Clean Water and Sanitation

Last month, I had the great pleasure to meet Bonaria Siahaan who heads the Millennium Challenge Account-Indonesia, the locally led and staffed entity implementing the MCC’s Indonesia Compact in the country’s bustling capital Jakarta. From procurement modernization to maternal and child nutrition to energy efficiency, Bonaria and her team are working on innovative projectsmaking a real difference in a country where tens of millions of people are still struggling to rise out of poverty.

Sustainable Brands® recently announced full program details for SB’18 Vancouver, running June 4-7 at the Vancouver Convention Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia. The conference will convene more than 3,000 senior executives, top brand strategists and leading sustainability practitioners to discover how brands can update their products and services to prepare for a changing economy.

From the beginning, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation has been deeply rooted in the issue of water –- protecting it, conserving it, and ensuring everyone has access to it. We are stemming the tide of nutrient pollution that feeds harmful algal blooms in our waterways through research, funding, and public engagement.

Water is a systemic risk to investors, as in many parts of the United States and other areas of the world this precious resource is in danger. Investors and market players should be deepening their research and investment process to tackle water risks, often hidden in holdings across all asset classes. As investors, how do we first protect our clients from these risks, and how do we position these same clients to benefit from the growth opportunities in companies that are providing innovative systems, products and services to solve water quantity, quality and resilience issues?

Water is tied to every aspect of our lives. Clean water and sanitation is a critical part of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development agenda, and it’s uniquely tied to all 17 of its overarching goals. It drives economic growth, supports food and energy production, and is key to biodiversity, health, and social development.

The World Water Forum is the world’s largest water-focused gathering, taking place every three years and bridging political, citizens’ and thematic processes. This year’s edition, held in Brasilia, Brazil under the theme of ‘Sharing water’, saw a further innovation - the Forum’s first-ever Business Day, jointly organized by our Global Network partner BCSD Brazil / CEBDS, the Confederation of National Industry (CNI) and UN Global Compact Brazil, in association with international partners WBCSD, CEO Water Mandate and CDP.

In Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake, piles of plastic bottles littering the island mushroomed into mountains. Bottled water and other supplies shipped in to help Haitians wound up everywhere — in canals, on beaches and lining the streets. Now, those bottles are finding a second life as printer cartridges.

Essity has gathered insights and ignited the conversation around the role and importance of hygiene in a global perspective through our Hygiene Matters initiative since 2008.

To emphasize our commitment to health as well as hygiene, we’re renaming Hygiene Matters to become the Essentials Initiative, because for us, hygiene and health are essential for improving well-being for everybody, everywhere.