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Good practice Imported

San Pellegrino / Nestlé Waters — AWS-Certified Catchment Stewardship of the San Pellegrino, Limpia & Brembo Aquifers (Italy)

Italy · San Pellegrino Terme · See the Italy profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 47% 47/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Independently audited by SGS, Sanpellegrino's Ruspino bottling plant achieved AWS Core Certification in 2020 for its stewardship of the San Pellegrino, Limpia and Brembo aquifers, with a catchment water balance of +2.3M m³/yr and a 20% cut in water withdrawal over four years.

6,557,000 m³/year
Annual basin water recharge
4,257,360 m³/year
Annual discharge
~2,299,640 m³/year
Net water-balance surplus
2.10
Water-withdrawal ratio (2018) (2018)
1.92
Water-withdrawal ratio (2020) (2020)
20 %
Water consumption reduction (4-year period)
87 %
Local acceptability index (2019)
Core Certified 0 major/minor non-conformities, 2 minor observations
AWS certification result (Nov 2020)

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Sanpellegrino S.p.A. (Nestlé Waters) / Municipality of San Pellegrino Terme / Uniacque
Period
2020-present
Region (NUTS)
ITC4
Keywords
bottled water, aquifer protection, watershed governance, AWS certification, corporate water stewardship

Context

The Ruspino bottling plant of Sanpellegrino S.p.A. (Nestlé Waters), operating since 1899 in San Pellegrino Terme in the Bergamo Alps, pursued independent Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) certification covering the San Pellegrino, Limpia and Brembo hydrogeological basins. The certification aims to demonstrate responsible aquifer stewardship balancing commercial extraction with ecosystem protection and community acceptance.

Objectives

Achieve independently audited, responsible management of water extraction across the three basins while protecting aquifer recharge, supporting community water access, and formalizing aquifer-protection zones within municipal planning.

Activities

Diversifying water extraction across multiple wells (San Pellegrino II & III, SP4–SP6); expanding buffer-tank storage capacity toward 5 million litres; formalizing aquifer-protection zones in municipal territorial planning; funding landslide-stabilization works along the Brembo river cycle path; exchanging industrial land with the municipality for a public park; ceding an industrial well to supply the municipal swimming pool; and maintaining two public drinking fountains.

Results

An independent SGS Tecnos audit (November 2020) awarded Core Certified AWS status, with zero major or minor non-conformities and only two minor observations. Reported basin water balance showed annual recharge of 6,557,000 m³ against annual discharge of 4,257,360 m³, a net surplus of roughly 2,299,640 m³/year. The water-withdrawal ratio improved from 2.10 (2018) to 1.92 (2020), alongside a 20% reduction in water consumption over a four-year period. A 2019 population survey recorded an 87% local-acceptability index.

Conclusions

This represents a well-governed, independently audited corporate watershed-stewardship programme rather than a verified sustainable-yield guarantee: the reported water-balance surplus rests on the company's own hydrogeological modeling rather than an independent regulatory determination, and Italian mineral-water concessions carry no hard extraction caps.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k) — Specific budget figures for cost, timeline and staffing are described in source material as "not yet available"; cost_band reflects a conservative estimate given the infrastructure investments described (buffer-tank expansion, landslide-stabilization works, land exchange for a public park).
Time to results
Medium (1–3 years) — AWS certification achieved and maintained 2020-present; the plant has operated since 1899, but the certified stewardship programme dates to 2020.
Staffing & skills
Sanpellegrino S.p.A. (Nestlé Waters) technical/sustainability staff, Coordination with the Municipality of San Pellegrino Terme and regional utility Uniacque, Independent audit conducted by SGS Tecnos

Conditions for success

  • Independent third-party certification framework (AWS standard)
  • Formal municipal aquifer-protection zone agreements
  • Biennial community-acceptance surveys
  • Diversified extraction infrastructure across multiple wells
  • Multi-stakeholder coordination with the regional utility

Common failure modes

  • Water-balance surplus is based on the company's own hydrogeological modeling, not independent regulatory verification
  • Italian mineral-water concessions lack hard extraction caps, leaving long-term sustainable-yield unverified by regulators

Where it fits

Governance type
corporate operator with municipal/utility partnership, third-party certified
Scale
local catchment (3 hydrogeological basins)
Income level
high-income

Commonly funded by

Own resources / municipal budget

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

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