Matt Damon courts Davos set to partner with Water.org

Driving the news: The actor took the stage at Axios House alongside Gary White, his co-founder and the organization's CEO. The pair announced a new initiative, Get Blue, to partner with corporations to help scale up their work.

• The initial partners are Gap, Amazon, Starbucks and Ecolab.
• "We've got the initial four horsemen. We're trying to raise an army, and, and we have on ramps for everyone, and we really do feel like we can bring value to people's businesses," Damon said.

How it works: "Imagine walking in Starbucks and getting a Get Blue drink, or going and buying a hoodie at Gap that's branded with Get Blue," White said.

• Partners will also be asked to do things like reduce their own water consumption.

Why it matters: Damon said that by digging wells, Water.org reached 1 million people within a few years.

• The organization now focuses on microloans, 90% of which go to women, and which Damon said can provide access to clean water for life for around $5. Their work has now reached 85 million people, he said.
• But there are 2.1 billion people without reliable access to clean water, meaning the response needs to match the scale of the problem. Hence, the pitch to massive corporations.
• "We are confident that with enough participation and momentum, we can solve this in our lifetime," Damon said.