Ceres launched the Valuing Water Finance Initiative in August 2022 as an innovative approach to viewing water as a financial risk and moving capital markets to act on it accordingly. Prior to launching, Ceres, members of the Valuing Water Finance Task Force and NGO partners drew from cutting edge research and analysis— The Global Assessment of Private Sector Impacts on Water and Financial Implications of Addressing Water-Related Externalities in the Apparel and Meat sectors — to develop six Corporate Expectations for Valuing Water. These expectations serve as the ambition around the full range of water issues that large companies should meet by 2030. 

Guided by the Corporate Expectations, investors are working with companies to accelerate action on a range of goals, including managing sustainable water use, eliminating point and nonpoint pollution, adopting good governance practices, and supporting the human right to water and sanitation. The goal is for all companies on the list, regardless of current water stewardship practices, to meet the criteria outlined in the six Corporate Expectations.  

There are currently 72 companies on the Valuing Water Finance Initiative focus list. This list was developed using the following criteria: 

1. The company belongs to one of four industries (Food, Beverage, Apparel, High-Tech), identified in The Global Assessment of Private Sector Impacts on Water as driving severe and systemic harm to water resources, and 

2. The company meets an industry-adjusted market capitalization threshold (Food: $20B; Beverage: $10B; Apparel: $5B; High-Tech: $150B), and/or was benchmarked in Feeding Ourselves Thirsty or the Global Investor Engagement on Meat Sourcing; and 

3. The company has a high dependency and/or impact on water resources in key sections of the value chain. 

A company’s inclusion on the list is not determined by its water stewardship performance but rather its presence within a water-intensive sector where it plays an important role in addressing water risks and opportunities and has the potential to drive change. The goal is for all companies on the list, regardless of current water stewardship practices, to meet the criteria outlined in the Corporate Expectations. 

Ceres recognizes that some companies on the focus list are progressing further along the journey towards meeting the 2030 ambition of the Corporate Expectations. The Valuing Water Finance Initiative looks to “lift all boats” by working with companies with water dependencies and impacts and to spotlight leading practices and innovative solutions to mitigating water risk. Investors will meet companies where they are on their journey, with the understanding that we need all-hands-on-deck to avert the existing water crisis and mitigate risk. For companies leading on water stewardship, this is an opportunity to gauge performance against the Corporate Expectations that have been endorsed by a large group of investors and stakeholders to accelerate action where needed to continue to lead the way. 

Investors have begun engaging with some companies on the focus list on topics in line with the Corporate Expectations. Specific company engagements are driven by investor interest and other factors, so it is uncertain at this time as to which companies will be engaged and when. Investors will tailor their engagements with companies based on the respective companies' progress in their water journeys. Some on the focus list are further along than others. A benchmark, conducted every two years, evaluates the alignment of companies on the focus list to the 2030 ambition of the Corporate Expectations for Valuing Water. This helps investors pinpoint opportunities for companies to advance their water stewardship. In general, investors look to better understand a company’s challenges around water stewardship and work with them towards solutions. 

The Corporate Expectations provide a roadmap for advancing water stewardship for public and private companies alike. So, while many companies on the list are publicly owned, some private companies are included and assessed relative to the Corporate Expectations.  

A benchmark assessment conducted by Ceres every 2 years helps assess and track company alignment with the 2030 ambition of the Corporate Expectations for Valuing Water. The first benchmark was released in October 2023, and we anticipate the second benchmark to be released in late 2025.

Specifically, the Valuing Water Finance Initiative benchmark is intended to inform investor dialogues with companies and the overall initiative by:  

• Assessing alignment and gaps: Provide an assessment of the current alignment of companies to the ambitions in the Corporate Expectations.  

• Informing investor engagement topics: Provide insights into where corporate action is lacking, or where new, innovative ambition should be explored. 

• Elevating best practices: Highlight best practices in water stewardship across and within industry sectors which can help illuminate opportunities for companies to elevate their ambitions to reduce their water risk. 

• Tracking company progress: Serve as a tool for tracking company progress on the Corporate Expectations over time. Trends gathered from the benchmark will reinforce and clarify how company actions evolve to meet the Corporate Expectations. 

We anticipate that companies will heed the “call to action” put forward by investor signatories of the Valuing Water Finance Initiative and, where needed, elevate their ambition to reduce water risk and achieve sustainable water management in alignment with the Corporate Expectations. We aim for this initiative to support and advance the work many companies are already doing while providing an opportunity to iterate on solutions and learn from peers within and across industry sectors to continuously elevate collective ambition to protect and enhance water resources. For more information, please contact Shama Perveen, Ph.D., director of water research, Ceres at [email protected].  

The Valuing Water Finance Initiative and benchmark are not a new disclosure framework or reporting system. Ceres recognizes the decades-long efforts undertaken by CDP, GRI, and other disclosure frameworks and data providers to identify and provide investors with a range of meaningful indicators and data sets for understanding corporate water management, goals, and performance. We also recognize that companies often disclose important information through sustainability reports and other mechanisms. The intent of the Corporate Expectations and benchmark for the Valuing Water Finance Initiative is to tap into this existing body of indicators and data to align the investment community around ambitious and comprehensive company performance as per the Corporate Expectations for Valuing Water.