Emilio Tenuta, chief sustainability officer at Ecolab, says that water is often treated in a linear way and as a liability, rather than as the renewable resource that it is. Tenuta notes that we have to go beyond conservation to stave off the water shortage that is anticipated in 2030.

Emilio Tenuta, the vice president of corporate sustainability at Ecolab, knows that simply conserving water isn't enough anymore. In order to meet global water goals, companies have to emphasize recycling water systems and recovering wastewater. 

"There are local challenges — and local solutions," he said, mentioning tools and guides that Ecolab has developed. 

"We can't do this alone," he said. "We're operating in the same watersheds. We need to think of ways we can collaborate."

The circular economy's focus on keeping materials and chemicals at play extends to one of the basic elements of human life: water. But localized water systems present certain challenges to maximize water's "quantity, quality and value," as EcoLab's vice president of sustainability, Emilio Tenuta, said.

"Business as usual will lead to a 40 percent gap in supply demand of water by 2030," said Emilio Tenuta, vice president of corporate sustainability at Ecolab. However, despite water conservation projects, since 2011, corporate water use has declined only by 10 percent.

According to Tenuta, if the world is to address the pressing issue of water quality scarcity, "we're going to have to create partnerships that accelerate change and reinvent the way we work."