How We’re Helping to Protect Water Resources

Water stewardship is at the foundation of everything we do. We use a robust approach built on five steps - saving water, protecting the quality of our natural water source and catchment, sharing our knowledge, contributing to our community and certifying our  site to the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) standard – with Platinum status.  

We’re working with partners to help fund and deliver water regeneration projects in our local water catchment to protect, restore and return more water than we use in our operations.

We’re going beyond the walls of our factory to work with the local community and our partners to find collective solutions to sustainable water management,  ensuring the quality of the sources and the protection of the land around them for now and long into the future. This means increasing the biodiversity, pioneering water stewardship, working on natural flood mitigation, and peat restoration just to name a few. 

We came together with Moors for the Future Partnership, the Environment Agency, Severn Trent Water, the Harris & Sheldon Group and the University of Derby to enhance the moorland to slow the flow of water off the moor and help mitigate the risk of flooding downstream.

The innovative restoration works include bunding, blocking erosion gullies, and planting 187 hectares with sphagnum moss, which can hold up to 20 times its weight in water.

Learn more about the project:

Nestlé Waters UK, the Environment Agency, Severn Trent and the Harris & Sheldon Group have come together with Moors for the Future Partnership to fund the work on Combs Moss in the moors of the Peak District.  This collective has come together to produce innovative restoration works, including planting on the Combs Moss moorland to increase the land’s capacity to hold water - mitigating flood risk downstream, increasing biodiversity, enhancing resilience to wildfire and capturing carbon.

Restoring River Ecclesbourne to Help Atlantic Salmon Return After 100-Year Absence

Working together with Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, Wild Trout Trust and Chatsworth Estate, we helped restore River Ecclesbourne back to its original channel to bypass a weir at the site of the former Postern Mill in Turndith and create a route for fish migration.

This vital work has opened up more than 28 kilometres of river and tributaries for fish migration, leading to the exciting return of the vulnerable Atlantic salmon, which spawned in the upper reaches of the river in 2025 for the first time in 100 years.

Learn more about the successful restoration here:

In 2020, we embarked on an exciting 10-year partnership with Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, committing to stewarding approximately 190 acres of pristine land in Derbyshire.

Together, we’ve been caring for the former Lightwood Reservoir and the former Cowdale Quarry, where some of our water sources are located. We’ve been protecting both sites from development, restoring the land to promote biodiversity, and ultimately, protecting the quality of the water resources underneath.

We’ve been enhancing woodland, restoring and creating new habitats, as well as adapting natural process-led land management approaches to let nature take the lead. And we’ve already started to see the impact.

Learn more here: NW2120 NW Derbyshire WIldlife Trust Report

Water is a precious resource and a foundation of our business, and we want to help protect it for the future. That’s why we’re proud that our BUXTON® Natural Mineral Water bottling site has achieved the prestigious Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) Standard certification with platinum status, the highest level possible.

We first achieved this in 2021, becoming the first site in the UK to be certified at the highest level available, and in 2024, after a rigorous audit process, the platinum status was awarded once again.

This achievement recognises our exceptional dedication to responsible water management, collaboration, and strong engagement with the local community.

Learn more here: Buxton water site maintains platinum status for its caring for water approach

Much like the journey of BUXTON^® Natural Mineral Water, rising through a mile of British rock before reaching the surface, we’re pushing ahead, overcoming challenges, and committed to managing our business in a sustainable way. These have all been key milestones in Nestlé Group’s ambition to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Developing a modern and efficient bottling facility is at the heart of BUXTON®  to bring its natural source all the way to you. Our state-of-the-art factory in Buxton, Derbyshire was designed and built with sustainability at its core. Built in 2012, the factory is one of Europe’s most innovative and we have continued in this way with our newly expanded site creating a state-of-the-art logistics operation onsite.

Our factory is powered by renewable electricity purchased from renewable energy providers.