What is the Open Call?

The Open Call rallies companies to act on a shared vision of water resilience. It establishes:

• A movement that calls on the private sector to join forces in addressing the global water crisis.
• A collective ambition to achieve positive water impact in 100 water-stressed basins by 2030.
• A commitment to take action through direct operations, supply chains, and shared projects.
• A program designed to coordinate joint action between companies in shared basins of interest.

• The Open Call aligns with several key commitment areas of the CEO Water Mandate, the 100 basins of the Water Resilience Coalition, and the Water Resilience Target of the UN Global Compact's Forward Faster Initiative
• The Open Call is supported by AquaFed, the Alliance for Water Stewardship, CEO Water Mandate, Ceres, International Chambers of Commerce, Pacific Institute, and the UN Global Compact

The Open Call serves as a vehicle for companies of all sizes, sectors, and geographies to make substantive contributions toward de-risking water-stressed basins around the world. This shared 2030 goal mobilizes companies to join forces and amplify our collective impact year by year.

Companies that join the Open Call will gain access to technical resources on achieving positive water impact. They will also be invited to participate in collective action projects aimed at improving basin health. Additionally, companies will be publicly recognized as part of a transformational global movement committed to achieving long-term impact.

The Open Call is well suited to support large companies with deep value chains and smaller enterprises within those value chains. When multinationals invite their suppliers to join the Open Call alongside them, they engage a much larger portion of their water footprint.

The Open Call is aligned with the goals and programs of several existing initiatives. For companies looking to deepen their engagement, the Open Call can serve as an onramp for signatories of the UN Global Compact to the CEO Water Mandate, Forward Faster initiative, and Water Resilience Coalition.

UN Global Compact signatories that join the CEO Water Mandate / Water Resilience Coalition and want to join the movement will receive recognition as participants in the Forward Faster – Water Resilience initiative.

While not required, given the synergies of these initiatives, companies joining the Open Call are strongly encouraged to join these aligned programs.

Learn More: CEO Water Mandate
Learn More: Forward Faster
Learn More: Water Resilience Coalition

Supporting Document for Next Steps

The Business Leaders' Open Call commits companies to action on water. The next steps document provides companies with further specific activities and guides them towards tools to begin bringing their commitments to the ground. Indeed, the document functions as an extension of the Open Call for Water Action. Curated by the UN Global Compact CEO Water Mandate, it showcases trusted partners, technical guidance, and theoretical frameworks that support implementation of the specific strategies named in the Open Call. The goals are ambitious, but they are achievable. There is no excuse for inaction.

Read More Here