Having exceeded the thresholds for freshwater change in the planetary boundaries framework, businesses need to better support the resilience of freshwater systems. This study examines this issue through the lens of polycentric governance, or structures that facilitate coordination of information but distributed decision-making across geographies and systems. Our interdisciplinary, qualitative study examines how businesses can engage in polycentric governance of freshwater systems, through collaborations with nonprofits that are central to this work. Drawing on observational, archival, and interview data covering six nonprofit-business collaborations at diverse scales (global, national, regional, and local), our analysis uncovers three sets of mechanisms by which businesses can support the resilience of freshwater systems. We develop a theoretical model offering novel insights into how businesses can navigate attentional resource limitations that often constrain their ability to enact corporate sustainability, through collaborations with nonprofits who have appropriate attention focus, expertise, and polycentric networks in freshwater systems governance.
