Ecolab, working with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), has signed on as a founding partner of the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) to support the launch and implementation of the International Water Stewardship Standard, a global framework to promote sustainable water use.
AWS announced the standard in April at the UN CEO Water Mandate multi-stakeholder working conference in Lima, Peru. It builds upon Ecolab’s work with WWF to implement the beta AWS Standard in China.
In 2013, Ecolab was one of a handful of global partners to pilot the beta standard to test its feasibility and applicability. Ecolab and WWF field-tested the beta standard at two sites within the lower Yangtze, one of China’s most critical watersheds, and shared its learnings with AWS.
As part of this continued commitment to water stewardship, Ecolab will implement the AWS Standard within its own operations where water risks are identified, starting with formal adoption of the Standard at its lower Yangtze facilities. In addition, Ecolab aims to collaborate with approximately 10 companies with facilities in the lower Yangtze catchment to support adoption of the standard in more locations.