Why Corporate Support for Environmental Charities Matters

Water is life. It underpins health, livelihoods, food security, ecosystems, and economic growth. Yet billions of people live with water scarcity, unsafe drinking water, or unreliable supply. 1 in 4 people globally still lack access to safe drinking water (WHO, UNICEF). For companies, supporting environmental charities isn’t just a matter of conscience; it is strategic, necessary, and can deliver real, measurable impact.

Currently only 3% of corporate giving goes to environmental causes

Here are some reasons why corporate support for environmental charities matters and why we think 1% for the Planet offers a great platform:

Shared risk & shared future
Companies and communities alike depend on stable, healthy natural systems: watersheds, springs, rivers, aquifers. When these fail, supply chains are disrupted, costs rise, reputations suffer, and social instability increases. Supporting environmental charity work helps protect the natural capital that business depends on.

Reputational integrity and consumer trust
Modern consumers expect businesses to act sustainably. “Greenwashing” (making vague or misleading environmental claims) is increasingly scrutinised. Genuine giving, especially via credible platforms, can build trust, differentiate brands, and even open new markets.

Employee engagement, culture and retention
Many employees want to work for organisations whose values align with theirs. Companies that visibly commit to environmental causes can foster pride, loyalty, and purpose among staff.

Alignment with regulatory, ESG and investor expectations
Investors, regulators, and rating agencies increasingly look for evidence of environmental responsibility. Support for charities, transparency in giving, and alignment with Sustainability or ESG goals can help companies meet those expectations.

Multiplier effects & collective action
Donations don’t just help individual projects; they can enable scaled impact, e.g. restoring ecosystems, influencing policy, build capacity, and catalyse further funding or partnerships. When many companies contribute, large systemic change becomes more possible.

Why 1% for the Planet is a transparent, effective platform

For companies wanting to ensure their giving is effective, transparent, and credible, 1% for the Planet offers a strong framework. Here are some of its key advantages:

• Commitment to donate at least 1% of annual sales (not profits) to vetted environmental partners: This is a clear, measurable pledge.
• Certification and verification: Companies must submit documentation of revenue and donation receipts so that the commitment is independently verified. This reduces the risk of greenwashing.
• Flexibility in giving: The model allows for a mix of monetary giving, in-kind donations, volunteer time, or approved promotional/ad spend, as long as the donation (or equivalent support) meets the 1% commitment. This makes it doable for a wide range of businesses.
• Membership dues plus giving count: Joining 1% for the Planet includes membership that often counts towards part of the 1% requirement. The structure helps with the onboarding process and doesn’t place the full burden of donation from scratch.
• Widespread recognition and branding benefit: Use of the 1% for the Planet logo gives credibility with consumers, stakeholders, and partners. It signals genuine environmental commitment.
• Network effects & choice of environmental partners: Companies can choose which approved environmental organisations to support. This allows alignment with causes that match the company’s mission, geography, or supply chain concerns.

Giving through 1% for the Planet tends not only to do good directly, but also to magnify good through trust, partnerships, marketing, and systemic exposure.

Why Frank Water Is an Ideal Environmental Partner

If, as a company, you are looking to support a charity through 1% for the Planet, Frank Water is especially compelling. Here are some of the reasons that make us a particularly good match:

1. Depth and variety of work

Frank Water works across multiple intersecting areas, all of which are crucial in supporting some of the most water scarce communities globally:

• Restoring Water. Including springshed rejuvenation, this work involves reviving mountain springs in the Himalayas, digging trenches, planting native vegetation, and restoring groundwater recharge.
• Planning Water. Frank Water uses Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), including mapping, modelling, watershed-level planning, and combining community knowledge with technical data. We work closely with global strategic partners to ensure the most up-to-date technology is applied throughout our programmatic work.
• Sharing Water / Collective Action. The charity works collaboratively with corporations, governments, NGOs and communities to build shared decision-making, knowledge sharing, and joint water stewardship.
• Education & Awareness. This programme involves communities, schools, children, and public engagement to build water literacy and ensure sustainability of fresh water resources. In 2024 we launched 3 brilliant educational resources alongside the educational platform, Earth Cubs, and our knowledge partners Xylem and Arup.

2. Measurable impact in remote & water-scarce communities

Frank Water’s impact reports (2021-22 and 2022-23) show concrete outcomes which have been gaining momentum over the last 20 years of work in the WASH sector.

