Sloan, a leading manufacturer of commercial plumbing systems, has announced its partnership with The Water Council as the inaugural member of its recently-launched WAVE program.

A water stewardship initiative, the WAVE program provides companies like Sloan — a Water Council member since 2011 — with ways to improve their water stewardship efforts.

These efforts are then independently verified by SCS Global Services, an international leader in third-party sustainability verification. Verified companies can confidently state they are credibly and strategically addressing water challenges and opportunities where it matters most.

"Water is earth's most precious resource, and it's important to understand and prioritize our water risks and shared water challenges in order to become better stewards," said Patrick Boyle, Sloan director of sustainability. "Sloan's historic partnership with The Water Council's WAVE program provides us with an exciting opportunity to lead by example by communicating our corporate water stewardship efforts."

The six-step methodology for improving, reporting, and reorganizing effective corporate water stewardship includes the following:

• Understanding water uses, impacts, and risks
• Approving a corporate water stewardship policy
• Prioritizing sites where water-related risks can be mitigated
• Communicating a corporate action plan, goals, and timeline

"Sloan is a market leader and global influencer when it comes to sustainability, and we're proud to welcome them as the first official WAVE client," said Dean Amhaus, The Water Council president and CEO. "We designed WAVE to benefit a variety of companies, whether you're just starting on your water stewardship journey or already addressing water risks like Sloan."

Sloan's participation in the WAVE program comes less than a year after its Franklin Park, Ill., headquarters achieved certification to the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) Standard, a globally-applicable framework for major water users to understand their water use and impacts. AWS certification enables organizations to further work collaboratively and transparently for sustainable water management.

Sloan touch-free products — from faucets and flushometers to sinks, soap dispensers, and hand dryers — are developed with sustainability and hygiene in mind to promote health and wellness in commercial restrooms of all types.

Sloan's high-efficiency flushometers can cut down a building's water use by 30%, while its commitment to product transparency through Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and Health Product Declarations (HPDs), as well as resources like its Green Product Finder and Sustainability Calculator, promote water sustainability efforts.

The Water Council, an internationally acclaimed nonprofit dedicated to freshwater innovation, has helped companies of all sizes and industries improve water stewardship. It created the WAVE program to help businesses anywhere in the world address water on an enterprise level, moving beyond non-contextual water management targets to develop meaningful strategies, goals, and actions.