Water Scopes

April 28, 2026

The Missing Framework for Corporate Water Risk. We're Building It.

Water is a defining resource risk of the next decade. Companies face mounting pressure from investors, regulators, and communities to account for their water use across entire value chains — but unlike carbon, there is no common framework for measurement.

Until now.

Introducing Water Scopes 1-3

A landmark coalition of SCS Global Services, the World Resources Institute, WWF, and the CEO Water Mandate, is developing the first globally aligned corporate guidance for assessing water dependencies, impacts, risks, and opportunities across value chains.

Think of it as the GHG Protocol moment for water.

Just as the Greenhouse Gas Protocol transformed how companies measure and act on carbon — creating the common language that made science-based targets, investor disclosure, and regulatory compliance possible — Water Scopes 1-3 will create the foundation on which a water protocol can be built and to which existing standards can adapt.

For the first time, companies will have a standardized way to define and measure:

• Direct water use within their own operations
• Water embedded in the energy they consume
• Water impacts across their entire value chain

Why This Matters Now

Investors are already asking the questions. Regulators are already writing the rules. The EU's mandatory water disclosure requirements for data centers are in force. TNFD, CSRD, and SBTN are demanding value chain water reporting. 
The pressure is real. We're building the framework to respond.

Who's Behind This

This initiative brings together the organizations that have shaped the global water stewardship landscape — and the organization that helped build the original GHG Protocol.,

• World Resources Institute — co-author of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol; home of Aqueduct, the world's leading water risk tool
• WWF — one of the world's most influential environmental organizations, with deep expertise in freshwater ecosystems
• CEO Water Mandate — a flagship initiative of the United Nations Global Compact and ta leading global platform for advancing corporate water stewardship and business action on water security and resilience
• SCS Global Services — 40+ years of third-party environmental certification, verification, and standards development; home of the SCS-116 Water Stewardship and Resiliency Standard

The Opportunity

This guidance will become the foundation for corporate water disclosure, target-setting, investor risk assessment, and regulatory compliance globally. The organizations that help build it will be at the center of the emerging water reporting architecture.

The window to shape this framework is now.

Get Involved

Whether you're a corporate sustainability leader, an investor, a philanthropic funder, Foundation or a technical expert — there is a role for you in this initiative.

Click here to tell us how you'd like to participate

Resources:

Concepts Note