The training, conducted by the Service Head of Climate Change at SGS Peru, Ursula Antúnez de Mayolo, was divided into two stages and gathered professionals involved in environment-related corporate social responsibility, business consultants for the AWS Standard certification and officials in agricultural production companies that cater to industrial companies.

 

In addition, the "Promoting sustainability and competitiveness in the asparagus value chain through a local, global and institutional strategy" Water Management project was discussed. 

The trainer, Úrsula Antúnez de Mayolo, mentioned that "the main objective of this training is to learn how to implement the AWS standard" in organizations. 

On the first day of the training course the course fundamentals were discussed. These would enable participants to understand the influence of water management on the goals of organizations, achieve a comprehensive view of the tools to support water management and administration, and relate to AWS standards, among other topics. 

Group dynamics were performed to determine the participants' interest in the AWS standard training. These partners work in organizations that use water resources and seek sustainable water management. 

Thanks to case studies and literature related to water resource management, the participants were able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of organizations regarding water management. In addition, they learned what the water risks and opportunities in the physical, regulatory and reputational aspects would be. 

The Coordinator of environmental management at Compañia de Minas Buenaventura, Iván Alva Lino, said that it is very important that these standards extend within organizations, since water resource is increasingly scarce. "(The AWS) is a suitable management tool." Its guideline is composed of water management at basin level, which I think is favorable as you integrate social environmental responsibility in the environment", he said. 

The second day of training enabled participants to develop a theoretical framework on how to apply the six steps of the AWS Standard, understand the conflicts related to the implementation of the standard in different contexts, and achieve a level of proficiency in the use of the AWS Standard, among other topics. 

The AWS standard key terminology was presented and discussed between representatives of the participating organizations. The objective of the activity was to learn, more closely, "the critical definitions that the AWS standard considers must be taken into account"; emphasized the speaker Úrsula Antúnez de Mayolo. 

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The six steps of the AWS standard contain requirements that organizations must comply with if they are really committed to sustainable water management. Therefore, they were included in group dynamics for participants to identify and recognize. 

Deputy Manager of Safety, Health and Environment at DanPer, Carlos Meza Aguilar, said that, as an organization, they are convinced that disseminating standards such as the AWS' is a very good initiative. "Water management will ensure life in the future. I see a lot of interest on the part of the companies, as they have taken sustainable water management seriously", he said. 

Universidad del Pacífico professor and associate researcher, Daniel De La Torre Ugarte, also attended the training. He said that the university will keep its commitment to continuing with these alliances with the aim of safeguarding the natural resources that are mainly located around the basins.