impact, but it also demands accountability: not only for what is done, but for what results. That’s the difference between implementing a solution and exercising true stewardship.
Water is not a mere input—it is the foundation of any sustainable future. Water Positive is not a label—it is a strategy that connects efficiency with justice, regeneration with productivity, and metrics with meaning. What was once considered a cost or a philanthropic gesture is now evolving into distributed infrastructure.
Because in the 21st century, being Water Positive is not about giving back what was taken. It’s about regenerating what others still continue to drain. And doing it before it’s too late, because 2050 will only be dystopian if we fail to change the present. The future isn’t written. It’s designed by the decisions we make today.
