The phrase “a drop in the ocean” generally implies something is insignificant, an infinitesimal part of a much, much greater whole. But the ocean would not exist without many small drops.
Water sustainability works in much the same way. In the hopes of creating a more sustainable planet, two U.S.-based water companies are making small changes that lead to big results. H2O America owns and operates local water and wastewater utilities, providing clean water and treating wastewater across the country, while Zurn Elkay controls the flow of water in and around commercial buildings, manufacturing a range of water-management systems.
Both were featured on Newsweek’s list of America’s Greenest Companies 2026, published in partnership with Plant-A. The list features 450 companies ranked on 25 parameters in four categories: greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, water usage, waste generation and sustainability data disclosure and commitments. Only companies who published sustainability data between January 2024 and July 31, 2025 were considered.
All in This Together
For water companies, conservation of this finite resource isn’t just a goal, it is a part of operations every single day. For companies like H2O America, which received a 4.5-star rating, it is vital to remember the consequences of misusing water, and the actions that can be taken now to stop this from happening.
“If we’re irresponsible with a resource, we’ve got droughts, supply issues, health issues that can really come out of that,” Michelle Williams, vice president of customer experience at H2O America, said. “A lot of the things that other companies may do as kind of ESG work or initiatives are just part of our day to day.”
Responsibility starts small, but the impacts that it can have are huge. Williams emphasized H2O America’s initiative in planting trees, explaining how even the breed of tree is crucial to optimizing water conservation.
“Planting trees helps the environment with carbon reduction but, also, trees are a great water filter in the watershed. And, specifically, if you plant evergreen trees, the fact that they don’t lose their leaves helps you maintain the quality of your reservoir water, as well because they’re not breaking down and giving you organic compounds to treat out of the water,” Williams explained. “Everything is related. There are business-driven decisions, but they also have this outsized impact on the community and the greater globe, really.”
Angela Hersil, vice president of corporate communications at Zurn Elkay, shared a similar sentiment while discussing the four-star rated company’s water-filling stations, which are seen in almost every commercial building these days and play a role in cutting down on plastic water bottle usage. In fact, she shared that in 2024 alone these filling stations helped avoid the usage of 19 billion plastic water bottles, consequences that go far beyond the waste of the bottles themselves.
“It’s not just that single-use plastic bottle, but the environmental impact of having to produce that plastic bottle in the first place is enormous,” Hersil said. “It takes nine bottles of water to produce just one single-use plastic bottle, not to mention all of what it takes from plastics and manufacturing, in emissions. And that doesn’t even get into carting those heavy single-use plastic bottles all over the country.”
Making small changes each day is just one of the moving parts of a much greater moving machine at both companies. Williams and Hersil both noted the importance of individual employees and the ideas and motivations that they bring to their teams, helping make a huge difference.
“For any organization, if you have passionate employees who care about your mission and your purpose and doing the right thing for the planet, engage them. That’s been our whole approach here that sustainability is everyone’s job here,” Hersil said. “Engage the people around you who are passionate. Find them and you would be amazed at what you can accomplish in a month, in a quarter, in a year.”
At H2O America, many employees bring this passion outside of the office and into the classroom for aspiring conservationists.
“We have a program where employee volunteers will go into third grade classrooms and teach the third graders a one-hour lesson on the water cycle, how much water is available on Earth, how much of that water is available for us to drink, why we should conserve water and how much they should use a day,” Williams said. “And then the kids come home with all these materials and they can motivate their households to do so much.”
These educational programs only emphasize the importance of all parts working together towards sustainability and show that even the smallest changes—and students—can make a big difference.
Numbers Don’t Lie
Whether the changes are big or small, the impact that they have on the environment can be huge. But it’s important to know that these initiatives are actually making a difference. Without accurate data, there is no way to see what is working and what needs to be redirected to have the biggest effect.
Data analysts have become team players with immeasurable value, one that may be a little unexpected for some.
“I would always recommend for others to really get a hold of good data and adopt a data management plan because you can’t really measure your impact if you’re not able to track your baseline,” Williams explained. “Bring in your best data analysts as part of your ESG team and let them help you get the information that you need to make good decisions and successful initiatives.”
Having these analysts, who may not seem like an integral part of sustainability initiatives, is “super helpful” in helping companies achieve their goals, according to Williams.
Hersil shared a similar sentiment, emphasizing how the data that Zurn Elkay collects allows them to monitor what they are achieving and decide how to improve their systems even more in the future.
“There’s a number of things as well as this deep focus on our own operations and making sure we get better every year,” Hersil said. “We have nearly two dozen external-facing goals that we track and report on, as well as the probably hundred-plus KPIs that we report out every year in terms of our operations within our sustainability report.”
Seeing the data within the company is huge, but sharing that data with consumers, as well, can help ensure that everyone is doing their part in water conservation.
“I say the biggest change for us over the last decade has been that we are more transparent—not that we weren’t transparent before—but more transparent in our reporting in the work that we were already doing,” Hersil said.
This transparency lets customers know when they are using more water than usual, or encourages them when they are using less. Knowing how much water they consume helps customers adjust their patterns, even just by a little bit, to make an impact each day.
H2O America has incentivized customers to be more mindful of their water consumption.
“We have programs for adults where we’ll notify them if we see a change in use or data that could indicate a leak on their side, we help them check for toilet leaks, we send out conservation kits. We have rain barrel programs where we can, in some cases, get a credit on your bill for installing a rain barrel,” Williams said. “People can pick what works for them and feel that they’re not being made to do something, that they’re being empowered to do something that is helpful to them.”
CORRECTION 10/30/2025 10:41 a.m.: This article has been updated to reflect the number of plastic bottles Zurn Elkay saved in 2024.
