Posted on October, 14 2024

Held on the 24th of September in the BCG offices, the closed-door event was attended by around 40 participants, around half of whom were from businesses – including both multinational corporations and small-to-medium-sized companies.

During the event, participants were updated on both the global Freshwater Challenge and the America the Beautiful Freshwater Challenge, including opportunities for businesses and non-state actors to get involved and support the delivery of these initiatives. With contributions from the USA and Brazil – two of the current 46 country members – the event embodied the fact that the Challenge is country-led. Both representatives showcased immediate and tangible opportunities to get involved at a national or sub-national (e.g. river basin or catchment) level.

"Freshwater is the lifeblood of our ecosystems. Despite the vital role these systems play in advancing water security and climate resilience, freshwater ecosystems are disappearing at an unprecedented rate,” said Brenda Mallory, White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair. “Under the leadership of President Biden and Vice President Harris, the federal government is working with partners at every level to restore and protect freshwater ecosystems for present and future generations.”

The session centered around several roundtable discussions, one of which focused on addressing the alignment between the Freshwater Challenge objectives and efforts already carried out by businesses. Examples of these are impact, risk and dependency assessments, such as those conducted in line with the recommendations of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), or current disclosure efforts and impact metrics.

The Freshwater Challenge has a strong focus on collaboration between the public and private sector, and alignment to national plans and strategies such as for adaptation and water security. As such, some of the roundtable discussions also dived deeply into what enabling mechanisms are needed to support this collaboration and alignment, and explored successful examples and case studies.

The discussions indicated a clear value-case for collaborating across private and public sector, and working at a scale where meaningful contributions to tackle societal challenges, such as reducing extreme flood risk or building climate-resilient communities, are possible.

“The value of freshwater is increasingly recognized, though unfortunately for troubling reasons,” said Han de Groot, Interim CEO of Wetlands International, one of the supporting partners of the Freshwater Challenge. “Disasters like floods, droughts, and declining water quality highlight the urgency of the issue. In many regions, even water availability is under threat. That's why this multi-stakeholder initiative is so crucial—it provides a level playing field to ensure all businesses join in the effort to find sustainable freshwater solutions.”

However, it was noted that in many places the required governance mechanisms and enablers are not sufficient, such as for Public-Private Partnerships. Linking into that, opportunities for joint policy engagement and advocacy were also discussed.

Overall, similar to the Stockholm event, there was a great sense of support within the room for the initiative and its ambitious goals, and a strong rationale for private sector involvement.

"We cannot work in silos and cannot compete. Businesses must come together with the government, with local communities, and others,” said Christina Niemelä Ström, Global head of sustainability, IKEA supply.

“Water is one of the most underestimated sectors in nature, yet it holds the power to transform the future of both people and the planet,” said Torsten Kurth, Managing Director and Senior Partner, BCG. “The Freshwater Challenge brings together the private and public sectors, NGOs, and companies with concrete goals. This is not just an initiative, but a true commitment, with 46 countries united for real action.”

We would like to express our gratitude towards Boston Consulting Group and Inter IKEA Group for supporting us to organize this event.

For any questions, or queries on how to get involved, please reach out to info@freshwaterchallenge.org