What is WaterWill?

WaterWill is the global initiative of the International Water Conference, GODF and Rotary International as a global nonprofit community of individuals, companies and organizations that promised to consider the environment and smart use of water when they take decisions.
To be part of the community and to use the WaterWill logo, the individual or the company/organization adopts a pledge (the public promise through a public acceptance and obligation to follow the guidelines of the WaterWill Pledge) to consider environmental aspects and impacts in its activities and decisions. It’s a global action and initiative taken to raise widest possible awareness on importance to preserve water.

   

What is the mission of WaterWill?

WaterWill aims to raise awareness and help individuals, businesses and organizations to take simple, economical and incentivized measures to become more water-cautious and eco-friendly. Recognizing that the individual steps of a large number of actors can lead to significant improvements in preservation and smart use of our water resources to help our environmental sustainability, WaterWill empowers individuals, businesses and organizations on the one hand, and consumers and the general public on the other, to take mutually reinforcing steps to ensure a greener future and enough clean water for all.

Who can join WaterWill?

Any individual, company or organization, formal or informal, can join its network, since environmental consciousness has no boundaries. A group of friends or a smaller unit of a large organization (like people working in the same office or a certain division) can live according to the WaterWill Policy, similarly to a huge multinational corporation, or even a country.

Is WaterWill a certification?

No, WaterWill is the exact opposite of a certification, and does not provide a certificate. It provides Smart Water Use Guidelines to pledgers and an easy way for them to publicly show their commitment to sustainable practices through a WaterWill Policy. WaterWill is compatible with any other certification or environmental policy that an organization might have. It is a promise to respect the environment, make that commitment public, and promote smart use of water with environmentally sustainable practices.

What are the differences between a certification and WaterWill?

A certification is a formal declaration (issued by a certifying body) that a company or organization meets certain criteria.
The WaterWill Pledge (the public WaterWill Policy) is a “promise” to consider the smart use of water and overall environment when taking decisions.
Both a certification and the WaterWill Policy are imperfect (there are no perfect things in this world), but they can easily complement each other, being WaterWill the first step as it does not require any financial investment.

What is the Pledge?

The WaterWill Pledge (the public WaterWill Policy) is a “promise” that individuals, businesses and organizations take to improve their environmental impact through smart use of water.

How much does it cost?

Nothing. WaterWill and all its procedures and information are free (distributed and freely available just like the free software). The only cost of its adoption is maybe some meetings with the staff and the colleagues involved.

Will WaterWill remain free?

Yes, as a voluntary nonprofit global initiative, WaterWill is and will always be free.

How can I support WaterWill?

There are many ways to support WaterWill. Organizations and Individuals can register and encourage their partners to register as well. Anyone can become a WaterWill volunteer or intern to help undertake outreach, develop local strategies, and help WaterWill succeed in its mission.
For financial or in-kind contributions, some info are available at ( waterwill.org/donations f.e.) 

How do you plan to target underdeveloped countries where people may lack resources to adopt environmentally sustainable practices?

WaterWill is a global initiative which aims to change people’s mentality towards the environment and promote environmentally sustainable practices. Unfortunately, in some parts of the world there may be other priorities and fundamental needs to be fulfilled prior to environmental concerns. It is also true, though, that many times these countries are also the ones facing the greatest environmental challenges. WaterWill requires very small steps which are easy to implement and free to adopt. Therefore, it will be possible to make an impact in developing countries where other organizations/associations have not yet succeeded.

After a registrant has fulfilled all the promises in the WaterWill Policy and has fully adopted the Guidelines, what comes next?

After an individual or organization has fully adopted the WaterWill Guidelines, it is strongly encouraged to invite its friends, partners and stakeholders to join as well. In an ideal world, a company would require its partners and suppliers to have a valid public WaterWill Policy. 

What is a WaterWill Policy?

The WaterWill Policy is a pledge and a promise to be environmentally aware, and to respect the environment in daily practices and activities. Through the WaterWill Policy, the individual or organization makes public its commitment to a smart use of water resources and greener environment and promises to do its best to implement green practices and encourage others to do the same.

What are the WaterWill Guidelines?

The WaterWill Guidelines are a periodically updated brief set of tips (usually between 10-20) developed by WaterWill. They have been formulated based on extensive in-house research of global best practices regarding smart use of water resources and environmental policies. They are applicable to multinational entities, small & medium-sized firms, organizations, government bodies and individuals. The Guidelines are free.