The complexity of global water challenges requires meaningful action across sectors, including the business sector. A critical aspect of business engagement in successful water stewardship is setting water targets that address the shared water challenges in the water basins where a company operates, sources, and provides goods and services, and that enable actions that reduce or eliminate the associated water risks. 

This guide provides steps, for the first time, on setting corporate enterprise-level water targets. Each step can be met through a series of actions to ensure that the water targets drive value across any section of a company’s value chain. 

The guide was produced by the CEO Water Mandate, in collaboration with the World Resources Institute, the Pacific Institute, CDP, The Nature Conservancy, and WWF. The Pacific Institute is co-secretariat of the CEO Water Mandate, a UN Global Compact initiative that mobilizes business leaders on water, sanitation, and the Sustainable Development Goals.