Our work with Freshwater

Freshwater is essential for life on earth, yet nearly two billion people face severe water scarcity, and 85% of freshwater species populations have declined since 1970 (LPR 2024). Despite its importance, freshwater is threatened by overdevelopment, pollution, and climate change, making water crises a major risk to both human communities and the global economy.

Since 2014, the WWF and IKEA partnership has been working together on water issues, using the Water Stewardship approach. Water Stewardship is a holistic approach for companies to act on water risks and water impacts through stakeholder engagement, better management and governance influence to protect shared water resources, biodiversity and ecosystems.

WWF and IKEA have agreed on a partnership focused on water security across the IKEA supply chain and beyond until 2030. The partnership is built around concrete actions in priority basins**, including improved supply chain water management and restoration of wetlands and freshwater ecosystems. These efforts are designed to support freshwater biodiversity and the habitats of key species such as migratory waterbirds.”

**Yellow Sea and East China Sea Basin, China and Noyyal-Bhavani River Basin, India

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How we work with freshwater

Corporate Water Stewardship

In partnership, WWF and IKEA are developing approaches to address supply chain water risks within IKEA’s supply chain through on-the-ground piloting.

Collective Action Project in China

Through an industrial park water stewardship approach, we are engaging IKEA supplier sites in China to reduce water impacts and boost collective action to address shared water challenges. We also work to enhance basin water availability and basin resilience by restoring critical wetlands and improving freshwater ecosystem services.

Collective Action Project in India

We work to restore and enhance the ecological health, connectivity, and integrity of Noyyal and Bhavani Rivers in the Western Ghats-Nilgiris Landscape.