Posted on September, 04 2024

The first-ever Freshwater Challenge Private Sector Engagement event aimed to explore and co-shape the critical supporting role businesses can play in the Freshwater Challenge. Held during World Water Week in Stockholm, the event brought together a wide spectrum of businesses and marked an important milestone in gathering feedback ahead of the launch of the Business Supporter Program in early 2025. 

The Freshwater Challenge set the target of ensuring that 300,000 kms of degraded rivers and 350 million hectares of degraded wetlands are under restoration by 2030, as well as conserving intact freshwater ecosystems. These ambitious goals cannot solely be met through action from national governments, but it requires collective action from all relevant actors, at all levels. Succeeding in these aims will drive positive outcomes for climate, nature and people.

Over 100 people attended the event both in-person and virtually, representing a wide variety of businesses and other organizations, signaling the growing momentum behind the Freshwater Challenge. This diverse group of attendees is a clear signal that momentum is growing behind the Freshwater Challenge and that there is a growing appetite among relevant actors to come together to be part of the (national) dialogues and engage in collective action to accelerate the protection and restoration of rivers, lakes and wetlands.

The need for strong public-private sector action was highlighted by Christina Niemelä Ström, the global head of Sustainability at IKEA Supply, whose opening speech urged all those in the room to consider the critical role that freshwater ecosystems play and the risks posed by their continued degradation. She stressed the urgent need for stakeholders, including the private sector, to act collectively to address our shared water risks and start reversing the loss of freshwater ecosystems.

During the event the representatives were informed about the aims of the Freshwater Challenge and the progress that has been made to date, both at a national and a global level. The participation of representatives from around 10 Member countries clearly showcased that the Freshwater Challenge is country-led. This was driven home by Julien Katchinoff from the USA, who outlined the recently-launched America the Beautiful Freshwater Challenge, which is an important implementation milestone. Meanwhile, Andrew Mware Kinyua from Kenya shared several case-studies that showcased how public-private partnerships are already having a tangible impact on the ground. 

To illustrate how businesses can engage in FWC-related collective action at national level,  the example of Recharge Pakistan was showcased during the event, demonstrating how private sector engagement and investment has the potential to be catalytic, and attract additional, larger sources of funding to achieve impact.

In their closing remarks, Teddy P. Taylor (Liberia) and Ms. Iara Bueno Giacomini (Brazil) both amplified the need for businesses to join-up their efforts with governments where possible, and be part of the conversation, governance, planning, etc. – a critical support role that is not just limited to being a donor.

The main takeaways from the discussion that took place during the event were that there is interest from businesses to engage in the Freshwater Challenge, as it is seen as a promising initiative to help consolidate business commitments and actions linked to water, climate and nature. Participants especially valued efforts to strengthen linkages with public sector/national governments, which is missing from many current efforts. However, with an already crowded ‘corporate water stewardship space’, clear articulation of the complementarity and collaboration with regards to existing initiatives is key. Particularly on the areas of ‘information sharing/disclosure’, there were many questions to be addressed and further details will be required in the next iteration of the programme.

The supporting partners to the Freshwater Challenge would once again like to express their gratitude to those who attended the event or provided their input through other channels. A special thank you goes out to Inter IKEA Group for their support to organize this event, as well as their continued engagement on the Freshwater Challenge.

Now will be the time to reflect and have follow-up conversations - subsequently adjusting the approach if necessary. We encourage all those interested to stay in touch and join us during our upcoming engagement events.

For the latest information, please check www.freshwaterchallenge.org