Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) ignites and nurtures global and local leadership in credible water stewardship that recognizes and secures the social, cultural, environmental and economic value of freshwater. AWS is a global network dedicated to advancing and deepening the impact of credible water stewardship. Through our collaborative work we inspire water users and managers to be responsible stewards of our freshwater resources.
Find out more about AWS at - https://a4ws.org/
ISEAL Code Compliant designates members who have successfully undergone independent evaluations against the ISEAL Codes of Good Practice in Standards-Setting, Assurance and Impacts.
Please note, all ISEAL Code Compliant members are also ISEAL Community Members.
The ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Sustainability Systems (‘the ISEAL Code’) v1.0 became effective as of 1 March 2024. There is an 18-month transition period of ISEAL Code Compliant organisations to align their systems to the ISEAL Code.
During the transition period, no independent evaluations against the Standard-Setting, Impacts, or Assurance Codes are conducted, but Code Compliant organisations will engage in compliance activities and are expected to align their systems with the ISEAL Code. Independent evaluations against the scope of the ISEAL Code are anticipated from Q4 2025. Information about the transition period is publicly available on the What is ISEAL Code Compliant page.
As a result of this independent evaluation, AWS made the following improvements to how they set their standards:
- Published their Standards Development and Revision Procedure V2.0 on their website.
- Developed and begun implementing a Standards Development and Revision Record Keeping Protocol.
- The organisational affiliations of the AWS Technical Committee Members were disclosed on their website.
- Public summary of their Standard revision process was published on their website.
- Created a Standards Log to document all input received on standards in between review and revision cycles.
- The revised Terms of References for the AWS Standard V3.0 was finalised
As a result of this independent evaluation, AWS made the following improvements to their assurance system:
- Revised and published their Oversight Procedure.
- Finalised their Trading Agreement with their conformity assessment body.
- Established a process to evaluate risk at regular intervals.
- Completed a reconstruction of their website.
- Published their Claims Policy.
- Updated their AWS Certification Requirements document.
- Created an AWS Document Control Policy includes requirements on how Assurance Documents are stored and managed.
As a result of this independent evaluation, AWS agreed the following improvements to their M&E system:
- Update their stakeholder mapping narrative document and infographic to reflect the changes in the scheme's organizational structure.
- Consult stakeholders to identify any possible unintended effects of the AWS System.
- Implement a new approach to M&E data collection and increase the number of indicators to be monitored.
- Develop an Indicator Protocol to support the AWS M&E Indicator Framework.
- Develop an Outcome and Impact Evaluation Framework that provides a systematic approach to guide AWS in conducting, commissioning and undergoing regular outcome and impact evaluations on an annual basis.
ISEAL Code Compliant members provide publicly available reports that give a comprehensive and accessible overview of a member's system.
ISEAL System Overview Alliance for Water Stewardship 2024.