WaterAid works across 37 countries in Africa, Central America and the Pacific Region to provide access to safe water and sanitation to poor communities. Since 1981, WaterAid has reached 23 million people with safe water, and 21 million people with sanitation since 2004.
Through the flagship community water programme Water of Life in Africa, Diageo has already supported WaterAid for over 15 years, raising over £1m and transforming the lives of over 150,000 people in the last five years alone.
This new collaboration will see Diageo employees play an even more active role with WaterAid through fundraising, advocacy, volunteering and training for worldwide projects. The partnership aims to identify communities that are most in need of support, located near or within areas in which Diageo operates or sources its agricultural raw materials.
David Cutter, President Global Supply and Procurement, Diageo plc commented, “WaterAid is a fantastic NGO and we are hugely proud to partner with them to intensify our efforts. Whether in India, Africa or South East Asia, our partnership will bring together Diageo’s broad geographical footprint with WaterAid’s great expertise and experience. We will step up our engagement with governments and businesses on the vital need for universal access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene and focus our projects on local communities near our sites and in our supply chain”.
Barbara Frost, Chief Executive, WaterAid, added, “We’re delighted to announce a five-year strategic partnership with Diageo. This new partnership builds on support Diageo has given WaterAid over the last 15 years to help reach some of the world’s most marginalised communities with access to safe water and sanitation. WaterAid believes safe water and sanitation are basic human rights, and that the private sector has an important role to play in achieving universal access to water and sanitation. The global water and sanitation crisis requires a joined- up and collaborative approach between NGOs, businesses and governments to ensure everyone everywhere has safe water and sanitation by the year 2030.”
With a third of Diageo’s operations based in water-stressed areas, the partnership aims for a sustainable change in the company's management of water in its own operations, whilst also providing improvement to the environment and communities its operations affect.
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