Water stewardship is not just a corporate social responsibility (CSR) ‘nice to have'... it is a boardroom priority and the backbone of our business strategy.
Nestlé has been a long-standing member of AWS. Can you tell us how you became interested in water stewardship and why it is important to Nestlé?
Water stewardship is not just a corporate social responsibility (CSR) ‘nice to have’ for Nestlé Waters & Premium Beverages – it is a boardroom priority and the backbone of our business strategy. For us, it’s more than a question of building resilience – we want to deliver positive impact beyond our factory gates too. Besides our commitment to certify all our bottling sites to the AWS Standard, we have also implemented around 70 projects in 20 countries in collaboration with local communities, partners and experts to address shared water challenges and deliver tangible, long-term impact. This important work not only protects water security, it enables nature and communities to thrive. With more than 30 years’ experience and impact, we are also dedicated to sharing knowledge and learnings to help scale solutions and fuel more collective action.
Nestlé was the first company to make a global corporate commitment to AWS certification. We would like to congratulate Nestlé and Nestlé Waters on meeting this goal and certifying all your owned bottling sites. Can you share with us what that achievement has meant to Nestlé?
Thanks! It’s a landmark achievement for our business, and a huge source of pride for everyone involved. It’s a commitment we set for ourselves to achieve by 2025, only made possible by investment, capability-building and of course the care, passion and expertise of local teams at our sites. Of course, the work doesn’t stop here! Our water stewardship journey continues, with ambitions to maintain our AWS certifications and strengthen our water regeneration plans for even greater impact. The AWS Standard give us a clear and rigorous framework to guide our actions.
What are the most important lessons you have learned along this journey?
First and foremost, we know that while water is a global issue, its stewardship must be handled at local level. You can’t manage water from headquarters! You need boots in the watershed and people who understand the challenges and are empowered to build authentic, collaborative relationships with local communities and experts to identify and co-create solutions. This localised approach is particularly critical when it comes to AWS certification. It’s one thing to have achieved this across all our 39 bottling sites, now we need to maintain the certification. That requires continued commitment by the teams on the ground.
Secondly, with stakeholder engagement being such a key element of the AWS Standard, we were able to leverage the strong relationships we had already established with stakeholders and communities long before the AWS certification process. Again, it’s critical to empower people on the ground to build these relationships with the local communities they are part of, they truly understand the context.
Finally, to achieve AWS certification, we’ve invested in training our teams and developed tools to help them in their work. We have learned so much from the process, which we share across our teams to help accelerate and scale our solutions and impact.
The Forum this year comes at a critical reflection moment and opportunity for us all. So come and be open to our ‘water stewardship immersion’. Join us as we reflect, listen and journey together – with old and new friends. There is space for all of us!
How has AWS Certification helped Nestlé create value for the communities and catchments where your bottling sites operate?
Every one of our 39 bottling sites is different, with its own unique context and challenges to consider and as such, it requires a highly tailored approach to achieve the rigorous AWS Standard. It’s really important to recognise that the process is not easy, which is why we’re so proud of every single site that played their part in this landmark achievement.
AWS certification gives us a framework, methodology, and ultimately, recognition of the high standards of our work.
It plays a pivotal role in identifying shared water challenges, together with our local stakeholders and water users. This process highlights opportunities for improvement so we can optimise meaningful impact. As such, ultimately, everyone benefits.
What truly matters most is that we are tackling local water challenges with concrete actions through our local water regeneration projects, that will help deliver a positive impact on water for years to come. From reforestation projects, the protection and regeneration of wetlands, peatlands, rivers, and canals, through to rainwater harvesting, drip irrigation and water infrastructure improvement, our teams are doing some incredible work.
An essential element of water stewardship is engaging with other stakeholders. Which partnerships have been essential in achieving certification?
As our water stewardship activities are localised and context based, there’s no ‘one size fits all’. That’s why we work hard to truly understand the stakeholder landscape that is unique to each of our sites, and make sure we’re engaging in the right way, listening to other’s views, and drawing on their experience and knowledge so we can tailor our approach and deliver the most meaningful impact. There are far too many partnerships to mention here but every single one has contributed to this shared success story.
With the AWS Standard Version 3.0 launching just before World Water Day this year, what changes are Nestlé most excited about?
As one of the early adopters of the AWS Standard, we’ve seen how it has evolved over the years and helped elevate water stewardship actions around the world. The real challenge is to make it accessible and actionable for a wider range of users, without compromising on its rigour and robustness. I’m excited to see how this new version achieves that with a more pragmatic approach that will hopefully encourage higher adoption levels and ultimately drive greater impact.
What advice would you offer to other companies looking to scale water stewardship across their business?
Securing the buy-in of senior management is crucial, but you also need to raise awareness and understanding at the operational level. In a business like ours where water underpins your entire value chain, the case for investment in responsible stewardship is clear. Once everyone is aligned, the AWS Standard can be used to guide actions by the teams at catchment level, as it helps define a structured approach to stakeholder engagement. Water stewardship isn’t a one-off. It’s a journey where progress is made step by step.
Now that Nestlé has met their corporate commitment for bottling sites, what are your next steps on water stewardship?
We’ve met the commitment – but it doesn’t end there! The work continues as we aim to maintain AWS certification across all our bottling sites. It’s a big ambition because we know how much dedication and effort that requires – some of our sites have already attained certification three times.
In parallel, we will continue to uphold our commitment to water regeneration, which we refer to as ‘water stewardship in action’. That means strengthening and expanding the technical and nature-based projects that are already underway in 20 countries, so we can continue to have a positive impact beyond the factory gates and return more water than we use, while enabling nature and communities to thrive.
This inaugural AWS Member Spotlight marks the beginning of a new series celebrating the organisations driving meaningful water stewardship around the world.
