US – American Beverage giant, Constellation Brands, has announced a two-year commitment of US$700,000 to Water Stewardship in a bid to restore watersheds for future generations and restore water system health.
The contributions to The Nature Conservancy (TNC) are partly intended to benefit watersheds in California communities where Constellation Brands operates, contributing to the company’s water replenishment targets first announced in April 2022.
TNC describes itself as “one of the most effective and efficient environmental organizations in the world” and has a mission to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends.
From the total amount, US$200,000 was donated in February 2022 and will be used to support TNC’s broader Global Resilient Watersheds program.
The program is focused on making watershed health a priority by investing in nature-based solutions such as forest protection, regenerative agricultural practices, wetland restoration, and natural vegetation corridors along waterways.
In addition, the program aims to restore watershed health and revitalize degraded freshwater systems around the world.
The remaining US$500,000 donation will be leveraged over two years in support of TNC’s innovative dynamic water management programs in California and help target communities around Constellation Brands’ winery facilities and operations reside.
According to Constellation Brands, these programs are designed to bring to life important proof of concept strategies for rebalancing water demand for people and nature that in turn may be implemented on a broader scale to seek to address water challenges across California and elsewhere.
Constellation Brands’ EVP and chief communications, CSR, and diversity officer Mike McGrew said: “We recognize access to clean water is a human right, and as a community member it is our responsibility to help ensure the resiliency of this resource in the areas where we live and work for generations to come.”
Collaborating with community members and supporting organizations like TNC to determine how we can collectively protect and restore water sources is a key component of our overall water stewardship strategy.”
Additionally, the commitment to conservation is expected to provide volumetric benefits towards the drinks giant’s water replenishment goals which involve it aiming to restore 1.1 billion gallons of water withdrawals from watersheds.
This will in turn improve accessibility and quality of water for communities where the company operates between 2023 and 2025.
To achieve this target, Constellation said it has developed a strategy focused on water efficiency, watershed restoration, and water accessibility and quality.
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