Ethiopian Beverage Alliance for Water

Investing in Impact

P4G provided this partnership with $99,970 in catalytic grant funding. 

Comprised of major beverage providers including Nestle and Coca-Cola subsidiaries, the Ethiopian Beverage Water Alliance is strengthening sustainable water-use and management. In order to aid industry members with action around water, the partnership wrote and adopted a Water Assessment Survey (WAS) to enhance industry members’ awareness of water security challenges in the beverage sector. The WAS will provide a sectoral overview of water-use and management efficiency opportunities, identify major risks and opportunities related to water sustainability for alliance members in the communities where they operate, and identify opportunities for concrete and collective action. It will also help determine the agenda for the Ethiopian Beverage Alliance for Water in coming years.  

In August 2021, the alliance held a launch event, bringing together industry stakeholders and high-level government officials including from the Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy; the Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Commission; and the Agricultural Transformation Agency, demonstrating political support for the partnership.   

 The Minister for Water and Commissioner for Environment recognized the partnerships’ successes and potential to provide an effective model for similar alliances surrounding water security. The partnership also hopes to inspire a forum of water alliances to scale up best practices and engage in broad-based projects that could result in significant water efficiency at a country level.  

To sustain the practices of the alliance, the Ethiopian Beverage Alliance for Water held meetings with producers to clarify priorities and to educate future members about the value of collective action around water. Also, membership in the Ethiopian Beverage Alliance for Water is expected to grow as obligations and guidelines have been set for membership requirements, which will be continuously studied and improved.