Alliance for Water Stewardship: Nestlé Pakistan first market to be certified

Nestlé Pakistan’s Sheikhupura Factory is the first factory in Pakistan and first site within the Nestlé world to have achieved the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) certification.

It is a globally-applicable framework that helps water users understand their water consumption and impacts, and to work collaboratively and transparently for sustainable water management within their specific catchment area. It guides companies to improve their results by taking concrete actions that help protect shared water resources and involve local communities to collaborate in the process.

The certification process requires the alignment of all local stakeholders, inside and outside of the factory. In the first phase, Nestlé Pakistan partnered with WWF-Pakistan to facilitate the implementation of AWS Standard within the factory. In the following phases, Nestlé Pakistan also partnered with the Agriculture Department, Government of Punjab to promote drip irrigation in community to help save water.

The factory’s local team began internal consultations, training and sharing water-resource knowledge on its data collection in the catchment area in partnership with the AWS team and WWF Pakistan. They held information sharing sessions with neighboring communities, farmers, and other employers about the harmful chemicals and fertilizers affecting the catchment’s groundwater. As a result, they developed an action plan, including community feedback, to improve water quality and quantity.

After Sheikhupura, our factories in Islamabad and Kabirwala have also been certified by the AWS in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Nestlé Pakistan aims to have it fourth and last site in Karachi to be certified by the AWS by end 2020.