Water is an essential and increasingly scarce resource, and its management is a growing concern worldwide. For organizations, moving toward efficient and responsible water management involves establishing mechanisms to monitor water use and demonstrate, in a verifiable manner, compliance with applicable requirements.
It is against this backdrop thatWater Friendly By CONFICERT was created—a certification designed to demonstrate organizations’ commitment to efficient, responsible, and sustainable water management across all their processes.
Water Friendly establishesverifiable requirementsrelated to water governance, regulatory compliance, consumption measurement and monitoring, water efficiency, internal audits, subcontractor management, and brand usage.
The certification is aligned with the2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 6, 12, 13, and 9, and provides a structured framework for organizations that want to transparently demonstrate how they manage water resources.
What is Water Friendly?
Water Friendly By CONFICERT is a water management certification based on verifiable requirements that enables organizations to demonstrate their commitment to compliance with legal and regulatory requirements and to the efficient, responsible, and sustainable management of water resources.
The standard addresses various aspects related to water management within the organization, ranging from governance and regulatory compliance to consumption measurement, improvement goals, water infrastructure, water quality, and discharge control.
It also covers the management of water-related processes that may be outsourced and establishes specific requirements for individual operators, multi-site operators, and groups of operators, as applicable.
Thus, Water Friendly offers a framework structured intoseven key chapters.
The 7 chapters of the Water Friendly standard
1. Governance, Regulatory Compliance, and Water Culture
The first chapter focuses on how the organization approaches water management and compliance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
Among the aspects considered are:
- Regulatory Compliance Review.
- Water-related policies and commitments.
- Environmental management systems.
- Staff training.
- Communication and transparency.
Water governance and culture are thus one of the areas assessed by Water Friendly, along with the other elements that make up water management within the organization.
2. Water Efficiency and Improvement Goals
Chapter 3 focuses specifically on water efficiency and the organization's improvement goals.
The following aspects are addressed:
- Water Consumption Management.
- Environmental Impact Analysis.
- Water infrastructure.
- Infrastructure maintenance.
- Water quality.
- Spill Control.
The regulation thus incorporates both consumption controls and other elements related to infrastructure and the environmental management of the resource.
3. Water Control, Measurement, and Monitoring
Efficient water management requires control and measurement mechanisms.
For this reason, Water Friendly includes an assessment of water efficiency bycomparing consumption levels, as well as the definition ofkey performance indicators (KPIs)and objectives.
This chapter also includes:
- Development of control plans.
- Continuous improvement.
- Methods for Reusing Water.
- Alternative sources.
The goal is to assess how the organization controls and monitors the resource and what mechanisms it establishes to improve its management.
4. Internal Audits
Water Friendly also includes requirements related to the organization'sinternal audits.
This chapter covers the evaluation of:
- Internal Audit Plan.
- Corrective Action Plan.
Internal auditing is part of the standard's requirements framework and is integrated with the other control mechanisms established by Water Friendly.
5. Subcontractors
When a water-related process is outsourced, Water Friendly establishes specific requirements for monitoring it.
The standard sets forth different requirements depending on whether subcontractors arecertified or uncertified.
This chapter allows for the inclusion within the scope of water management of those processes related to water resources that are carried out through subcontracting.
6. Brand Use and Labeling
Water Friendly also sets forth requirements regarding the use of the trademark.
Use of the brand name and logo of CONFICERT must comply with the provisions set forth in theCONFICERT Brand and Logo Usage Manual, in addition to applicable legal requirements.
This requirement makes it possible to establish specific conditions for the use of the trademark associated with the certification.
7. Specific Requirements for Individual Multisite Operators and Groups of Operators
Chapter 7 sets forth specific requirements for different organizational structures:
- Multisite operators.
- Operator groups.
These requirements apply as appropriate, depending on the operator's characteristics and structure.
Water Friendly and Responsible Water Management
Water management can be approached from different perspectives: regulatory compliance, consumption control, efficiency, quality, infrastructure, discharges, and improvement.
Water Friendly integrates these aspects into a single framework of verifiable requirements.
Therefore, certification provides organizations with a defined framework for demonstrating their commitment to theefficient, responsible, and sustainable management of water resources.
The Water Friendly approach is based on verifiable and transparent criteria. This makes it possible to distinguish between a statement of commitment and management practices backed by defined and assessable requirements.
Water Friendly and the Prevention of Greenwashing
One of the distinguishing features highlighted by CONFICERT regarding Water Friendly is its contribution topreventing greenwashing through verifiable and transparent criteria.
In a context where organizations are increasingly communicating their environmental commitments, having clear criteria helps ensure greater transparency regarding the practices underlying a statement related to sustainable water management.
Water Friendly is therefore designed as a tool to verifiably demonstrate the organization's commitment to responsible water resource management.
Water Friendly and the Sustainable Development Goals
Water Friendly is aligned with the2030 Agenda and SDGs 6, 12, 13, and 9.
- SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation: SDG 6 is directly related to water and sanitation. Responsible and efficient water resource management is at the heart of Water Friendly.
- SDG 12: Responsible Production and Consumption: Efficient resource management is linked to SDG 12, which aims to promote responsible production and consumption patterns.
- SDG 13: Climate Action: Water Friendly also aligns with SDG 13, which relates to action on climate change.
- SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure: The standard incorporates aspects related to water infrastructure and its maintenance, as part of an approach aligned with SDG 9.
What value does Water Friendly bring to organizations?
Based on the certification approach, Water Friendly offers unique value in various areas.
- Efficient water management.The standard covers measurement, monitoring, comparison of consumption, and the definition of KPIs and improvement goals.
- Responsible and sustainable management.The framework addresses various aspects of water resources, including consumption, infrastructure, water quality, and discharges.
- Regulatory Compliance.Verifying compliance with legal and regulatory requirements is part of the certification process.
- Transparency.Water Friendly is based on verifiable and transparent criteria.
- Preventing greenwashing.The use of verifiable requirements helps support the organization's environmental commitment.
- Trust and Brand Positioning.Water Friendly builds trust among environmentally conscious consumers and enables the organization to strategically position itself in a transparent and responsible manner.
Why Certify Water Management?
Water is an essential resource, and its availability and management are becoming increasingly important. In this context, organizations need to move toward management models that allow for the efficient and responsible use of this resource.
But in addition to managing, it's importantto be able to demonstrate how you manage.
Water Friendly provides a framework of verifiable requirements that addresses various aspects of water management, ranging from regulatory compliance and governance to measurement, water efficiency, internal audits, and oversight of outsourced processes.
Certification thus enables the commitment to sustainable water management to be translated into a model based ondefined, verifiable, and transparent criteria.
ACERTA and Water Friendly by CONFICERT
ACERTA is accredited for all seven CONFICERT standards, and as part of its strategy for 2026, Water Friendly is among the priority standards for which content and communication initiatives are being developed.
CONFICERT is an international nonprofit association managed by certification bodies, whose goal is to create and promote globally certified quality marks and provide clear and transparent information regarding claims associated with products, services, and organizations. ACERTA is one of the driving forces behind this initiative and one of its founding members.
This approach aligns with the proposal put forward by ACERTA regarding certification: providing rigor, independence, and trust through certification, verification, and technical evaluation services. The organization has more than 20 years of experience and operates in areas such as Food, R&D&I and ESG.