WWFs Implementation Guide to The Alliance for Water Stewardships International Water Stewardship Standard

The document outlines the AWS International Water Stewardship Standard, a voluntary, six-step framework designed to help businesses move from water risk concern to action. It emphasizes that sustainable water management requires a stakeholder-inclusive process that looks beyond a facility's 'fence line' to the broader catchment. The guide details the four desired outcomes of the standard—good water governance, sustainable water balance, good water quality status, and viable important water-related areas—and provides a step-by-step roadmap from initial commitment to public disclosure and certification.

• The AWS Standard is a voluntary, non-mandatory framework that complements existing regulations and corporate initiatives rather than replacing them.
• The implementation process consists of six iterative steps: Commit, Gather & Understand, Develop a Plan, Implement, Evaluate, and Communicate & Disclose.
• Step 2 (Gather & Understand) is foundational, requiring sites to compile data on current water activities, regulatory requirements, and the broader catchment context, including water balance and stakeholder identification.
• Step 3 (Develop a Plan) requires a strategy covering a 1-3 year period to address site and catchment risks, including documentation of legal compliance and stakeholder engagement.
• The final step (Communicate & Disclose) focuses on transparency and accountability, requiring the public sharing of specific items such as compliance contact information, performance against targets, and efforts to address shared challenges.
• To achieve official AWS Certification, a site must demonstrate to an independent, AWS-accredited conformity assessment body that it has met the core criteria of the Standard.

APA

WWF International (n.d.). WWFs Implementation Guide to The Alliance for Water Stewardships International Water Stewardship Standard. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/833/43vzkkkdcp_WWF_implementation_guide_to_the_AWS_int_water_stewardship_standard.pdf

Chicago

WWF International. WWFs Implementation Guide to The Alliance for Water Stewardships International Water Stewardship Standard. n.d. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/833/43vzkkkdcp_WWF_implementation_guide_to_the_AWS_int_water_stewardship_standard.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=WWF International |title=WWFs Implementation Guide to The Alliance for Water Stewardships International Water Stewardship Standard |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/833/43vzkkkdcp_WWF_implementation_guide_to_the_AWS_int_water_stewardship_standard.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wwfinternationalndwwfs, author = {{WWF International}}, title = {{WWFs Implementation Guide to The Alliance for Water Stewardships International Water Stewardship Standard}}, institution = {WWF International}, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/833/43vzkkkdcp_WWF_implementation_guide_to_the_AWS_int_water_stewardship_standard.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }