Water is a critical resource in the technology and microelectronics (tech) sector and should be included in any sustainability and resilience planning. Growing demand for technology is increasing pressure on water resources in key manufacturing hubs that are already experiencing water scarcity. And as climate change increases the likelihood of extreme water-related weather events, this sector could face a significant risk of disruptions throughout value chains.
Many strategies focus on site-level water usage and pollution, but addressing all of the sector’s water risks — from flooding to a lack of safe water for workers — requires us to think beyond the four walls of a company’s headquarters or a supplier’s manufacturing facility. It requires an understanding of how water impacts are felt across a business and its value chain.
The Alliance for Water Stewardship provides a systematic and auditable approach to guide your water stewardship journey, along with the tools, expertise and helping hands needed to implement the AWS Standard and build resiliency across value chains.
Global climate change, growing economies and changing lifestyles are putting increasing pressure on the earth’s limited freshwater resources. Water stewardship is a holistic approach for using and protecting the water we all depend on.
Our approach to water stewardship not only ensures that the most important water risks are managed but also provides a mechanism to inspire conversations and action among those entities sharing water resources. The result: stronger stakeholder relationships and an increase in a community’s collective resilience.
The Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) exists to tackle the urgent global challenges driven by water insecurity. Our mission is to ignite and nurture global and local leadership in credible water stewardship that recognises and secures freshwater’s social, cultural, environmental and economic value.
Learn more about how we are accelarating our impact by reading our 2022-2030 strategy.
AWS and its members support the adoption and promotion of the AWS Standard. Our collaborative network works hand-in-hand towards the same goals: using water stewardship to protect the shared water resources we all rely on.
We support action on two levels:
Our strength lies in the diversity of experience that AWS Members bring with them. AWS Members tell us that the collaborative, multistakeholder nature of our organisation gives them confidence that they are doing the right thing. It allows them to challenge each other and the system, to respond to water challenges in a transparent, equitable and sustainable way. AWS Members also play a pivotal role in growing and strengthening the water stewardship community.
AWS Member organisations have unlimited access to the AWS Tools Hub. The site is home to a variety of water stewardship resources to help you along your water stewardship journey, including:
The AWS Tools Hub is now also available in Spanish!
Read our report series to learn more about the water-related risks facing the tech sector and discover how water stewardship can help build resiliency and business continuity. These reports are also available in Chinese and Japanese.
Since 2021, AWS has worked closely with the Responsible Business Alliance (RBA) to help brands and their suppliers develop a common understanding of water and a shared approach through water stewardship.
Activities so far have included a webinar series raising awareness of the importance of water throughout the tech sector, and a series of reports outlining out the water challenges and opportunities that exist throughout the supply chain.
The AWS Impact Accelerator is a collaborative, location-based approach to water stewardship. It was developed to give businesses working in water-stressed regions an opportunity to work together to find solutions to shared challenges in a cost-effective, scalable and replicable way.
AWS is currently running and scoping AWS Collective Action Accelerators across the globe.
AWS Standard certification is confirmation of having met best practice for responsible water stewardship. It enables sites to make credible claims about their water stewardship performance and benefits may include increased investor confidence, improved brand perception and strengthened customer relationships.
A company can implement the AWS Standard across its single, group or multi-site operations.
