What are Volumetric Water Benefits?
In recognition of the interconnected nature of water for human, ecosystem, and economic well-being, corporations are funding water stewardship projects in the regions where they operate. Many companies frame their targets related to water stewardship in terms of Volumetric Water Benefit targets. Volumetric water benefits (VWBs) are the volume of water resulting from water stewardship activities, relative to a unit of time, that modify the hydrology in a beneficial way and/or help reduce shared water challenges (VWBA 2.0).
VWBs are best viewed as an output of water stewardship activities, generated in the process of achieving social, economic, and environmental benefits. The specific activities will vary based on the local catchment context, opportunities, and challenges: some example activities are highlighted below.
The first Volumetric Water Benefit Accounting (VWBA) guidance was published in 2019 (Reig et al.) to provide a common method for quantifying the volumetric water benefits (VWBs) of water stewardship activities, with revised and expanded guidance published in VWBA 2.0 in 2025 (WRI et al. 2025). VWBA is used to evaluate progress toward water balance targets, also commonly referred to as water replenishment, restoration, or regeneration targets, and contextual water targets (Reig et al. 2021; UNGC et al. 2019)
How do I use this tool?
This tool is designed to support practitioners and project implementers in evaluating potential project activities to identify:
- Their eligibility to generate credible VWBs in alignment with the guidance provided in Volumetric Water Benefit Accounting 2.0 (VWBA 2.0).
- The appropriate method and indicator to quantify the volumetric water benefits for eligible projects.
After you enter some basic project information, you’ll be walked through a series of criteria to assess the eligibility of your project activity to generate VWBs and presented with additional considerations that may inform funders’ selection of projects. If the project activity is eligible, you’ll then be guided through the process of identifying and selecting the appropriate indicator and method to quantify the VWBs for your project. Throughout the process, additional context and guidance from VWBA 2.0 are provided to assist you in responding to the questions and to give you confidence in communicating with potential funders about how your project aligns with VWBA 2.0 guidance.
At the end, the tool will provide a summary report of your inputs and the evaluation results, along with next steps.