California’s economy depends on a reliable water future, and the state faces a projected 10% water supply gap by 2040. For companies with a water footprint in California, investing in water resilience protects their facilities and supply chains, while strengthening the communities they serve.
This business imperative was the focus of the fourth annual California Water Resilience Forum on Oct. 27 in San Francisco, hosted by the California Water Resilience Initiative (CWRI) and co-sponsored by Cox Enterprises. Corporate leaders joined public agency, nonprofit, and finance partners to assess progress and confront a challenge none can solve alone: building water resilience at the scale and speed California needs.
“The model is working. Now, it’s time to scale it,” said Emilio Tenuta, Ecolab’s Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer. “Reliable water is the foundation for reliable growth. We need to move from California ‘dreaming’ to California ‘doing,’ and turn commitments into measurable results for communities, businesses and watersheds.”
A working model, with more to deliver
CWRI’s goal is to reduce, reuse and restore one million acre-feet of water per year by 2030. The Pacific Institute manages the initiative, with corporate leadership from Ecolab and General Mills and technical support from LimnoTech. CWRI, a basin collaborative of the Water Resilience Coalition (WRC), brings companies and other partners together to accelerate action on water.
Cora Snyder, CWRI Program Lead, described the initiative as a central hub for corporate water stewardship in California. It connects companies with projects that align with state priorities and their own water needs. It also brings corporate funding, public agency priorities, and nonprofit expertise together under shared ambitions.
The progress showcased at the forum demonstrated what’s possible when organizations work together, and underscored the opportunities that remain. CWRI reported 81 projects receiving corporate support across the state, spanning watershed restoration, agricultural irrigation optimization, urban water efficiency, groundwater recharge, and more. These projects are on track to deliver approximately 144,000 acre-feet per year of water benefits through 2030—about 14% of CWRI’s target.
For organizations looking to turn water commitments into measurable results, the opportunity is clear. CWRI leaders highlighted 13 additional projects ready for investment. Securing the $57 million to fund them would bring progress to approximately 23% of the 2030 target.
Making water investment a business decision
For many companies, the ability to demonstrate measurable value is a prerequisite for investment. Through CWRI, they can plug into an established platform and begin delivering outcomes leaders care about most: reduced water risk, operational reliability, and more impact-per-dollar spent on stewardship goals. In other words, companies don’t have to start from scratch.
Matt Kistler, CEO of the Water Resilience Coalition, said philanthropy built the initial momentum, but reaching the 2030 goal will require corporate balance-sheet capital. Corporate sustainability champions can secure buy-in internally by showing measurable water benefits alongside financial and multi-benefit returns.
Katalyn Voss, Global Water Stewardship Lead at Gap Inc., showed how her team makes that case through the global example of the Get Blue campaign: set a goal, measure the impact, and engage customers. And don’t do it alone: working through collaborative models like CWRI is the most cost-effective way to get there.
“Everyone at the table”
The opportunity to invest in water resilience is growing. With a pipeline of projects, greater transparency around outcomes and improved tools to measure and communicate impact, organizations across sectors have more opportunities to align resources, expertise, and investment around shared water priorities.
California Assemblymember Diane Papan, chair of the Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife, emphasized the importance of aligning public and private efforts to modernize water infrastructure and support economic growth, calling what she heard at the forum “music to my ears.”
“We want to have everyone at the table,” Papan said. “Water is coming to us differently. Let’s think about water policy differently.”
Her emphasis on regional thinking carried into discussions on California’s reliance on the Colorado River, where coordinated investment can expand benefits for communities and businesses.
The call for partnership echoed throughout the day.
One commitment in the next 90 days
CWRI’s leaders closed with a clear challenge: make one commitment in the next 90 days. Engage finance leadership, join a collective action project, or bring another company into the initiative.
No company, agency, or nonprofit will close California’s water gap alone. Only together can we build the water resilience California’s communities and economies depend on.
To start a conversation, contact us at cwri@pacinst.org or visit https://californiawaterresilience.org/.
