Release number

Posted date

2025/12/3

Category

• CSR

Suntory Kita Alps Shinano-no-Mori Water Plant Achieves Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) Platinum Certification

― With this latest achievement, Suntory Group secures AWS Platinum certification for all four water plants in Japan ―

Tokyo, JAPAN (December 3, 2025) – Suntory Group proudly announces that the Suntory Kita Alps Shinano-no-Mori Water Plant has received the highest-level Platinum certification from the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS).

Suntory Group earned Japan’s first AWS Platinum certification at the Suntory Kyushu Kumamoto Plant in 2023, followed by the Suntory Okudaisen Bunanomori Water Plant and the Suntory Minami-Alps Hakushu Water Plant in January 2025. With this latest achievement, all four of the Group’s water plants in Japan now hold the highest AWS certification. Suntory Group is currently the only company in Japan with AWS Platinum certifications.

The Suntory Kita Alps Shinano-no-Mori Water Plant began operations in 2021 as Suntory Group's first net-zero CO2 emission factory^*1 in Japan. The plant is powered primarily by renewable energy sources such as solar power and biomass boilers. Furthermore, to ensure efficient water use, the plant employs a water cascade recycling process^*2 that reuses water according to its level of cleanliness. This latest certification recognizes not only the advanced management of water intake and discharge at the plant, but also the Group’s comprehensive initiatives conducted in collaboration with local authorities and communities in the surrounding watersheds – such as water conservation initiatives at Suntory Natural Water Sanctuary Kita Alps, next-generation environmental education through Suntory Mizuiku^*3 – education program for nature and water, and Omachi City Council for Water and Groundwater Conservation.

AWS is an international organization dedicated to advancing credible water stewardship, established by leading organizations pursuing social, environmental and economic goals, including the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC). Today, AWS is a global membership network of businesses, NGOs and the public sector, and AWS members play a pivotal role in growing and strengthening the water stewardship community of practice. AWS is also a sustainability standard system, and certification against the AWS Standard is a global benchmark for responsible water use.

Suntory Group entered into a partnership with AWS^*4 in 2021 to contribute its expertise and take a leadership role in advancing water stewardship in Japan, and also became the first AWS member company in the country. In March this year, the Group, along with four other AWS membership companies in Japan, launched the Japan Water Stewardship Leadership Group convened under AWS, with the aim of expanding efforts to advance credible water stewardship in Japan.

Water being the core of its business, Suntory Group will continue to promote water sustainability as its top priority — remaining united in its efforts to pass on this vital resource to future generations by advancing initiatives across the value chain that contribute to a healthy natural water cycle, including next-generation education.

Masaaki Fujiwara, Chief Sustainability Officer of Suntory Holdings, comments, “Water is a vital resource that sustains life and forms the foundation of our business. Guided by our ambition to lead global water sustainability, we have carried out watershed-based initiatives for more than 20 years to protect this precious resource. We are delighted that these continuous efforts have been recognized once again, with the Suntory Kita Alps Shinano-no-Mori Water Plant achieving the AWS Platinum certification — meaning all four of our water plants in Japan now hold this highest-level recognition. Looking ahead, we will continue to work as one Group to achieve net water positive – replenishing more than 100% of water used – in at least half of our owned plants worldwide by 2030, as outlined in our Environmental Targets toward 2030, and to realize a society in harmony with people and nature.”

Learn more about Suntory Group’s sustainability initiatives here and about its water sustainability actions here.

*1: First factory to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions in its manufacturing processes by promoting energy conservation, introducing renewable energy, and using credits to offset CO2 emissions derived from fossil fuels.

*2 This technology involves classifying water used in the manufacturing process into five grades based on cleanliness for uses such as cooling and cleaning. The water is then progressively reused in stages, starting from applications that require the highest grade to those that can be satisfied with lower grades.

*3 “Mizuiku” is a registered trademark of Suntory Holdings Limited

*4 Listed under the current name of the organization. The name at the time of conclusion was AWS Asia Pacific.

About Suntory Group
As a global leader in the beverage industry, Suntory Group aims to inspire the brilliance of life, by creating rich experiences for people, in harmony with nature. Sustained by the gifts of nature and water, the Group offers a uniquely diverse portfolio of products, from award-winning Japanese whiskies Yamazaki and Hibiki, iconic American whiskies Jim Beam and Maker's Mark, canned ready-to-drink -196, The Premium Malt’s beer, Japanese wine Tomi, and the world-famous Château Lagrange. Its brand collection also includes non-alcoholic favorites Orangina, Lucozade, Oasis, BOSS coffee, Suntory Tennensui water, TEA+ Oolong Tea, and V energy drink, as well as popular health and wellness product Sesamin EX.

Founded as a family-owned business in 1899 in Osaka, Japan, Suntory Group has grown into a global company operating throughout the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania, with an annual revenue (excluding excise taxes) of $20.9 billion in 2023. Its 41,511 employees worldwide draw upon the unique blend of Japanese artisanship and global tastes to explore new product categories and markets.

For more information, visit www.suntory.com and Drink Smart.