Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 18th April 2024 Issue no. 1110
Your industry news - first
The original and best - for over 20 years!
We strongly recommend viewing Cleanzine full size in your web browser. Click our masthead above to visit our website version.
Ecolab pledges commitment to WWF and Alliance for Water Stewardship
Ecolab has expanded its commitment to World Wildlife Fund to support the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) in establishing a global water standard. The AWS International Water Stewardship Standard aims to support water users globally in taking appropriate actions to evaluate and improve their impacts on watersheds.
Ecolab's two-year pledge includes both annual financial support and in-kind technical support and guidance by company experts to field test the draft AWS standard.
"Water scarcity and poor water quality impact more than a billion people around the world and millions die every year from diseases linked to water and sanitation issues," says Douglas M. Baker, Jr., Ecolab chairman and chief executive officer. "Ecolab is fortunate to have considerable water management expertise, and we're sharing this expertise with others who are working on the serious water challenges facing our world."
WWF is one of 10 organisations that form the AWS, (along with The Nature Conservancy, Pacific Institute, Water Stewardship Australia, Water Witness International, Water Environment Federation, European Water Partnership, International Water management Institute, UN Global Compact's CEO Water Mandate and Carbon Disclosure Project) aiming to promote the responsible use of fresh water. The Global Water Roundtable, a multi-year, multi-stakeholder standard development process sponsored by the AWS, drafted and is working to finalise the International Water Stewardship Standard.
Under the agreement, Ecolab will:
* Test the draft AWS standard with select customers at several locations to gain real-world experience in applying and refining the standard.
* Build market awareness of the need for, and advantages of, using the standard to reduce potential water risks by minimising the negative impacts of water use in industry.
The first draft of the AWS International Water Stewardship Standard was released in March at the World Water Forum in Marseille, France. When finalised, the standard will define a set of water stewardship principles, criteria and indicators for how water should be managed at a site and watershed level in a way that is environmentally, socially and economically beneficial.
The standard is intended to provide water stewards with an approach for evaluating existing processes and performances within sites and watersheds, and ensuring that responsible water stewardship actions are in place to minimise negative impacts and maximise positive impacts.
A formal 90-day public consultation period for the first draft of the AWS International Water Stewardship Standard is open for public input through June 15th. Stakeholders are encouraged to submit feedback via the AWS website:
www.allianceforwaterstewardship.org
14th June 2012