Water Stewardship Programme of the Year
California Water Resilience Initiative, USA
What is it?
A private sector-led initiative to reduce, reuse, and restore over 1.2 billion m3 per year of water by 2030, helping California address its projected 10% water supply gap by 2040. The California Water Resilience Coalition (CWRI) is co-managed by the Pacific Institute and LimnoTech, with primary support from General Mills, Ecolab and Niagara Cares, alongside over 20 other corporate partners.
What has it done?
The CWRI is aligning basin-level corporate engagement with public policy to deliver measurable impact. As of 2025, the initiative funds 70 projects which will deliver 683 million m3 per year of water benefits by 2030, contributing to water availability, ecosystem restoration and climate resilience.
What makes it special?
- The CWRI is galvanising corporate commitments to resolve California’s water crisis. Corporate funding grew 38% year over year to $24.5 million in 2025, leading to 41 million m3 per year in volumetric benefits allocated to corporate funding.
- Through public-private partnerships and innovative financing, the CWRI is coordinating to deliver enough water to meet the needs of 3 million households annually.
- Tackling the supply gap on multiple fronts, the initiative combines nature‑based solutions like floodplain and meadow restoration with community measures such as urban stormwater projects, water efficiency upgrades, groundwater recharge and irrigation modernisation.
Cemex’s Freshwater-Free Concrete Initiative, Mexico
What is it?
A pioneering initiative to phase out freshwater use in concrete production in Mexico by transitioning to alternative water sources. Cemex’s programme breaks new ground in collaboration among major water users, bringing together local stakeholders to repurpose industrial and municipal wastewater and reduce pressure on water resources.
What has it done?
Cemex championed numerous offtake agreements to achieve a 67% freshwater substitution rate across its Mexican sites in 2025, outperforming its annual target of 65% and saving the equivalent of the daily freshwater needs of 9 million people.
What makes it special?
- Cemex has created a circular water ecosystem with major industrial and municipal water users, setting a new standard for collaboration to accelerate reuse. Partnerships to reuse the treated wastewater of global companies such as Danone and Coca‑Cola have helped reduce freshwater withdrawals and ease pressure on local aquifers.
- Non-freshwater processes have been implemented at 61 additional sites in 2025, managing over 6 million litres of alternative water. 31 of these have been certified as ‘Zero Freshwater Concrete Plants’ by Spanish standards body AENOR.
- Cemex doubled sustainable concrete production between 2024 and 2025, while achieving a 3% reduction in water consumption per cubic metre of concrete produced.
PepsiCo’s Hathras District Watershed Health Initiative, India
What is it?
An ambitious programme to strengthen community resilience, improve livelihoods and restore ecosystems in Hathras, one of India’s most water-stressed regions. PepsiCo helped build community ownership of local water management by empowering key stakeholders to embed water resilience into daily life.
What has it done?
PepsiCo supported the creation of 10 zero‑water‑outflow village plans in 2025, reaching 2,000 families by strengthening community‑led management of local water resources. This included 60 infrastructure repairs in local Hathras communities, while 1.48 billion litres of water were replenished more widely across India as part of PepsiCo’s 2030 water positive ambition.
What makes it special?
- Two major water bodies were restored in 2025, a freshwater pond in Shahjadpur and a constructed wetland in Parsara. These now function as multi‑benefit ecological assets, supporting groundwater recharge, wastewater treatment, and habitat creation.
- PepsiCo has helped strengthen collaboration between communities and government by co-developing the Jal Shakti Kendra water stewardship hub. This facility provides training and support for villages to develop their own water security plans and access government support schemes.
- The programme’s success has already been replicated across the region, with water‑efficient agricultural practices spreading to more than 300 acres beyond the programme’s original target area.
Nestlé’s Khanom Chin Canal Restoration Programme, Thailand
What is it?
A project led by Nestlé Waters & Premium Beverages to tackle severe degradation, invasive overgrowth and chemical runoff in Thailand’s Khanom Chin Canal. Expert input from WWF Thailand, government agencies and academic partners ensured scientific rigour and local relevance, alongside community engagement.
What has it done?
The project has delivered a long-term, systemic solution built on education, prevention and restoration. Contributing a volumetric water benefit of approximately 1.2 million m3 in 2025, it has showcased significant long-term improvements in water quality and availability for 30,000 people living along the 21km canal.
What makes it special?
- Water quality has dramatically improved, allowing its use for agriculture, fishing and drinking. Alongside a decrease in biochemical oxygen demand, dissolved oxygen levels increased from 2.29 to 3.32 mg/l (2017–2023) to around 8.5 mg/l in 2025.
- In 2025, biodiversity reached over 117 species. Rebounded populations included 13 kinds of freshwater vegetation, 42 avian, 22 invertebrate and 53 fish species, eight of which were previously threatened or absent.
- The project has also restored traditional livelihoods, improved food security and influenced policy. In 2025 it was selected as one of Thailand’s first pilot initiatives for Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures, formally counting the area’s management toward global conservation targets.
Unilever’s Global Water Replenishment Programme
What is it?
A portfolio of 30 flagship water initiatives driving impact around the world, with Unilever aiming to scale this to 100 projects in operation by 2030. Together, these projects not only provide environmental benefits and replenish water at an impressive scale, but also work to embed long-term water resilience within local communities.
What has it done?
Nine additional sites joined the programme in the 2024-5 financial year. Collectively, these projects replenished 58 billion litres of water, restored hydrological functionality across 65,000 hectares of land and generated an additional 4,647 tons of agricultural production.
What makes it special?
- Over 4,000 farmers benefited from Unilever’s supply-side interventions, while more than 8,000 adopted improved agricultural practices. These efforts reduced water abstraction and resulted in over 15 billion litres of water saved in 2025.
- In addition to providing volumetric benefits, Unilever has collaborated with local communities to enhance water governance. Over 100 villages participated in a programme to improve decision-making and planning for water security. Unilever supported 53 community-based organisations to hold nearly 600 water-focused meetings with local leaders over the year.
- The programme deployed multiple nature-based solutions, including wetland restoration, invasive-species removal and reforestation, to restore hydrology while supporting biodiversity and ecosystem health.