Ceres CEO and President Mindy Lubber joined Vice President Kamala Harris and leaders from the U.S. Department of Defense, the Millennium Challenge Corporation and USAID at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building for the launch of the White House Action Plan on Global Water Security. The plan recognizes water as a necessity for all people, as well as the importance of water to global economies, and lays out a whole-of-government approach to tackling the water crisis.
After the White House briefing, Lubber said:
“The White House Action Plan on Global Water Security released today by Vice President Kamala Harris is a profoundly important step forward in our efforts to properly value freshwater and manage water-related risks. In addition to the critical role that access to clean water and sanitation plays in global development, water is a key consideration for the private sector. Water risk and climate risk are two sides of the same coin, and it will be impossible to significantly advance climate action and ensure water security without stronger private sector leadership.”
“I am pleased to see the new plan recognizes the private sector’s critical role in water stewardship, including through shared resources management, investments in water-conserving agriculture technologies, and working across sectors to share data. The private sector has a responsibility to act urgently to better conserve and manage our precious water resources, and the plan provides a solid framework for collaboration to that end.”
Ceres has been working with investors and companies, and a range of stakeholders for more than a decade to advance water stewardship. Its recent Global Assessment of Private Sector Impacts on Water provides a comprehensive scientific review and analysis of industry impacts on freshwater resources around the world, highlighting five critical threats to global freshwater resources. The Ceres Roadmap 2030 lays out clear expectations for corporate stewardship of water resources. Ceres educates investors around water risk through the Investor Water Hub and provides resources such as the Investor Water Toolkit to guide engagements with corporate water users and highlight water impacts in investment portfolios. Later this year, Ceres will release a set of corporate expectations for valuing water through the Valuing Water Finance Initiative, an investor-led effort committed to driving large-scale change in corporate water practices.
Click here to learn more about the White House Action Plan on Global Water Security.
Click here to see the remarks from Vice President Kamala Harris.
About Ceres
Ceres is a nonprofit organization working with the most influential capital market leaders to solve the world’s greatest sustainability challenges. Through our powerful networks and global collaborations of investors, companies and nonprofits, we drive action and inspire equitable market-based and policy solutions throughout the economy to build a just and sustainable future. For more information, visit ceres.org and follow @CeresNews.