Alliance for Water Stewardship
The AWS Collective Action Accelerator (AWS Accelerator) is a collaborative, place-based approach to water stewardship that brings multiple sites together to implement the AWS Standard at the same time helping to share costs, create peer support and maximise impact.
Through the AWS Accelerator, businesses will build their capacity and gain knowledge about the catchments they operate in. They can then turn that knowledge into action to act on challenges shared with local ecosystems, communities and public sector agencies. By bringing sites together, the Accelerator drives collective action by advancing sites from site-based internal action to catchment-level collective action.
At a broader level, the Accelerator connects to the global momentum driving action in 100 Priority Basins, as spearheaded by the CEO Water Mandate’s Water Resilience Coalition, WWF and AWS.
The AWS Accelerator has connected over 80 sites, nominated by 25 brands and retailers to work collaboratively on water stewardship action.
1. Huelva, Spain | With support from EDEKA, S Group, Coop Trading, San Lucar (Phase 1 & 2) and Kaufland (Phase 1).
2. Huizhou/Dongguan, Pearl River Catchment*, China with EVE Energy Co. | with support from Cisco.
3. Suzhou/Shanghai, Wusongjiang Catchment, China* with FMC Corporation and MSC.
4. Dezhou, Yellow River Delta | with support from Abbott
5. Guadalajara & Mexico City, Mexico
6. Blantyre & Lilongwe, Malawi
* These sites are operating on a rolling basis.
7. Dhaka, Bangladesh, Cohort 2
8. Lahore, Pakistan
9. Dhaka, Bangladesh, Cohort 1 | With support from Primark (Phase 1 & 2) and H&M Group (Phase 1).
10. Bengaluru, India | With support from AstraZeneca, Unilever, Primark and others.
11. Chennai, India | With support from AstraZeneca, Gap Inc., Primark and others.
12. Suzhou/Shanghai, China | With support from Boehringer Ingelheim, Cisco, FMC Corporation, Haleon, Primark, TCI Bio and Western Digital.
An overview of the AWS Accelerator. It outlines the steps in the process and the benefits for brands and retailers interested in supporting and participating in a programme.
An overview of the AWS Accelerator for sites that have been nominated to participate. It outlines the steps in the process, benefits, and answers some frequently asked questions.
Download our brochures below.
Available 3 languages
English
Español (Spanish)
中国人 (Chinese)
Available 3 languages
English
Español (Spanish)
中国人 (Chinese)
Below are answers to some of our frequently asked questions.
We expect participating sites to spend up to three days in initial workshops and an additional three days in AWS Standard System Training. Sites will then spend some additional days working with experts to undertake their AWS gap analysis.
When developing a water stewardship plan, we expect sites to spend one day with the consultant to finalise their plan, two days to prepare and participate in stakeholder engagement workshops, and an additional two days to support the consultant with an evaluation. We also expect sites to spend a considerable amount of time implementing their water stewardship plan. The exact time for this will depend on the activities selected by the sites.
Water stewardship brings together all local stakeholders to work together to protect water resources. In addition to all participating sites, local governments and NGOs will also be able to participate.
Typically brands nominate suppliers, but AWS Accelerators can be developed through a variety of methods. If you are interested in joining an AWS Accelerator but have not been nominated, please get in touch with us to find out more about how you can participate.
AWS is open to scoping Accelerators in any sourcing hub with a variety of stakeholders where there is sufficient interest. Please reach out to us to learn more.
Contact us to learn more about specific costs as they vary by location and participation.
If you are interested in learning more or downloading the AWS Standard visit our AWS Standard page.
If you are interested in learning more about the process of getting a site certified against the AWS Standard, visit the AWS Certification page.
For any questions or to join an AWS Accelerator, please reach out to us using the form below.