Why businesses must be involved in a more nature-positive future

How we work with business to us achieve our vision for healthy rivers.

Rebecca Duncan

16/10/24

Blog

Everything we do at The Rivers Trust is driven by our vision of wild, healthy, natural rivers, valued by all. In order to truly realise that vision, it is important that all aspects of society are involved in the process. From the moment a raindrop hits the ground to when it meets the sea at the mouth of the river, it is incumbent on everyone to treat that water responsibly. That’s why we seek to build strong partnerships with anyone who has a stake in the health of our rivers to ensure it happens, including water companies and other private sector businesses.

We are not ignorant of the fact that largely unregulated and sometimes illegal harmful environmental practices have historically been the norm for the private sector. However, we are also aware that the private sector must be engaged if we are to have any chance of transitioning to a climate-resilient, nature-positive economy. None of us can effect change on our own, and businesses that are part of our current problem have to be part of the solution.

Our work with corporates is underpinned by the principle of Water Stewardship, defined by the Alliance for Water Stewardship as “use of water that is socially and culturally equitable, environmentally sustainable and economically beneficial, achieved through a stakeholder-inclusive process that includes both site- and catchment-based actions.” As a trusted environmental NGO, we play an important role in bridging the gap between the private sector and local communities. Through our work with Catchment Partnerships and local Trusts, we connect the multinational with the hyperlocal, supporting big businesses to be better water stewards and make a credible positive difference to rivers right here in the UK and Ireland. There may sometimes be tensions between the operations of the organisations we work with and the solutions we are trying to deliver, but that is why our work is necessary.

We are immensely proud of what we have achieved over the years by working with the likes of the motor industry, food supply chain businesses, water companies, landowners, builders and more. What’s more, we are beginning to see a change in awareness, in behaviour, improvement in river habitats, and feel we can move towards a normalisation of water and nature-friendly activities in sectors which are historically environmentally blind or even damaging.

These partnerships are not always easy and never straightforward, but we know that the hours, days and weeks we spend building relationships and understanding produce real results for our rivers, including:

  • Pioneering green finance mechanisms: Through innovative projects like the Wyre Natural Flood Management programme and the creation of the Aire Resilience Company, we have been at the forefront of catchment-scale flood risk reduction schemes. Both projects have created a special purpose vehicle combining public and private funding to implement nature-based solutions in high-flood risk areas. The local businesses which contribute to this funding are the very same businesses that will benefit from a more resilient landscape.
  • Restoring rivers through partnerships: One of the biggest impacts that businesses have on rivers is abstraction. Large-scale sites such as factories and packaging plants often use a staggering amount of water during their operational processes, which can put extreme stress on river ecosystems. As water scarcity poses an increasing threat to the UK and Ireland, The Rivers Trust’s Replenish programme connects businesses to local catchment partnerships and Rivers Trusts to deliver on-the-ground activities that return water to the environment and contribute to improving sustainability and resilience in catchments. One of the best ways of doing so is by creating and restoring wetlands, and we have been involved in award-winning wetland schemes with the likes of the Coca-Cola Foundation and Amazon Web Services.
  • Raising funds for rivers: Corporate partnerships have enabled us to raise much-needed funds and awareness for the Rivers Trust movement. In 2023, we partnered with Forest, an environmentally sustainable micro-mobility platform. Forest’s green bikes were re-purposed to respond to a surge in demand and were temporarily branded as “River Bikes” directing riders to find out more about our work. Forest also pledged 5% of all profits from the e-bikes to our campaigns, resulting in substantial funds which we can now put to good use.
  • Water companies: No sector has come under more scrutiny recently for its environmental impact than the water industry – and rightly so. Water company practices have led rivers to be treated as collateral damage for too long, and now it is time to turn that around. It will not be possible to reverse the fate of Britain’s rivers without bring water companies on board, which is why we are forging key strategic partnerships with water companies in England. This work will not only encourage culture change at the water companies, but will enable solutions to be embedded across catchments.

Developing skills and supporting green jobs: By building green jobs and training into our projects and corporate partnerships we are supporting young people into the environment sector. For example, the Bentley Environmental Foundation is funding two traineeships with Mersey Rivers Trust, empowering local people with the skills and experience to kickstart their environmental careers.

Every organisation in the private sector, public sector, and charity sector can contribute in their own way to improving the health of our rivers. With our focus on solutions driven by data and evidence, we remain steadfast in our conviction that we can make the biggest difference to our rivers by, as our CEO Mark Lloyd likes to say, “ganging up on the problem, not each other”.

We are just a short way through our journey to turn around the state of our rivers, but we are making a difference. Our latest Impact Report is a testament to what the Rivers Trust movement has achieved not just in the last 12 months, but over the last 20 years. We are ready to partner with organisations that genuinely share our vision and are committed to strong environmental stewardship. We will measure our combined successes based on actions and outcomes. Using our expertise and energy, and working together in partnership and collaboration, we can forge a more positive future for our rivers.

Back to top