ONTARIO, Calif. —Nestle Waters North America’s (NWNA) Ontario, Calif., factory has received platinum certification under the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) Standard, making it the first food and beverage factory in the world to earn the designation.
The AWS Standard is the first comprehensive global standard for measuring responsible water stewardship across social, cultural, environmental and economic criteria, according to Emeryville, Calif.-based SCS Global Services, which provides global leadership in third-party environmental, sustainability, food safety and quality certification.
As part of the certification process, independent auditors look at factors within the watersheds where sits are located, such as water quality and the health of important water-related areas. They also ensure the water stewardship actions are beneficial to local communities, according to SCS Global Services.
In addition to the Ontario, Calif. factory receiving platinum certification, all five California Nestle Waters factories and all seven Arrowhead brand 100% Natural Mountain Spring Water factories are certified under the AWS Standard.
“Nestle Waters North America’s Ontario AWS Platinum certification is reflective of the site’s commitment to meeting the highest standards of water stewardship,” said Matt Howard, director for AWS North America. “This re-certification includes the factory’s continued focus on water stewardship onsite and at spring sources. Additionally, this advanced level of certification reflects the positive contributions NWNA has made to the people, economy and nature in the catchment. We are excited to finally have an AWS Platinum-certified site here in North America.”
Nestle Waters pledged in 2018 to certify all of its water bottling sites by 2025. So far, the company certified 30 sites around the world, including 10 in the United States. All California factories have been certified under the AWS Standard and these factories are now recertifying under a second version of the Standard.
“We are extremely proud that our Ontario facility is the first food and beverage factory in the world to achieve AWS Platinum certification, globally recognized as the most rigorous water stewardship standard for businesses to meet,” said David Tulauskas, chief sustainability officer at Nestle Waters North America, Stamford, Conn. “It attests to the years of our community-first approach and the effort we have put into many water stewardship initiatives in California—on our own and as part of collective actions. We are working to achieve platinum-level certification at more of our sites and encourage others in our industry and beyond to do the same.”
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