Climate Action

Collective action is the key to drive urgency in building climate resilience

Birds flying over a water body in Yamuna River Basin, which has been rejuvenated as part of a a climate resilience Initiative.

The Yamuna River Basin Collective Action, a climate resilience initiative by HCLFoundation. Image: HCLTech

C. Vijayakumar
Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, HCLTech
This article is part of: World Economic Forum Annual Meeting
  • In an increasingly fragile world, collective action among leaders is the key to implementing effective climate resilience initiatives.
  • At the heart of effective collective action lies the ability to create ecosystems that transcend traditional boundaries.
  • An area where collective action is demonstrating its critical importance is in the rejuvenation of India's Yamuna River Basin.

Ahead of the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in 2024, I wrote about the importance of innovation-led ecosystems for business transformation. I shared my experience building structures to encourage a culture of collaboration for effective digital transformation. This year, I am hopeful and encouraged as these structures of collaboration between institutions have resulted in on-ground improvement in a significant area of focus for HCLTech: water stewardship.

These green shoots have increased my belief in the approach of creating collaborative ecosystems through which organizations can achieve their most aspirational goals when it comes to environmental stewardship and climate resilience.

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Embracing collective action to tackle climate challenges

In an era marked by escalating climate challenges, the importance of collective action cannot be overstated. From mitigating the effects of global warming to addressing resource scarcity, no single entity – governmental, corporate, or nonprofit – can tackle these pressing issues alone. Achieving meaningful and lasting impact requires collective action that brings together diverse perspectives, resources and expertise.

Collective action is not just about partnerships; it’s about fostering a mindset that prioritizes a shared purpose over individual agendas. Across industries and geographies, organizations have demonstrated that pooling efforts can accelerate progress towards ambitious goals. Whether it’s developing scalable solutions to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or addressing localized issues like water scarcity, collective action transforms complex challenges into opportunities for innovation and resilience-building.

At the heart of effective collective action lies the ability to create ecosystems that transcend traditional boundaries. These ecosystems thrive on trust, shared knowledge and a commitment to achieving long-term outcomes. The most successful initiatives often emerge when stakeholders align on common objectives, implement mechanisms for resource sharing and foster an environment of mutual accountability.

One critical area where collective action is proving indispensable is in addressing the global water crisis. Water scarcity, exacerbated by climate change, threatens ecosystems, economies and human well-being worldwide. By 2030, the demand for water is projected to outstrip supply by 40%, according to the United Nations. This underscores the urgent need for collective action to improve water resilience.

In this context, our own experience of driving measurable outcomes in critical areas such as environmental sustainability, community empowerment and water stewardship, has reinforced the value of collective action. By building coalitions that focus on fostering emotional engagement with affected communities, designing scalable methodologies that can be replicated by other organizations and ensuring solutions are adaptable to different contexts, we have witnessed the transformative potential of uniting efforts toward a shared vision.

This is demonstrated in our mission to improve water resilience in the Yamuna River Basin.

The Yamuna River Basin Collective Action for water resilience

One of our most ambitious initiatives is the restoration of the Yamuna River Basin in India. The Yamuna, the largest tributary of the Ganges (aka Ganga) River, is vital to millions of people, supporting agriculture, providing drinking water and sustaining biodiversity. However, the river basin is under immense stress due to pollution, climate change and over-extraction, calling for immediate and coordinated intervention to rejuvenate and preserve this essential water source.

According to HCLTech’s own analysis with local government agencies, 99% of the Yamuna’s natural springs in the lower Himalayas – essential for drinking and irrigation – have been lost. Meanwhile, Delhi contributes significantly to the basin’s degradation, with 80% of its waste, along with additional industrial discharge, entering the river and contributing to its ecological decline.

HCLTech, through the HCLFoundation, has taken a leading role in addressing this urgent need by working with an extensive network of water stewards, including nonprofits, governmental agencies and private sector partners. The collective working at the Yamuna River Basin has already rejuvenated over 140 water structures, harvested over 34 billion litres of water in the last five years and planted more than 600,000 native trees to restore biodiversity in the region. We have also planted native species in the upstream region of the river and successfully achieved a more than 90% survival rate for these indigenous species of plants.

Our aim is to unite diverse groups of stakeholders in an initiative that we are formalizing as the Yamuna River Basin Collective Action.

This initiative builds on our collaboration with the CEO Water Mandate, an initiative established by the UN Global Compact (UNGC) in partnership with the Pacific Institute. The Mandate offers companies an opportunity to address water challenges by creating a forum that shares best practices and facilitates partnerships.

Through this collective action, we are laying the groundwork for water management strategies that support both ecological sustainability and the well-being of communities reliant on the Yamuna River.

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How is the World Economic Forum fighting the climate crisis?

A call to action for collective action on climate resilience

The environmental challenges we face today – particularly in areas like water stewardship – are simply too vast for any single entity to address. Building climate resilience demands a collective approach and I urge my fellow CEOs and business leaders to join us in the Yamuna River Basin Collective Action.

As we prepare for the Forum’s Annual Meeting 2025 in Davos, it is evident that the future of the intelligent economy is heavily dependent on resilient climate and communities. By working together to share resources, leverage data and develop adaptable governance, a collective action can achieve far more (and far sooner) than any single entity can. I encourage you to invest your resources in building collective actions that are relevant to you and share the learnings with the rest of the world.

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The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Related topics:
Climate ActionNature and BiodiversitySustainable Development
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