AWS is a global collaboration comprising businesses, NGOs, public sector offices and sustainability stakeholders, which recognises sites that are socially and economically beneficial as well as environmentally sustainable.
Only eight sites in the world have been listed by AWS as having achieved certification so far.
Apart from Pakistan, Nestlé Waters has three plants in California that are AWS certified.
Nestlé recently announced it plans to have 20 of its factories certified by the end of 2020. Other sites it plans to certify are in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, Canada and the US.
Adrian Sym, CEO, AWS, said: “Nestlé Waters’ strategic commitment to implementing the AWS Standard sets an example, demonstrating the importance of water stewardship and the business benefits it can deliver.”
Community engagement
Sym added, through its global membership, AWS will be calling on other major businesses to follow the lead, and will support them in implementing the AWS standard.
Maurizio Patarnello, CEO, Nestlé Waters, said: “Collaborating with AWS is a new step on our water stewardship journey which will allow us to further engage with local communities to secure the sustainability of the local water resources where we operate.’’
Launched in 2014 by industry leaders, public sector agencies, academic institutes, and prominent environmental conservation groups such as The Nature Conservancy and the World Wildlife Fund, AWS is the first global Water Stewardship Standard for measuring responsible water stewardship across social, environmental and economic criteria. In a rigorous certification process, independent certification bodies verify progress against 30 core AWS criteria.
Nestlé Waters is also investing in technology to conserve water at its plants. For example, one of its plants is evaluating a high-recovery reverse osmosis water purification technology with equipment that will increase the amount of water the company recovers in its operations.