5 Things Corporate Sustainability Leaders Should Know About Water and Trees

Many companies undervalue water, often treating it as a limitless resource coming into their building or factory, however there may be a bigger responsibility to consider.  For years, those focused on watersheds and water stewardship have encouraged corporations to think beyond their four walls—and this chorus is gaining momentum. There is a growing movement to better recognize where water comes from and its materiality on core business resilience—and for many leading corporates that connection often ties back to the forested headwaters where water might begin its journey to our pipes. 

Approximately 180 million Americans (roughly 56% of the U.S. population) get their drinking water from forested watersheds, as estimated by the U.S. Forest Service¹. 

"Many of our watersheds begin in forested landscapes—that’s where some of the cleanest, most pristine water comes from.” notes Jon Radtke, Senior Director of Corporate Water Stewardship at Bluerisk. “Healthy forests are vital to sustaining these water sources and we often don’t realize how much we depend on them." Understanding this dependency is the first step toward meaningful water stewardship. 

According to Environment America policy network, “150 million people in the United States have some of their drinking water filtered by forests²”. This is a huge dependency that can be addressed through the power of trees.  

Healthy forests filter water, regulate water flow, reduce flooding, and maintain water quality—all ecosystem services that businesses depend on but often undervalue. When sustainability professionals begin to recognize these dependencies, they can expand their focus from internal measures to protecting and restoring forests and trees that ensure clean, reliable water. 

Unlike "gray infrastructure" investments that typically serve a single purpose, trees and forests deliver a range of ecosystem services. When planting, managing, and protecting forests, they almost always will clean water, sequester carbon, create habitat and benefit people. As corporate sustainability goals become less siloed, and more multi-faceted, interventions that use trees may deliver more value per dollar invested. 

Beyond the quantifiable co-benefits, trees offer a narrative-rich approach that resonates deeply with customers and other stakeholders. Trees and their value are inherently understood by people spanning economic status, political affiliation, and even geography. Trees serve as a powerful bridge between the quantifiable elements and the emotional, inspirational components, helping companies connect their sustainability strategies with their customer base.   

This multi-benefit approach is particularly valuable for companies whose sustainability programs integrate water stewardship within broader nature or climate initiatives. By strategically selecting projects that address water challenges through reforestation or forest conservation, companies can check multiple boxes with a single investment—making the business case stronger than for single-focus solutions. 

There are numerous ongoing efforts to further guide the accounting of multiple benefits within the watershed context. Most notably the Pacific Institute and the CEO Water Mandate have released a Biodiversity Benefit Accounting Landscape Assessment and an emerging guidance document on identifying and accounting for nature-based benefits.  

While trees offer numerous benefits, they may or may not be the right solution for your water stewardship challenge. Context matters, and sustainability professionals must start with a clear understanding of the specific water challenges they're trying to address. 

"First you need to look at the issues in the watershed—what are those shared water challenges? Those are what you should be focusing on to address," advises Radtke. "You don't want to force a square peg into a round hole. Start with the problem." 

This problem-first approach is reflected in leading water stewardship frameworks. The Volumetric Water Benefit Accounting (VWBA) guidance begins with identifying shared water challenges before determining which interventions are appropriate. The most effective water stewardship programs examine the landscape context, water risks, and stakeholder needs before deciding whether trees are the right solution.

For example, in watersheds facing water quality issues from agricultural runoff, riparian buffers might be ideal. In areas with soil erosion and flooding, strategic reforestation in a headwater could be most effective. In contrast, in water-scarce regions, certain types of afforestation might reduce water availability through increased evapotranspiration—a nuance that needs careful consideration, or a forested headwater might simply be too indirectly relevant to be considered the highest priority project within a specific basin or water-related business risk.  

"Oftentimes there are multiple shared water challenges in a given watershed and it’s important to identify the right interventions to address the various issues." explains Ben Wilinsky, Director of Partnerships and Innovation at the Arbor Day Foundation, emphasizing the importance of selecting interventions that address specific issues and not the other way around. 

Using trees in water stewardship initiatives requires specialized expertise and long-term commitment. Unlike built infrastructure that you can control directly, trees and forests are living systems subject to numerous challenges. Choosing the right partners can help corporate navigate the water stewardship space and ensure that proposed solutions align authentically to challenges.   

An ideal partner in tree-forward solutions brings both technical expertise in forestry and watershed context, and an understanding of corporate needs and expectations. They should have a track record of delivering successful projects, transparent measurement approaches, and the integrity to provide honest guidance—sometimes even recommending against planting trees when it's an inappropriate, or less material, solution. 

"Planting the right trees in the right places at the right time for the right reasons - that's what drives lasting impact," said Wilinsky. "To do that well, you need experienced, trusted, local partners. They are best equipped to drive decisions around ecological context and community needs. Our global network of shovel-ready partners allows us to collaborate with those who deliver these meaningful results and often our role is to translate these needs into the corporate context." There is often a critical phase to bridge ecological requirements and corporate expectations.  

Moreover, Radtke emphasizes that the relationship should go beyond transactional measurements: "I’d like to think of them as a real partner that will keep you informed and engaged throughout the process, including actually seeing what you've supported on the ground. Experiencing it, seeing the impact it has on the community, or the ecosystem is so important. The right partner should make it more than just a number on a spreadsheet." 

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