Bridging the gap between water stewardship and adaptation

Water stress is increasing and presents a growing risk to business, driven by both acute events (e.g. floods and droughts) and chronic environmental degradation. These risks are also highly local in nature—varying by basin, sector, and operating context—and can manifest through the lenses of too much water, too little water, or poor water quality/access. Put in the framing of different climate scenarios, and business face a complex decision-making process of how best to mitigate risk and remain resilient for the future.

Currently, businesses globally are advancing both water stewardship and climate adaptation efforts. However, these are often developed in parallel rather than in an integrated manner. This fragmentation risks creating blind spots, where actions fail to fully account for future climate impacts or local water conditions, increasing the risk of maladaptation.

There is a growing need to move from understanding water stress to identifying effective, context-specific adaptation solutions. This session brings together the water stewardship and climate adaptation communities to explore how these efforts can be better aligned to support practical, business-relevant water resilience pathways.