ITC becomes 1st Indian co to commit to AWS Certification for all its facilities in high water-stress areas by 2035

New Delhi: Multi business conglomerate ITC Ltd., is the first company in India to announce its ambitious target for 2035 to certify all of its owned factories and hotels operating in areas of high-water stress to the International Water Stewardship Standard (AWS Standard).

Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) certification is considered as the global benchmark for water stewardship. The international Standard acknowledges companies for responsible water use, leading to positive environmental, social, cultural and economic impacts.

In 2019, ITC's Paperboards factory in Tamil Nadu earned the distinction of being the only facility in India to be awarded the AWS Platinum-level certification – the highest level for AWS certification. The facility is the first site in India to achieve this AWS recognition. ITC has now committed itself to achieve AWS certification for 8 of its sites by 2023 and all its sites in high water stressed areas by 2035. The Company has so far identified 30 such sites spread across the country.

Commenting on the development, Mr. Sanjiv Rangrass, Group Head - Life Sciences & Technology, Central Projects, EHS & Quality Assurance, ITC Ltd. said, "The Platinum-level AWS certification of our Kovai unit in 2019 was indeed a source of encouragement for all at ITC and it inspired us to step up our water stewardship efforts and commit the highest global certification targets for all our water stressed sites by 2035. The certifications will be an international level validation of our holistic water stewardship initiatives and will provide a further boost to our efforts in years to come."

With water stress increasingly becoming an area of serious concern, ITC continues to focus on an integrated water stewardship programme that includes water conservation and harvesting initiatives at its units – while at the same time working towards meeting the water security needs of stakeholders through supply-side as well as demand-side measures.

Besides ensuring water security of dependants in the factory catchment, ITC's water stewardship programme aims to drought-proof the agri-catchments in order to minimise risks to agricultural livelihoods arising from drought and moisture stress. The programme promotes the development and management of local water resources in moisture-stressed areas by facilitating community participation in planning and implementing such measures, whilst building, reviving and maintaining water-harvesting structures. The coverage of this programme currently extends to 38 districts of 14 states in India. So far, the Company has created over 21,990 water harvesting structures and developed net water storage of 41.95 million cubic meters.