There is no agreed definition for Water Stewardship, but it is a term that has been increasingly used by companies and NGO’s to describe a growing private sector engagement with water issues. In essence, Water Stewardship can be described as actions on the part of companies who seek to improve the efficiency and cleanliness of their internal operations and in their supply chain, while also facilitating the sustainable management of shared freshwater resources through collaboration with other businesses, governments, NGOs, communities, and others. Stewardship implies that there is both an internal and external component to water issues. In turn these issues will require a much broader response, as well as an appreciation of how water is managed as a shared and public resource. Stewardship recognises that business risk is ultimately created when water is poorly managed or over-exploited - creating changes in the physical nature of water that may have impact on society, business, government and the environment.

Developing a Water Stewardship strategy