ST. PAUL, MN, Oct. 2, 2015 -- Ecolab Inc., a specialist in water, hygiene and energy technology and services, in partnership with the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS), has announced that its manufacturing plant in Taicang, China, is the first site in the world to be independently certified under the AWS's global standard for water stewardship.
The AWS Standard is an ISEAL-compliant framework developed to promote sustainable freshwater use and evaluate water stewardship practices, developed through a four-year, multi-stakeholder, water roundtable process that includes diverse business, public sector and civil society interests from around the world. This standard outlines a set of water stewardship criteria and indicators for how water should be stewarded at a site and catchment level in a way that is environmentally, socially and economically beneficial.
Ecolab is one of nearly 30 leading organizations from across sectors to advance the efforts of AWS to protect the world's limited freshwater resources. "This first certification is a critical milestone as we pursue our mission to promote responsible use of freshwater," said Adrian Sym, executive director, Alliance for Water Stewardship. "It is fitting that Ecolab is the first company to achieve certification, given their leadership in driving improved water use and their consistent support of the aims of AWS."
Ecolab is a founding partner of AWS and was one of the first companies to pilot the AWS Standard. Ecolab partnered with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to field test and implement the framework at its Taicang manufacturing plant, which is located in a water-sensitive area in the Taihu basin of the Yangtze region. This work resulted in a systematic approach to water stewardship that included implementation of water reduction projects within the facility as well as initial collective action with other water users and stakeholders, including local authorities, operating within the same catchment.
Ecolab's facility in Taicang opened in August 2012 and is the company's largest site in the Asia Pacific region. The facility produces a complete portfolio of cleaning, sanitizing, food safety, and infection prevention solutions for customers in a wide range of growing industries, including: food and beverage production, food retail, hospitality, healthcare and dairy, and meat and poultry processing.
Certification of Ecolab's Taicang site to the AWS Standard was undertaken by TÜV Rheinland, an independent third-party AWS-accredited organization responsible for assessment of Ecolab's compliance with the AWS Standard. In September 2015, TÜV Rheinland certified the Taicang manufacturing plant as "AWS Core Certified." To learn more about Ecolab's Taicang facility and the certification process, click here.
See also:
"Ecolab named to 2015 Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index"
"Ecolab reaches agreement to acquire select assets of Swisher Hygiene"
About Ecolab
A trusted partner at more than one million customer locations, Ecolab (ECL) is the global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services that protect people and vital resources. With 2014 sales of $14 billion and 47,000 associates, Ecolab delivers comprehensive solutions and on-site service to promote safe food, maintain clean environments, optimize water and energy use, and improve operational efficiencies for customers in the food, healthcare, energy, hospitality and industrial markets in more than 170 countries around the world. For more news and information, visit www.ecolab.com.
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