The AWS Standard can be used: broadly, as a framework to guide water stewardship and link water initiatives/tools; as a “how to” guide for responsible water stewardship; and as the basis for conformance under AWS verification and making AWS-related claims. ...
The AWS Standard may be implemented by any water user, but will likely prove to be more helpful for larger water users as they will see bigger benefits, as will those operating in water stressed environments. This includes implementation by farmers, factories, manufacturing facilities, water service providers / utilities, and any other individual sites that withdraw or consume large volumes of water in catchments facing challenges related to water availability or water quality. The Standard may be implemented by smaller sites and entities, but may require such sites to work together and/or gain assistance to complete all of the requirements of...
An implementer is a specific site, facility, farm or geographically-bounded operation that is putting the AWS Standard into practice. A promoter is not directly implementing the standard, but rather encouraging others to implement and “using” the standard to advance their interests. For example, a farm that was using water may choose to be an implementer to address their shared water challenges, while the retailer that sources from that farm (or investors in the retail company), may be promoters to address their supply chain water risks....
The AWS Standard is intended to help users implement responsible water stewardship that can help to mitigate against your water risks, address your shared water challenges, improve your efficiency and ultimately strengthen your reputation of a user through verified claims. Implementers of the AWS Standard may gain access to markets, address investor concerns, and help to drive innovation and new business opportunities. Promoters of the AWS Standard may be able to drive change in water resource management and thereby address their water-related concerns....
The Standard’s overall objective is to encourage sites to pursue responsible water stewardship. It does this by outlining actions that help sites address their shared water challenges and mitigate their water risks. The end result is the furthering of AWS’s mission including the minimization of negative impacts and the maximization of the positive impacts of social, environmental and economic water use....
As an organization with global reach, AWS’s Board have recognized the need to build an organizational model that encourages participation from all regions and sectors. AWS is committed to building an international, multi-stakeholder, membership-based organization. The details of this model, including the business model and the governance model, are currently under development and the membership structure has not yet been defined. AWS is committed to working with stakeholders internationally to achieve a credible and effective organizational model....
The Alliance for Water Stewardship has ten Board Organizations, each of which delegates one director to sit on the AWS Board. Our Board Organizations are: Carbon Disclosure Project CEO Water Mandate European Water Partnership International Water Management Institute The Nature Conservancy The Pacific Institute Water Environment Federation Water Stewardship Australia Water Witness International WWF In Latin America and the Caribbean and North America we have dedicated Regional Initiatives. Australian and European stakeholders are represented through our Board Organizations, Water Stewardship Australia and the European Water Partnership, while in other regions we work with our networks of partners, including Board Organizations, to promote...
The Alliance for Water Stewardship Inc. (AWS) is building a global water stewardship system to be launched in 2013 to promote and reward sustainable use of water by major water users. The system will comprise globally consistent principles (and criteria) for responsible water use set out in an International Water Stewardship Standard; a multi-stakeholder governance structure to eventually own the stewardship Standard and system, a credible verification process for performance against the standard, and; a recognised international brand that drives participation and rewards participants in the system. The Standard is being developed through the multi-stakeholder global Water Roundtable process....
The Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) is a registered non-profit dedicated to promoting responsible use of freshwater that is socially and economically beneficial as well as environmentally sustainable....