A myna sips water from a metal pipe on the outskirts of Srinagar, Indian Kashmir, April 2, 2026. Photo: Reuters
Unlike carbon emissions, water use is reported under a patchwork of standards with inconsistent definitions, complicating comparisons across companies, sectors and regions.
"Everyone is tracking something different, often using the same words to mean different things," said Lauren Enright, programme manager of water services at consultants SCS Global, which is helping to convene the group.
"That creates real problems for investors, auditors and communities trying to understand what companies are actually doing with water."
Backed by the World Resources Institute, WWF and the U.N.-backed CEO Water Mandate, the initiative aims to launch later in April and is expected to be called Corporate Guidance for Assessing Water Scopes 1-3 in Value Chains.
Rather than replacing existing reporting regimes - such as the European Union's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive - it aims to sit beneath them, providing a common set of definitions and core concepts.
The push for a common approach has intensified as water stress increasingly affects sectors such as technology, where consumption by data centres has sparked community protests across the world.
For investors, the framework could turn often qualitative or narrative disclosures into data that are "very decision-useful", said Ida Hempel at climate-focused investment firm Galvanize Climate Solutions.
"It would allow us to actually compare companies and then specific interventions on more of a like-for-like basis."
