Salesforce, the global leader in customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, has unveiled a comprehensive suite of water-focused initiatives designed to improve sustainability across its data centers, power supply, and surrounding ecosystems. The announcement marks a major evolution of the company’s Nature Positive Strategy, first introduced in 2023, by shifting focus from emissions reduction alone to a broader agenda addressing water scarcity and ecosystem resilience. The program seeks to reduce the company’s operational water footprint while supporting watershed health in vulnerable regions such as Brazil and Mexico. It also introduces new commitments for clean energy procurement and blue carbon investments, positioning Salesforce among the few major technology companies to explicitly link water use, energy intensity, and ecosystem protection in a unified sustainability framework. Can Salesforce’s integrated approach to data center water management and nature-based restoration set a credible precedent for tech-sector accountability in high-impact regions, or will the complexity of scaling water-positive strategies globally limit its tangible outcomes?

Embedding Water Stewardship into Data and Energy Infrastructure

At the heart of the new initiative is Salesforce’s dedicated water program aimed at identifying, measuring, and mitigating water-related risks across its digital infrastructure. The company’s data centers core to its global CRM operations require substantial water for cooling and power generation. Salesforce plans to establish specific withdrawal and discharge standards for both its owned and third-party data centers, ensuring water use aligns with sustainable thresholds in each operating region. The company will also collaborate closely with cloud providers to enhance water use transparency and efficiency, moving toward shared accountability across digital infrastructure networks. Beyond direct water usage, Salesforce’s program extends to the electricity that powers its data centers. Recognizing that electricity generation is often water-intensive, particularly in thermoelectric and hydro-based grids, Salesforce has committed to integrating clean energy procurement strategies and supporting grid decarbonization projects that lessen both carbon and water intensity in high-impact markets. These commitments signal an important shift in sustainability thinking within the technology sector, where emissions reduction has traditionally overshadowed other resource dependencies. By explicitly linking energy transition with water stewardship, Salesforce is broadening the definition of operational sustainability.

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Investing in Watershed Resilience Across Latin America

Salesforce’s water stewardship ambitions extend beyond corporate operations. The company announced new investments in Latin America to enhance local watershed resilience, beginning with two flagship initiatives in Brazil and Mexico. In Brazil, Salesforce will support Conservation International’s “Conservador das Águas” project in the Jaguari River Basin, a critical source of drinking water for nearly 9 million people in São Paulo. The initiative focuses on restoring degraded springs, increasing native vegetation cover, and improving water quality while strengthening community-based watershed governance. In Mexico, Salesforce is funding three large-scale restoration projects centered on forest regeneration, groundwater recharge, and ecosystem protection. Together, these investments demonstrate how corporate resources can help bridge the financing gap for community-led restoration programs that often lack long-term funding. By focusing on nature-based solutions such as reforestation and aquifer replenishment, Salesforce aims to improve not just water quantity but also biodiversity and soil stability in key catchment areas adjacent to its priority offices and data centers.

Scaling Ocean-Based Carbon Solutions through Blue Carbon Markets

In parallel with its terrestrial restoration initiatives, Salesforce is accelerating its investments in “blue carbon”, a term referring to carbon captured and stored in coastal and marine ecosystems such as mangroves, seagrasses, and tidal marshes. Building on its 2022 Blue Carbon Markets Initiative, the company is working to create consistent global standards for assessing, verifying, and trading blue carbon credits. Through partnerships with the Mangrove Breakthrough Alliance, Salesforce supports the mobilization of finance for coastal restoration and the expansion of verified blue carbon projects. Additionally, the company’s involvement with the Symbiosis Coalition, a collaborative network focused on nature-based carbon removal, ensures that blue carbon projects form a key component of its climate financing portfolio through 2026 and beyond. Salesforce’s goal to contract for one million tons of high-quality blue carbon credits by 2030 underscores the company’s belief that protecting marine ecosystems is as vital as addressing terrestrial deforestation. These coastal ecosystems not only sequester carbon efficiently but also buffer communities against flooding, erosion, and sea-level rise.

Integrating Nature, Energy, and Technology Under One Strategy

The expanded water program and blue carbon efforts fall under Salesforce’s Nature Positive Strategy, a company-wide initiative designed to measure, manage, and mitigate environmental impacts. The strategy aims to support the conservation, restoration, and growth of 100 million trees by 2030, while mobilizing $100 million in nature and sustainability philanthropy by 2031. By incorporating water and ocean stewardship into its nature-positive framework, Salesforce is broadening its definition of environmental accountability. The company is moving beyond carbon neutrality targets to address the ecological systems that sustain business continuity and community well-being. This integrated approach reflects growing recognition that climate, water, and biodiversity challenges must be tackled together rather than in isolation.

Sunya Norman, Senior Vice President of Impact at Salesforce, emphasized this global-local linkage in her statement: “At COP30, the world is calling for action that connects local leadership with global scale. By investing in watershed restoration and nature-based solutions, we’re helping protect ecosystems that sustain communities while building a more resilient planet.”

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Towards a Blueprint for Corporate Water Accountability

Salesforce’s new initiatives could serve as a benchmark for how digital and technology companies address natural resource dependencies embedded in their operations. While the tech sector has made progress on renewable energy procurement, water use remains a less visible but equally critical component of environmental impact. The success of Salesforce’s approach will depend on the transparency of its reporting and the extent to which it can influence industry peers and partners. By combining technology-driven measurement with community-led restoration, the company is attempting to demonstrate that sustainable digital infrastructure can coexist with ecological regeneration. If executed effectively, Salesforce’s Nature Positive Strategy could evolve into a corporate blueprint for water-positive operations balancing technological growth with environmental stewardship in a world where both are increasingly intertwined.

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