The Global Water Crisis
World Water Day celebrates water and raises awareness of the global water crisis. The World Economic Forum has ranked water as one of the top ten risks to global growth each year for the last decade with respect to both impact and likelihood to occur. The UN estimates water demand will outstrip supply by 2030 and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) projects that, under business as usual, water demand will increase by 55% globally by 2050.
Even in a water rich nation such as Ireland, current statistics and projections highlight the urgent need to eliminate the unsustainable water usage practices. Ahead of #WorldWaterDay and every day, Central Solutions and the Large Water Users CoP are actively addressing these challenges on a national level by supporting world-class R&D initiatives and strategic programmes that prevent waste and drive a circular water economy in Ireland.
The Value of Water
The theme of World Water Day 2021 is valuing water. From our experience working with industry, we understand that for the most part the cost of water used by businesses reflects neither its value to the business, nor the impact of its use on the environment. In fact, businesses committed to the sustainable use of water note that the low cost of water makes it difficult to encourage their supply chain partners to change their water usage practices. Through our work, we are demonstrating how water stewardship is an area that can quickly support your business’ sustainability strategy and return viable savings while protecting the environment.
Making a Splash
We have gathered some of our recent highlights in advance of World Water Day 2021, all of which support our ambition to establish Ireland as one of the World’s corporate water stewardship leaders.
Certified Water Steward Programme with Irish Water
This month, our landmark Certified Water Stewards programme with Irish Water, was shortlisted for the “Customer Initiative of the Year” at the Water Industry Awards 2021. With 300+ Irish Water Customers already having certified, the programme is having a significant impact on driving better water stewardship across industry and enterprise. Learn more about our Certified Water Stewardship Programme here.
Meetings and Peer-to-Peer Activity
We continue to demonstrate our commitment to water by organising regular meetings under our industry network “Large Water Users Community of Practice” which supports over 400 businesses from all industry sectors to collaborate, benchmark and share their water stewardship insights, experience and relevant case studies highlighting the business impact.
Appointment of our new Director of Water Stewardship UK
We are thrilled to introduce the newest member of the Central Solutions team, Steve Brown. Steve will be leading up the development of our water stewardship consultancy and training practice in the UK, while also supporting projects in Ireland. He has an extensive background in water use in the built environment.
Industrial Water 4.0 Research Project
Much progress has been made since work commenced on this large-scale research initiative focused on developing international frameworks for Industrial Water 4.0 in collaboration with the DECHEMA research network based in Frankfurt. A core element of this work is the development of a standardised approach to calculating the “true cost of water” which many industrial sites often struggle to address. For more information, read our recent blog post.
Wyeth Nutrition achieve Platinum AWS Certification
We were delighted to begin 2021 on a high after Nestlé’s Wyeth Nutrition facility in Askeaton, Co. Limerick became the first factory in Ireland, and only the second Nestlé site in the world, to achieve the prestigious Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) Standard Platinum Certification, in recognition of its water stewardship initiatives. In preparing for the audit, our team of water stewardship experts provided training and technical advisory services to Wyeth Nutrition. Read more here.
Central Solutions will continue to encourage organisations to start the conversation around water stewardship across businesses in Ireland, the UK and Europe. Our proactive and practical business response to water stewardship has the opportunity to create a sustainable competitive advantage for businesses in Ireland to develop a strong leadership position globally.
