DALLAS, TX — Global real estate giant CBRE has announced a strategic partnership with Ecolab, a leading provider of water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions, to improve water efficiency and quality across the commercial real estate industry.
The collaboration marks CBRE’s latest step in advancing its sustainability initiatives, particularly in water stewardship—a critical, and often overlooked, area of environmental performance in real estate.
According to CBRE, the properties it manages globally—totaling nearly 8 billion square feet—consume more than 100 billion gallons of water annually, placing the company in a unique position to help reduce water use across a wide range of asset types. With Ecolab’s proprietary technologies and expertise now in its toolkit, CBRE aims to offer holistic, scalable water management solutions that improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and drive measurable environmental impact.
“We are focused on creating value for our clients by solving their biggest sustainability challenges, and water is increasingly important—especially in sectors like data centers, life sciences and advanced manufacturing,” said Rob Bernard, Chief Sustainability Officer at CBRE. “The combined expertise and scale of CBRE and Ecolab creates an advantage for companies in addressing their end-to-end water needs and has the potential to transform water use in the industry.”
Ecolab’s systems are already deployed across millions of customer locations in over 170 countries, helping companies optimize water use while improving energy efficiency and reducing emissions. In 2024 alone, Ecolab helped its clients save 226 billion gallons of water, conserve 65 trillion BTUs of energy, and avoid 4.6 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions—equivalent to removing one million cars from the road for a year.
“Water is central to operational impact and profitable growth for many businesses,” said Emilio Tenuta, Ecolab’s Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer. “In manufacturing, up to 75% of energy flows through water systems—making water efficiency a powerful lever for climate resilience and business performance.”
The partnership is expected to particularly benefit clients in water-intensive industries such as semiconductor manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and data centers, which rely on smart water systems to maintain operational continuity and achieve resource efficiency targets.
This collaboration follows a series of recent moves by CBRE to enhance its sustainability offerings, including partnerships with Climate X and Deepki, and the acquisition of the renewable energy advisory group from NRG.
As water scarcity and climate risks grow globally, CBRE and Ecolab’s combined capabilities signal a growing industry shift toward integrated resource management—where sustainability becomes not just a compliance issue, but a core value driver.
