Driscoll's Joins AgWater Challenge: Watsonville

WATSONVILLE, CA — Driscoll’s announced Wednesday that it is participating in the Ceres/World Wildlife Fund AgWater Challenge, which encourages companies to set ambitious goals that address the global water crisis.

Companies that participate in the challenge receive support in analyzing water issues within their supply chains, and in refining or making new sourcing commitments that enable them to better address their risk. According to WWF, Ceres and WWF work with participating companies to develop time-bound and measurable commitments to:

• • Reduce the water impacts associated with key agricultural commodities
• • Implement locally-relevant strategies to mitigate risk in agricultural areas where water is scarce
• • Support and incentivize farmers and other agricultural producers to strengthen water stewardship practices

In turn, participating companies benefit from:

• • Technical assistance from leading NGOs
• • Peer-to-peer learning on best practices for managing water risks and challenges with meaningful goal setting
• • Opportunities to earn recognition as an AgWater Challenge participant for responding to water challenges, through new actions and commitments
• • Improved standing in Ceres’ next Feeding Ourselves Thirsty ranking
• • Insight from communications experts on how to effectively tell their sustainability story to a range of key stakeholders

Representing over $123 billion in annual net revenue, Diageo, General Mills, Hain Celestial Group, Inc., Hormel Foods, Kellogg Company, PepsiCo, and Danone North America (formerly WhiteWave Foods) were the first AgWater stewards to join the Challenge in 2016, according to WWF. Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), the first agriculture products company, and Target, the first retailer, joined the cohort in 2018.

“Building upon a solid foundation of stewardship, Driscoll’s new water commitments take the company’s work to the next level,” said Kirsten James, director of water at Ceres. “Driscoll’s participation in the AgWater Challenge sends an important signal that smart water management is increasingly a business imperative.”

“Driscoll’s recognizes that driving to solutions for sustainable water management requires coordinated efforts from all stakeholders,” said Miles Reiter, Driscoll’s CEO. “Our team will leverage the expertise of Ceres and WWF, as well as Challenge participants like Danone and Target, to advance comprehensive solutions that protect our most precious resource.”

“The availability and quality of water is one of the most critical issues of the 21st century," said Nicole Tanner, WWF’s water stewardship lead. "With agriculture using 70 percent of our water resources, food and beverage companies must seize the opportunity now to act in order to ensure our water systems are resilient in the future. By participating in the AgWater Challenge and committing to strategic action, Driscoll’s solidifies its place as a water stewardship champion and exemplifies what it means to work locally on water security efforts.”