EU Code of Conduct: Turning commitments into action
NMWE has published its 2026 annual report, highlighting the progress made and actions taken to deliver on its commitments under the EU Code of Conduct for Responsible Food Business and Marketing Practices.
The Code of Conduct, launched in 2021, was designed to help build the foundations of healthy, circular and sustainable European food systems, while supporting the European Green recovery.
We work closely with the European Commission and stakeholders from the food value chain to develop the initial set of commitments. Particular attention was paid to supporting our sector’s many SMEs on their journey to carbon-neutrality and sustainability leadership.
Since then, we have significant progress in our target areas of water management, biodiversity, decarbonisation and circularity, and we learned much about how to deepen our approach and go even further as a sector. The updated commitments are designed to make our sustainability journey more robust and time-proof.
Under the Code of Conduct, the natural mineral and spring water sector brings forward ambitious aspirations paired with concrete actions to make those aspirations a reality. We are dedicated to ensuring that environmental sustainability and corporate responsibility go hand in hand, while providing a solid foundation for the future.
Explore our EU Code of Conduct reports to discover the progress made and actions taken over the years by NMWE, its members, partners and stakeholders to contribute to healthier, more circular and sustainable European food systems.
- 2025 EU Code of Conduct Annual Report
- 2024 EU Code of Conduct Annual Report
- 2023 EU Code of Conduct Annual Report
- 2022 EU Code of Conduct Annual Report
You can also find here our fact sheet on decarbonisation.
Alessandro Pasquale
President of NMWE
“We strongly support Europe’s ambition to achieve environmentally sustainable food systems. Through the Code of Conduct, we commit to doing our part through our business practices, our marketing, and our social impact. Our new commitments build on the progress we’ve made and the knowledge we’ve acquired since signing the Code in 2021, giving us a longer-term action plan. As we deepen our efforts, NMWE will continue to be a trusted partner in Europe’s sustainability goals and support our members every step of the way.”
Our sector brings forward ambitious aspirations in four areas:
1. SUSTAINABLE WATER MANAGEMENT
Aspiration
Drive sustainable water management in the sector, on the one hand, by promoting efficient use of water in member operations and supply chain, and, on the other hand, by promoting water stewardship as engagement beyond factory gates. By this NMWE aims at positive impact on water balance, water quality, water-related ecosystems, extreme weather events mitigation, encompassing social, cultural, and economic value of water.
Concrete action:
NMWE will:
- support companies by facilitating collaboration and providing tools such as monitoring, benchmarking, KPI, guidance, or best practice database;
- carry out a study at least every two years to measure and report on water usage in the sector’s operations, gradually transitioning to a wider water stewardship context.
2. BIODIVERSITY
Aspiration
Actively contribute to preserving and restoring biodiversity in catchments of our operations, with results reported using an accepted methodology by 2030, as part of our approach to water stewardship.
Concrete action:
NMWE will:
- in dialogue with scientific experts and academia, define and test biodiversity indicators to be used by natural mineral and spring water producers, incl. SMEs;
- promote the use of the developed indicators to measure and monitor the state of biodiversity by the companies in the sector;
- put in place a reporting framework, establish a community of practice for exchange and capacity building, and develop tools to support national associations and companies;
- support dialogue with relevant stakeholders to facilitate involvement of its member companies in nature preservation and restoration projects.
3. DECARBONISATION
Aspiration
Drive the sector towards net zero by 2050 in all scopes, with decarbonisation of Scopes 1 and 2 by 2040. As a priority by 2030, support members in transition to low-carbon energy.
Concrete action:
NMWE will:
- provide companies in the sector with tools to measure their carbon footprint with a consistent robust methodology;
- gather knowledge on the path to decarbonisation, collect and share good practices, identify enablers, and develop and regularly update non-binding decarbonisation guidance for the companies in the sector;
- maintain dialogue with all types of relevant stakeholders in the form of meetings, workshops, and conferences.
4. CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Aspiration
Strive towards full circularity for all sector’s packaging (incl. glass, PET and aluminium) by using only recyclable packaging by 2025, by incorporating 50% alternative (e.g. recycled) materials in new plastic bottles by 2030 (30% by 2025) and deploying reusable packaging where it brings sustainability benefits.
Concrete action:
NMWE will:
- continue to actively promote well-designed deposit refund systems (DRS) alongside well performing EPRs, in collaboration with the whole value chain;
- liaison with academia to leverage latest scientific developments for further improving the circularity of our packaging;
- combat material downcycling and material losses alongside the whole lifecycle loop.