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Alliance for Water Stewardship

Priority Sectors

AWS works with five priority business sectors to deepen its engagement with water stewardship.  Click on the buttons below to find out more.

Our five priority business sectors are:

Select a priority sector to view more.

AWS’s five priority sectors have a big impact on global water resources through their operations and supply chains. They also have significant influence and have been willing to use their leadership to support AWS with its water stewardship goals.

AWS’s strategy is to engage multinational companies and their stakeholders at a global level, and encourage context-driven action by brands, producers, suppliers, and other public sector and civil society stakeholders at local levels.

Our work comes to life through collaborative global communities of practice and national platforms that focus on the opportunities, challenges and solutions to implementing water stewardship.

Partnership is key. Together, we raise awareness of sector water challenges and demonstrate the benefits of water stewardship for businesses, their supply chains and the communities in which they operate.

AWS Communities of Practice

AWS Communities of Practice (CoPs) allow organisations to collaborate with other business leaders, NGOs and regional experts to get a deeper understanding of water challenges. They are also an opportunity to share experiences of implementing water stewardship and to set the future agenda.

Join an AWS Community of Practice and you will find purpose-driven individuals united in a mission to protect the Earth’s freshwater resources.

You do not need to be an AWS Member to join a CoP but, once you’ve joined, we hope you will be inspired to sign up.

We convene the following Communities of Practice:

  •  Biodiversity
  • Cross-sector
  • Agricultural value chains
  • Textiles & apparel
  • Pharmaceuticals, chemicals & personal care

Upcoming meetings

Biodiversity

  • Dates coming soon!

Cross-sector

  • 30 September 2025

Agricultural value chains

  • 21 August 2025

Pharmaceuticals, chemicals & personal care

  • 20 August 2025

Textiles & apparel

  • 19 August 2025

AWS Collective Action Accelerator

The AWS Collective Action Accelerator is a collective, place-based approach to water stewardship. It offers a way to engage with water stewardship and the AWS Standard that is cost-efficient, scalable and replicable. The programme provides a pre-competitive opportunity for companies to work towards collaborative solutions to shared water challenges in important sourcing hubs facing high water risk.

Related content

AWS Forum 2025: Q&A with Faith Lawrence

The AWS Forum programme takes us to the heart of water stewardship in action, bringing together old friends who have journeyed along the water stewardship way, and also introduces new friends and different pathways.” – Faith Lawrence, Head of Strategic

An aerial image of Dhaka, Bangladesh

Textile suppliers in Dhaka commit to water stewardship, backed by Primark

Sixteen textile and apparel suppliers in Dhaka, Bangladesh, have signed and publicly disclosed their commitment to water stewardship. The suppliers publicly disclosed their commitment through official websites, factory noticeboards, and social media platforms. All 16 sites have committed to water stewardship