1. Assess Nature-Related Risks and Dependencies: Ecolab is a supporter of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) and the company seeks to align its actions with TNFD recommendations. In partnership with Anthesis Group, Ecolab has systematically evaluated biodiversity impacts, dependencies, risks and opportunities (DIROs) across its manufacturing sites and value chain, prioritizing facilities based on their ecosystem vulnerability and proximity to key biodiversity areas.
2. Integrate Biodiversity Action with Water Stewardship: Ecolab is a founding member of the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) and has achieved AWS certification for 13 sites across Brazil, Chile, China, Mexico and the United States—and is pursuing certification for six more sites in 2025 and 2026. Through pursuing AWS certification, Ecolab’s sites must assess important water-related areas and their biodiversity value. The company leverages existing water management programs and actions taken through the AWS certification processes to identify and create measurable biodiversity benefits through nature-based solutions and ecosystem restoration projects.

3. Develop Site Level Biodiversity Conservation Strategies: Ecolab is committed to implementing targeted conservation assessments and action plans at priority facilities. Partnering with Tandem Global, an organization aimed at supporting corporations to manage their lands to support sustainable ecosystems, Ecolab is piloting a biodiversity conservation assessment at the Lerma, Mexico, facility to demonstrate how manufacturing operations can help contribute positively to local ecosystem health and resilience and to inform implementation of targeted biodiversity enhancement strategies across priority sites.

Ecolab’s Lerma facility in Mexico serves as an example of integrated biodiversity and water stewardship efforts. Located in the municipality of Lerma within the Valley of Toluca, this blend plant producing water treatment solutions sits near the globally significant Ciénegas del Lerma wetland—a critical habitat facing severe pollution pressures from industrial development. The facility operates within three areas of biodiversity importance (Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, Sierra Madre Occidental and Central Mexican Marshes) that support rich bird diversity but face critical threats from habitat fragmentation, pollution and unsustainable resource use.

Ecolab selected to pilot a conservation assessment at Lerma due to its proximity to a Key Biodiversity Area, its role as an AWS-certified model plant and its demonstrative high levels of productivity, sustainability and financial performance.

To assess Lerma, Ecolab partnered with Tandem Global to conduct desktop research and stakeholder engagement at the Lerma facility to understand the ecological context of the site and current-day conservation pressures such as habitat and biodiversity loss, invasive species and water pressures. Tandem Global leveraged this research to identify opportunities to implement site-level biodiversity actions and collaborate with regional nature and biodiversity-related initiatives and organizations. The assessment revealed specific actions that can be implemented at Lerma to help support local biodiversity, including water-efficient landscaping with native species, creation of pollinator-friendly habitats, reforestation initiatives and nature-based stormwater management solutions such as green roofs, rain gardens and bioswales.

The Lerma pilot demonstrates our potential to help transform manufacturing operations into biodiversity assets while maintaining operational excellence. The biodiversity efforts at Lerma aim to serve as a replicable framework for expanding nature-positive impact across Ecolab’s manufacturing network, supporting both the UN's 2030 biodiversity targets and Ecolab’s Net Positive Water Impact ambitions—all while helping support climate and water resilience along its supply chain.

Since 2023, Ecolab collaborated with Anthesis to apply TNFD’s LEAP approach to better understand how our operations impact and depend on nature. This includes assessing water and biodiversity risks, checking if direct operations are in proximity to key biodiversity areas and conducting detailed reviews of nature-related DIROs at our AWS sites. Those efforts, paired with the site-level pilot at Lerma, has helped inform a few key findings—underscoring the interconnectedness of biodiversity, water, nature and climate resilience:

1. Existing Water Programs Mitigate Biodiversity Impacts: Through assessing current water management programs, Ecolab identified that current site-level water reduction and efficiency measures can provide identifiable biodiversity benefits. Several of its AWS sites are implementing numerous actions that support nature and biodiversity within sites and in the local watersheds, including water use reduction and water efficiency projects, rainwater harvesting, reforestation, riparian buffer and river restoration and wastewater and stormwater treatment.
2. Strategic Prioritization Identifies High-Impact Opportunities: Through Anthesis’ screening of 100 prioritized facilities for potential nature risks, Ecolab identified four sites requiring site-level validation of proximity to and potential impacts on, key biodiversity areas. Additionally, Tandem Global’s assessment of biodiversity DIROs at Ecolab’s AWS certified facilities led the company to analyze 19 manufacturing sites representing 70% of production. These assessments enabled Ecolab identify the Lerma facility as a strong learning example to dive deeper, through piloting a site-level conservation assessment—and aims to inform which facilities to prioritize for future site-level assessment and action.
3. Nature-Based Solutions Offer Dual Benefits: Through systematic evaluation of nature and biodiversity-related DIROs, Ecolab has shown how nature-based solutions can help simultaneously address operational resilience (flood mitigation, climate adaptation) and biodiversity conservation. These efforts speak to the dual benefits of creating business value while contributing to ecosystem restoration goals.

Ecolab’s path to integrate biodiversity action with its water stewardship program continues. In the future, Ecolab aims to leverage the results of our evaluations to address priority risks at high impact sites through conducting additional site level conservation assessments and through nature action plans that outline actions and metrics to track progress. Ecolab sees the importance of ongoing monitoring and assessment for understanding site-specific effects on the local ecosystem.

Through these efforts, Ecolab is not only helping to mitigate potential impacts but also working to help strengthen its ability to consistently serve customers and contribute positively to the environment.