Water Innovation and Investment for a Sustainable Future
April 12, 2011
By Bjorn von Euler and john Sauer
According to the World Health Organization, nearly a billion individuals worldwide currently do not have access to improved water and close to 3.6 million people die each year from water-related causes. While staggering, these totals do not account for the additional contamination that takes place through transport and inadequate storage conditions, or the impact that the rapid urbanization taking place in developing countries will have on already stressed water supplies.
The Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC) and World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) convened business leaders and NGOs at its Water and Sanitation Solutions forum to discuss innovations and solutions in the water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) sector. At this event, ITT and Water For People had the opportunity to participate in a panel to explore how organizations can work together to build strategies—whether through the development of new technologies or financial investments to support new initiatives—to improve access to safe water and help address the global water crisis.
Collaboration
Partnerships are the key to success. Corporations with the resources to fund and develop new technologies must find NGO allies, committed to finding innovative solutions to the global water challenge. Through private-nonprofit partnerships, we can go beyond philanthropy and work together to strengthen and amplify the reach of existing programs.
Through ITT’s signature philanthropy program, ITT Watermark, ITT supports the development of new local infrastructure to bring water and sanitation to schools, provide resources to repair existing systems, and assist in the creation of innovative hygiene education initiatives.
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