Why preserving water is critical in the Godavari basin, India

29 Aug 2024 Asia PacificESGSustainability

Hina Nagarajan, CEO and Managing Director, Diageo India, is the water basin champion for the business. Here, as we mark World Water Week, she gives insight into the company’s water management strategy and our priority water basin in the Godavari River, Maharashtra.

Hina Nagarajan, CEO and Managing Director, Diageo India, is the water basin champion for the business. Here, as we mark World Water Week, she gives insight into the company’s water management strategy and our priority water basin in the Godavari River, Maharashtra.

In India, our goal to ‘preserve water for life’ has always been incredibly important and is only becoming more so as our country battles extreme water-stress and worsening conditions driven by the climate crisis. Water is not only essential for life, but also for our business and I’m very proud of the work we’re doing to deliver best-in-class water management across our sites and operations, with a comprehensive strategy that focuses on three key areas: water accessibility, availability, and quality both within and outside our operations.


A  group photo of Diageo employees
The Godavari River Basin

We’ve already made great progress towards these:

  • We’re leading in water replenishment for our communities: one million cubic metres in four years
  • We have improved our water use efficiency by 48% and 31% across distillation and packaging
  • We have led many WASH projects focused on transforming lives through access to water.

However, despite our dedication and commitment to driving positive impact in our water stewardship, we know that we cannot create the necessary change alone. This is why we have launched ‘The Godavari Initiative’ as part of our basin champion work – a multi-stakeholder platform to address critical challenges related to river basin health and climate resilience through collective action.



The Godavari Initiative team

Through this initiative we’re collaborating with GSK India, Hinduja Group, the Alliance for Water Stewardship, CSRBOX and others in partnership with the Godavari River Management Board and the State Climate Action Cell at the Government of Maharashtra – all key groups in relation to the Godavari.

By taking this collective approach, we’re able to pool the expertise, funding and voices required to ensure a comprehensive and pioneering approach to water stewardship for the Godavari River that will drive true impact – to the communities we operate in, the long-term future of our business, and for our planet.

Within Diageo, we place a great focus on our ambitious Spirit of Progress goals – but it is by identifying these opportunities for cross-collaboration and learning that we can begin to truly drive change, by working together, and amplifying our voices on these crucial issues related to water stewardship – both for the benefit of our planet, and the future of our business.

Find out more about the action we’re taking to address the water crisis here and read more about our progress in the Diageo Annual Report 2024.