Our Story

WHY?

In 2020 our first co-founders, Nick Stubbe and Maurice Schmidt, were heartbroken to see the damage environmental change had caused to the forests in Germany, where they lived. They committed to take action.

As they researched how others approached the problem of environmental change they saw, time and again, that the good intentions and aspirations of environmental initiatives, charities and NGOs did not work. And they knew why.

WHY CORPORATIONS?

Being businessmen themselves, they understood that environmental groups lacked the power to make any real change, and they ultimately ran head-first into corporations that ‘appeared’ intent on stopping their efforts. But that presumption was incorrect. In fact, most corporate executives care deeply about the environment just like everyone else, but they are torn. They need to please their shareholders by increasing share price, but as citizens of the world they also have a responsibility to other stakeholders; namely the people, communities and environment their businesses affect.

In this conundrum Nick and Maurice saw an opportunity.

Because of size, leverage and economies of scale, our founders understood that corporations have the ability to be true “heroes” in solving environmental change challenges.

In the end corporations will be the guardian and catalyst for the preservation of our environment.

WHY WATER?

Nick and Maurice knew they’d need someone with global business experience to help them, so they asked Christoph Schwager to help. As a father of three himself, Christoph had already been pondering how he could help address climate change, in order to preserve nature for his children and their children to come.

In his studies, Christoph had found one common component that existed in all sustainability efforts: Clean Water.

Clean water is obviously necessary for drinking and bathing but it is also necessary for renewable energy production, carbon reduction efforts, soil restoration, sustainable waste management, regenerative and sustainable farming initiatives, and much more.

Although Nick, Maurice and Christoph created plans to tackle all aspects of environmental sustainability, since they knew that clean water was the driving force behind everything, it only made sense to start with that.

That is why, at Hydreatio, Water Comes First!