Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) Certification

Are you someone, who is looking to protect or conserve water resources?

Do not look any further than AWS Stewardship Certification.

It is by achieving the certification, that the organization displays their commitment to ensuring water management while ensuring a positive impact on the environment. 

AWS (Alliance for Water Stewardship Certification) itself is considered as a global standard meant for water stewardship, offering a full-fledged framework to help organizations cater to any water-related challenges effectively. It is with their certification, which the businesses may strive towards the recognition in eliminating the Water consumption, enhancing the water quality as well as protecting the ecosystem. 

AWS Water Stewardship Certification consists of numerous benefits, besides assisting organisations to comply with regulatory requirements or demonstrating the dedication to ensure environmental sustainability, by reducing costs and fostering operational efficiency.  

It is with the implementation of the water management practices that the companies are able to optimise their strategies, ranging from the water usage to reducing waste and increasing resource efficiency, AWS Certification enhances credibility as well as reputation, by inviting conscious customers to look for services or products, especially from the companies concerning sustainability. Nevertheless, if you wish to attain the AWS stewardship Certification, then you must avail of the same from Corpseed.   

Join the movement towards sustainable water management and be a part of creating a better future for our planet.

What is Alliance Water Stewardship (AWS) Certification?

The Alliance for Water Stewardship refers to the global, non-profit organisation, that has the purpose of solidifying or interconnecting local or global partnerships in achieving water stewardship or preserving the essence of the social, cultural environmental and economic value of the freshwater.

With it being a part of a greater mission, AWS introduced and initiated The International Water Stewardship Standard( AWS Standard), which was born as a result of the international, ISEAL Compliant, involving the presence of multiple stakeholders and fulfilling the need to have a robust risk management along with the mitigation measures.

No wonder,  as a result of the adoption of the strategies, water stewardship came into existence, which can accommodate any persistent water-related opportunities or challenges. In continuation to this, AWS steps forward in embracing the equitable and transparent approach to conforming to the standard system. Accordingly, AWS standard follows ISEAL’s standard setting, Assurance and Impact Codes.

The objective and intent behind the AWS Certification are as follows-

The applicability of this certification is globally eligible to the organisations or the industrial sectors that are autonomous of the size, along with its operational complexity, including non-profit sectors. It shifts its gaze upon the operational site and the local water catchment, with it being a part of a bigger plan to include indirect water use in the supply chain. 

The objective of the AWS Standard is defined as: “The objective of the AWS Standard is to drive water stewardship, with the use of water that is socially and culturally equitable, environmentally sustainable and economically beneficial, achieved through a stakeholder-inclusive process that involves Site-and catchment-based actions.” (AWS Standard V2.0)

The main benefits of the AWS certification mainly centre around the following factors, which are as follows-

• Understanding the water dependencies and the impacts.
• Make sure that responsible water procedures are in place or not.
• AWC fosters the relationship between the local water-related stakeholders.
• It caters to the potential challenges, which are looked at and shared with the others in the attachment.
• Additionally, it even mitigates the operational along with the supply chain water risks.

The documents required for the AWS Standard system are as follows-

Before defining the site requirements, it is essential to look at what this term usually implies-

SITE as per the AWS standard refers to the physical area, owned and managed by the implementing organisation that is focused on carrying out the activities. Accordingly, it is even defined as a contagious area of land, which might be physically separated, from the nearby areas (especially if in the catchment)

Owning or managing land and carrying out its principal activities.

The site requirements for availing of the AWS Certification are as follows- 

• It is noted that the stand-alone water sources ( including the boreholes, reservoirs or spring sites) are not considered eligible for the certification on their own. instance, a water source would receive the certification, constituting the implementation of the organisation that processes, distributes or manages the water, emerging from a site as its principal activity, or an organisation that adopts usage of water in its own operations. The implementing organisation’s own site needs to be included within the scope of the certification. 
• All those sites that are not linked to the catchments, including the ships or offshores remain ineligible for the certification. It must be able to gauge their physical scope along with the catchments that they look at or reflect upon. 

As a result, these requirements ensure that the AWS Certification really aligns with the goals set under the alliance for water stewardship, which is the socially and culturally equitable, environmentally sustainable as well as economically beneficial. It is primarily mentioned, to help drive meaningful impact or help them align with the water stewardship practices.

The step-by-step procedure to achieve Alliance for Water Stewardship Certification is as follows-

Step 1:- Corpseed aligns a dedicated professional 

Secondly, Corpseed aligns a dedicated professional to help you with Alliance for Water Stewardship Certification.

Step 2:- Pre-assessment 

Soon after, we undertake the pre-assessment with the implementation process, followed by the certification against the AWS standard. 

Step 3:- Registration of site 

Before proceeding with a conformity assessment, the CAB shall confirm that the site has registered its site(s) with AWS their intent to pursue certification of the proposed site(s) or group operation and, where relevant, identify the AWS Professionally Credentialed individual who assisted or is assisting the site with AWS Standard implementation. During this, we help you fast-track the processes.
 
Step 4:- Conformity Assessment 

A conformity assessment shall only be performed by a CAB holding valid AWS accreditation or appointed by AWS to perform conformity assessments.

Step 5:- Document review 

Prior to the audit, the audit team should complete a document review of information submitted by the site, including as applicable:

• Supplementary materials submitted by the site at the time of or subsequent to application to the CAB for AWS certification;
• Pre-assessment reports or results from pre-assessment work; and other relevant information that has been made available to the audit team (for example, external stakeholder submissions).

Step 6:- Step stakeholder announcement 

At least eight (8) weeks before the start date of the certification audit or re-evaluation audit, the CAB shall release a Stakeholder Announcement which states the site’s intention to pursue AWS certification.

Step 7:- Audit 

The audit team shall gather objective evidence of the site’s conformity with all of the criteria and indicators

In the current version (at the time of the audit) of the AWS Standard for every certification and recertification. The structure of the audit should generally follow the auditor guidance given in ISO 19011:2018 - Guidelines for auditing management systems.

Step 8:- Grading and point allocation 

Audit findings shall be assigned (or ‘graded’) into one of four categories: conforms, major nonconformity, minor non-conformity, and observation. The audit team shall complete the allocation of points within thirty (30) days of completion of the On-site audit and, in any event, before finalizing the audit report

Step 9:- Issuance of Certificate 

Soon after, the certificate will be issued, once you have adhered to the above-mentioned steps. It is only after that, Certificate of Conformity will be given. 

Note:- Certificate of conformity shall only be awarded when all core indicators have been met to the satisfaction of the CAB. AWS Gold or AWS Platinum certification level may also be attached to the certificate if: the CAB is satisfied that all core indicators have been met, and the CAB is satisfied that the total number of points awarded to advanced level indicators meets the respective threshold for the assigned certification level.

At Corpseed, we place great emphasis on the registration of Water Stewardship Certification and acknowledge its profound significance and the Substantial impact it can have on businesses in India. We firmly believe that Adhering to the regulations and requirements is essential for ensuring their Seamless operations and long-term prosperity. We fully comprehend the Intricate complexities and hurdles that entrepreneurs encounter when Manoeuvring through the legal landscape. Our team of seasoned experts Possesses extensive knowledge and expertise in obtaining Alliance for Water stewardship certification, enabling us to offer comprehensive guidance and unwavering support to our clients.