Guest: Klaudia Schacht-Schneider Programme Manager: Water Stewardship at WWF

The WWF runs an extensive Freshwater Programme, and one of the key focus areas is water stewardship.

This means that WWF works with various water users, especially in the private sector, to help them on a journey to take full responsibility for their water uses. WWF plays a key facilitation role for organisations to ask themselves what part they can play to help South Africa overcome the current crisis, as well as prepare for and even shape the future of freshwater supplies in South Africa. 

For that, two steps are essential. Firstly, to look at water uses within the organisational fence-line, and secondly, to become part of a collective group, who address the larger water risks in the shared catchment.

Distell is one of the organisations currently working with WWF, to assess its own water risks, to review its own steps towards water stewardship and to build a company water stewardship plan. 

Practically this means choosing investments in appropriate technology, such as a wastewater facility. This is happening at Adam Tas and it is an appropriate way for Distell to reduce its water quality impact on the Eerste River. At a collective action level, Distell has been an active member in Stellenbosch River Collaborative, adding its voice and ideas to a platform that seeks workable solutions for the Eerste catchment.