Water utilities have a central role in strengthening climate resilience as climate impacts directly affect water availability, infrastructure integrity,and service continuity, the head of the Climate Change Commission (CCC) said during the 1st Manila Water Sustainability Leadership Talk in Quezon City on 15 January.

“The role of water utilities is fundamental. We must ensure water security despite a changing climate, by climate-proofing infrastructure, diversifying water sources, and integrating nature-based solutions for watershed management,” CCC vice chairperson and executive director Robert E.A. Borje said at the forum.

Borje emphasized that water utility companies contribute to national mitigation targets through improved wastewater treatment, energy efficiency, and low-carbon operations, while also advancing adaptation through risk-informed planning and resilient infrastructure.

“This is where the idea of bridging sustainability and resilience becomes concrete,” Borje said. “When your sustainability strategies align with our NDC (nationally determined contributions) and our NAP (national adaptation plan), you are doing more than complying with policy. You are translating national commitments into daily realities for millions of Filipinos.”

Manila Water president and CEO Roberto Locsin underscored that providing service for sustainable solutions means more than just delivering the basic needs.

“Every task we perform, every decision we make, can be transformed into direct climate action. This is the power of our work. It goes beyond operations, it shapes resilience for generations to come,” Locsin added.

The Sustainability Leadership Talk is Manila Water’s platform for engaging leaders from government, academe, and industry peers on sustainability and resilience. Its inaugural session, with the theme “Bridging Sustainability and Resilience for a Climate-Smart Future,” focused on climate action, public-private partnerships, and embedding resilience into organizational planning and operations.

The CCC actively engages with the private sector as a core part of its mainstreaming strategy, recognizing business as a crucial partner in achieving national climate resilience. The agency leverages relevant pathways, such as bilateral partnerships and its system of contact groups, to sustain collaboration as a loop of action and ambition.