• Nearly 36,000 people in India and Nepal were supported towards water-secure futures in 2022, and in 2023 we expanded our reach to new communities and regions, ensuring clean water to a further 47,800 people across 36 communities.
• Spring regeneration work in the Himalayas, which directly matters in mountain, rural, remote contexts where springs are lifelines, has been an integral part of our work over the last four years. Over the last couple of years, Frank Water has worked with health centres in Kenya, alogside our partner AMREF, to improve water access in challenging environments. We scaled our WASH Tapp (WASH Basins toolkit and WASH Connect app) to support more families in Kenya and Nepal, enhancing water security for marginalised communities. Another key aspect of our work, has been supporting tribal and marginalised communities to gain knowledge of hydrology and water supply planning so that solutions are locally appropriate and sustainable.

This kind of work ensures that donations reach places where need is greatest, where infrastructure is often lacking, and where improvements can have especially profound human and ecological effects.

3. Systemic & scalable approach

Frank Water doesn’t only create individual projects, but tries to embed sustainability via tools, partnerships, capacity building, planning, advocacy and collective action. Some specific examples from our programmes include:

• The WASH Basins Toolkit and app, developed alongside ARUP and our other NGO partners, to help assess and plan water supply in water basins.
• The “Beyond the Boundary” programme which seeks to integrate corporate supply chains into watershed stewardship, showing how businesses can engage meaningfully with water risk and sustainability.
• Spring rejuvenation with nature-based solutions (vegetation, hydrology, recharge, community training) in the Himalayas.

These kinds of programmes are more likely to have long-term, resilient outcomes, and to serve as models that others can learn from or replicate.

4. Meaningful donor transparency and return on investment

Frank Water provides annual impact reports, data, stories, and metrics. Donors can see how their support is used, what outcomes are achieved, and what scale is involved. This matters when companies are using funds via 1% for the Planet, since part of that certification and brand trust depends on partner credibility. Frank Water clearly shows:

• Numbers of people helped, communities served.
• Projects in multiple countries including remote and water-scarce geographies.
• Innovations and local capacity building (not imposing one-size-fits-all methodology).

How Donating via 1% for the Planet, to Frank Water Can Make a Genuine Difference

• Scale + credibility: A company gives 1% of sales, verified via 1% for the Planet, to an organisation like Frank Water whose work is already embedded in remote communities. The money goes straight to proven interventions (springs, local water supply, community capacity).
• Targeting water-scarce, remote areas: These are places where infrastructure is weak, where springs or natural catchments are drying up, where safe water is unreliable. Even modest sums can transform daily life, reduce walking for water, improve health, free up time, especially for women and children.
• Building resilience to climate change: Spring rejuvenation, recharge, nature-based solutions, watershed planning are all work that improve resilience, helping communities withstand droughts, erratic rainfall, and global warming.
• Systemic leverage: The involvement of corporations via programmes like “Beyond the Boundary” or watershed-level planning means that business operations (supply chains, land use) start to internalise water risk. Over time this can shift how land is managed, how water is shared, even policy and regulation.
• Visibility and awareness: Donations through 1% for the Planet and partnerships with visible charities raise awareness — among consumers, employees, and governments about the water crisis. This can stimulate further funding, behaviour change, and systemic shifts beyond just the specific projects supported.

What Companies Can Do: Practical Steps

If your company is considering supporting an environmental water charity such as Frank Water, here are some steps to ensure that your giving is meaningful:

Join 1% for the Planet (or a similar trusted platform) to ensure transparency, certification, and connection to vetted partners.

Select partners whose work aligns with your values & risk profile — e.g. Frank Water if you care about water scarcity, marginalised communities, nature-based solutions, systems/collective action, UK education and awareness.

Ensure a mix of short-term impact & long-term sustainability — water projects that deliver immediate benefits (clean water, springs, health benefits, supply chain water use) but also build capacity, institutions or tools so the change lasts.

Communicate your support — with authenticity. Use case studies, stories, metrics; engage your staff and customers; show the connection between your business and the water/environment.

Monitor & report — measure outcomes, learn from mistakes, be transparent (both about success and challenges).

Supporting environmental charities is no longer optional, it’s integral to responsible business in a water-constrained world. Platforms like 1% for the Planet make it easier for companies to give with credibility, accountability, and flexibility. And partnering with charities like Frank Water, which combine grounded, community-led action (e.g. springshed rejuvenation), planning, education, and scalable tools and partnerships, ensures that donations actually deliver in places that most need them.

If your company wants to be part of the solution, to make sure remote, water-scarce communities finally get reliable, safe, sustainable water, then choosing the 1% for the Planet path and supporting Frank Water offers a powerful way to do so.

Frank Water has been recognised as an official recommended charity in 1% for the Planet‘s Climate Adaptation impact target, within their Featured Partner Guides.

Hear from 1% for the Planet’s CEO Kate Williams on why companies should be supporting environmental charities.