Step 1: Gather and Understand
The first step of the Standard is a very data heavy step aimed at getting to the roots of shared water challenges within the catchment and how this can translate to risks and opportunities for a site or facility. “Appropriately defining the catchment in step one is crucial,” shared Jebbour. “This definition will define what stakeholders to involve and guide future action in the Standard.”
Once the catchment is defined, the work begins to understand how a facility impacts and depends on the water within the catchment. Gathering and organizing the appropriate data and interpreting what that data means to the site is crucial, as the data gathered in step one will inform all the steps that follow. As noted by Silva, utilizing tools such as spreadsheets to organize data at this step is helpful and adds transparency to the process.
Step 2: Commit and Plan
Once you understand what challenges you face and can define your water risks and opportunities, it’s time to secure leadership buy-in for your plan. Getting strong buy-in will ensure the appropriate time, money, and human capital are being devoted to the water stewardship journey. As Jebbour points out, stakeholder engagement plans should be set on a case-by-case basis. Each catchment is different, and relationships and perceptions can differ as well.
In this step, you should clearly show leadership importance of investing in water stewardship and emphasize the return investments that your plan will bring. Work in line with their motivations to show them the importance of making small changes in relation to the big picture.
Step 3: Implement
When you reach the stage of implementing the plan you’ve created remember, the Standard helps you do two things:
- Get your own house in order: through the previous steps, you have learned more about your own water impacts by your facility. It’s your responsibility to take ownership and make improvements on your water practices.
- Build relationships to take collective action: as mentioned before, achieving real change requires you to work together “outside of your fence line” with the other stakeholders involved in your shared water catchment.
Implementing your plan not only involves your individual facility but requires engaging with the appropriate external resources as well.
Below are a few best practices that have helped companies find success in implanting their plans.
- Commitment: Getting staff the time and resources they need to effectively implement and manage a water stewardship plan.
- Integration: By building water stewardship into existing internal processes, it becomes easier for staff to get involved and makes water stewardship part of daily tasks.
- Seek Help: Often, one staff member can’t do everything required by the Standard. Being willing to seek help will ease stress and help the implementation go more smoothly.
Step 4: Evaluate
As with implementing any change in operations, you must track success and progress against the initial plan. This includes assessing contributions and benefits at the site, evaluating how risk exposure has changed, understanding the cost benefits of progress, obtaining feedback from stakeholders, etc.
Jebbour shares some of the positive outcomes of implementing the Standard that can be evaluated. “Water stewardship strategies help increase water security for community and the site. They help ensure reliable water supply for everyone and relieve pressure on water source and supply at the catchment level which will directly impact the site.”
Step 5: Communicate and Disclose
Finally, you should communicate and disclose your water stewardship efforts with both internal and external stakeholders. With growing demand for public disclosures, transparency around your efforts is important. Jebbour reminds us that your communication strategy should be closely linked to your stakeholder strategy as this will impact your relationship. While many companies include their AWS implementation stories in their sustainability reports, others choose to share using methods like social media or opening up their site to visitors.
AWS is part of an ecosystem of water stewardship organizations. All of these organizations “speak the same language” and complement each other, making disclosure simple.
