Today, our most essential resource for life on earth, water, is under significant stress. Climate change, urbanization and population growth are accelerating shortages, degrading quality and threatening global access—especially in vulnerable communities.
With mounting pressure on water systems worldwide, Orbia saw a clear call to action. In March 2024, Orbia launched its first-ever global volunteering initiative: Time4Water, a month-long campaign that mobilized employees around water stewardship. Coinciding with World Water Day, the campaign drew participation from thousands of Orbians and partners across more than 30 countries—and recently earned a 2025 International CSR Excellence Award for its outstanding social impact.
A Global Call to Protect a Global Resource
Orbia is invested in water security through its core offerings—from stormwater and blue-green infrastructure to precision irrigation and smart water systems. In fact, water and sanitation solutions account for 30% of the company’s revenue today and are a continued area of operations focus, product development and investment.
However, providing solutions for global water security is only one piece of the puzzle. True change requires collective action and initiatives that deliver support within communities that are directly impacted, many of which lack the resources and financial means to take action on their own.
To that end, Orbia introduced the Time4Water campaign to catalyze the Orbia community to join together and foster water stewardship activities to make a direct impact on the ground.
A Month of Action, A Year of Impact
Surrounding World Water Day in March 2024, Orbia employees organized and participated in over 120 local volunteering activities with close to 2,500 participants—more than 10% of the company’s global workforce.
Activities fell into four main categories:
- Awareness races designed to bring attention to the water crisis, highlight its severity and inspire communities to manage water more efficiently. During the campaign, 18 awareness races were completed across Latin America, Europe and Australia with several thousand Orbians participating. One awareness race in Bogotá alone brought together over 400 volunteers across four of Orbia’s five business groups.
Volunteers at awareness races celebrate their participation
- Educational workshops created to inspire action and mobilize communities in sustainable and efficient water management practices, putting tools in the hands of individuals to empower them to advocate and take steps to safeguard water resources. Orbians hosted 41 educational workshops around the world, including offerings inside manufacturing plants on how to improve water circularity as well as workshops with schoolchildren to share the importance of keeping water clean and individual actions they can take. One water workshop at the Tiempo Extendido Benito Juarez school in Mexico reached more than 450 students.
Educational workshops teach communities how to take action to advance efficient water management practices
- Community cleanups organized to prevent mismanaged trash from reaching oceans, rivers and streams. By directly removing trash from public spaces near water bodies, Orbia’s efforts prevented waterway pollution and enhanced ecosystem and human well-being in several communities. The Time4Water campaign hosted 43 cleanup events, from cleaning a stretch of roadway in Tennessee in the United States to cleaning up pollution from the banks of the Ganges River in India. At one cleanup event in Mexico at Playa Tesoro, over 340 kgs of trash were collected.
Community cleanups support thriving waterways
- Reforestation events established to refresh local ecosystems by planting new trees in sensitive watersheds. Trees play a critical role in the water cycle, releasing water vapor into the atmosphere to fuel precipitation patterns, recharging groundwater, reducing flooding risk and enhancing water quality through natural filtration. Orbia employees led nine reforestation and planting activities, from the Netherlands to Japan. In one reforestation activity in Colombia, over 150 mangrove trees were planted to support healthier wetlands.
Reforestation events strengthen local ecosystems
In addition to the four signature volunteering activity areas, many employees took the initiative to organize other types of water conservation events in their communities including planting sustainable community gardens and installing drip irrigation systems to conserve water used in agriculture.
Powered by Champions, Backed by Purpose
Unlike past volunteering initiatives focused on local or business group events, Orbia designed Time4Water to engage every employee, regardless of geography or background.
Crucial to driving success across the company was the creation of a grassroots network of more than 150 employee champions who helped bring the campaign to life. These champions organized events, promoted the campaign with posters, social media and virtual meeting backdrops, inspiring their colleagues to take part—embodying Orbia’s purpose to advance life around the world.
The company amplified the effort by offering paid volunteering time and making a charitable donation to CLEAN International to fund ~100 water filters for communities in need.
From Pilot to Flagship
With overwhelmingly positive feedback from employees and communities alike, Time4Water has officially become Orbia’s flagship volunteering campaign. The company expanded the event into 2025 and plans to develop it further in 2026 are already underway with expert-led webinars, enhanced impact tracking and broader global participation.
Time4Water proved that when people unite with purpose, even local actions can have global impact. Together, Orbia employees created a ripple effect—reaching across countries, communities and cultures—to help safeguard a resource that every person on Earth depends on.
And that ripple is just getting started.