Putting water stewardship to work for the Textiles and Apparel sector in Africa

1. About the programme

Water Witness and AWS Africa are co-leading a 3-year initiative to establish the Ethiopian Textiles and Apparel
sector as global leaders in sustainable and resilient water stewardship. Having developed and demonstrated the
benefits of water stewardship in Africa and globally since 2008, through collaboration with a wide range of
government, business, and civil society partners, we are well placed to deliver on this ambition.
The work is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development Co-operation and GIZ and will use the Alliance for
Water Stewardship Standard to target action on priority water issues at each step in the apparel value chain.
Wtare Witness leads work with textile and garment manufacturers, while our partners Solidaridad Ethiopia are
working on stewardship for cotton growers, and CDP Water and AWS are working on brand engagement
globally.
We have a formal agreement with the Ethiopian government, and have initiated work towards AWS certification
with the Ethiopian Industrial Park Development Corporation (IPDC) which has requested support to implement
the standard at 5 Industrial Parks, including Hawassa (HIP) by 2022. We are also working with individual
suppliers within and outside the parks in similar processes towards certification.

2. What we can offer

Our teams will work closely with selected producers and suppliers to analyse water-related risks and
opportunities within facilities, parks and at catchment level, to provide training and support planning and action
on priority issues. The process will enable producers and stakeholders to align with and benchmark against
global best practice, and to explore the costs, benefits and implications of using the AWS standard. The work will
cover all dimensions of water management including reliable water for production, water access, pollution
control and wastewater quality, process efficiency, ecosystem management, climate change risks (flood and
drought management), regulatory compliance and stakeholder engagement.
The benefits for participating sites and business include:
a. Establishing skills, knowledge and systems to reduce water risks (regulatory, physical, reputational, and
financial);
b. Sustainable water allocation and use at municipal and catchment scale;
c. Improved worker health, safety and wellbeing, and COVID control through best practice on water
supply, sanitation and hygiene access at site and in the community;
d. Option to certify against the internationally recognized water stewardship certification (which is
compatible with EMS due diligence, Higg FEM, ZDHC, and international best practices);
e. Generating lessons internally and for external use within the industry, and national best practice
benchmarks;

Water Witness, 3/2 Boroughloch Square, Edinburgh EH8 9NJ  www.waterwitness.org  info@waterwitness.org  T: +44 (0)131 662 8546
Company no: 353570; Registered charity no: SC041072
 f. Maintain social license to operate, and ensuring compliance with brand and government requirements;
g. Improved relationships with buyers and producers through improved environmental and social
conditions.
We have funding until 2023 to provide highly regarded training, mentoring and technical support over the next
two years for AWS Standard implementation and benchmarking. Our support is hands-on and includes support
to sites to produce cost effective water stewardship assessments, as well as consultancy support to implement
these plans.

3. Alignment with other standards and organizations

We are leading work with the global water stewardship community to drive efficiency and alignment among
existing standard systems, and to develop an evidence-base and advocacy platform for resilient economic
growth, jobs, and trade in Africa. The work is high profile and underpins a co-ordinated global drive to help
consumers, multi-nationals and the financial markets understand and act on water and climate related risks in
globalised supply chains. Work is only ongoing with fashion brands to create pathways between sector-wide
standards and the AWS Standard.
We are also working with international donors and implementing organizations, including UK FCDO, GIZ and
others to improve the coordination of support directed towards Ethiopia’s Industrial Parks. For example, we are
working closely with the IPDC to convene and map multiple initiatives to ensure a more streamlined, coherent
and effective programme of support.

4. How to engage with the programme

Expressions of Interest from you:
• To become a pioneer site (operational partner) for supported AWS Implementation in Ethiopia -
including technical assistance for assessment, implementation and cost/benefit analysis
• To become a learning partner to benefit from training and knowledge generated by the programme
Express your interest by sending an email to Esayassamuel@waterwitness.org ideally before 20 th of Dec 2020

Water Witness, 3/2 Boroughloch Square, Edinburgh EH8 9NJ  www.waterwitness.org  info@waterwitness.org  T: +44 (0)131 662 8546
Company no: 353570; Registered charity no: SC041072
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