The Regeneration Renovation: How Nature-Driven Technology Could Save Our World and Wealth Part III
Regenerative Water Solutions
By: Malina Gallmeyer, Market Research Intern at We Grow Green Tech
The third and final continuation of The Regenerative Renovation introduces and explores the topic of regenerative water solutions. Water scarcity threatens a growing percentage of the world every day. The race to find solutions to a depleting resource becomes more and more important as the usage continues to increase while the water levels dramatically decrease. In the world, three in ten people do not have access to safe clean water for drinking. This fact is startling enough without the additional prediction that by 2025 half of the world’s population will be living in a water stressed area [1]. This is extremely concerning since water is used in every aspect of life from drinking to crop maintenance to product manufacturing.
Loss of freshwater could dramatically affect the health and lifestyle of humans. Between two and five million people die annually because of consuming water with inadequate sanitation, the majority of those being children [2]. Additionally, freshwater depletion could lead to the loss of habitat for many species and, therefore, species could face endangerment or extinction as water slowly disappears from the natural environment. For these reasons, water regeneration systems have grown in importance and prevalence. Water regeneration processes seek to clean water of contaminants, pathogens, and organic material. The key aspects of many water solutions are being cost effective and transportable to fit the needs of a worldwide economy that is full of different levels of income. Often the water scarcity issues manifest in developing countries, but even in developed countries there is still a great deal of progress necessary for water stress to decrease.
Water regeneration is as much an economic proposition as it is a scientific concern. The power to force water scarcity to subside and water solutions to thrive lies in the hand of investors. It is strongly believed that the financial sector has the potential to curb water stress and scarcity, only requiring a nudge from investors and other financial institutions [4]. The World Resource Institute completed a study that estimates that, to secure water for the entire globe by 2030, it would only require 1% of global GDP. This approximates to .29 cents per person. The small cost could have enormous effects, as it would help secure clean water for all of those who need it [5].
Water solutions also create the ability to have an incredible return on investment. Currently, every dollar invested in water returns $6.80 [5]. With these types of statistics, it is shocking that there is a lack of investment into the regenerative water industry. Most investments in the water purification field are through Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), due to the broad access to the market [6, 7]. Another hidden aspect of water investing is that it is a stable market. The demand for water and water purification methods is steadily growing and so is the amount of money within the field.
Even though there are not many largely known brands or companies within the industry, the water regeneration field still has a great number of incubators and accelerators that are propelling change forward. Based in the midwest of the United States, the BREW Accelerator by The Water Council is committed to helping freshwater companies gain the exposure and funding needed to become successful and profitable. Although the BREW Accelerator is a global project, the focus is the Great Lake Region [9].
Imagine H2O is another accelerator that focuses on taking entrepreneurial solutions to global water challenges and scaling them into profitable businesses. With an extremely large and impressive network, Imagine H2O proves to be a more global accelerator than the BREW Accelerator. Imagine H2O does have a specific project based in Singapore and focused on Asian countries, areas where water scarcity tends to be very prevalent and solutions are more vital to the protection of the countries’ populations [10].
Aside from these accelerators, there are a great deal of non-profit organizations tirelessly trudging to end water issues. The most impressive of these is the Solar Impulse Foundation. The Solar Impulse Foundation aims to solve many facets of the world’s sustainability crisis, including water scarcity. They have been working to identify and label 1000 sustainable solutions to provide visibility and credibility to important solutions. The foundation provides a way for new businesses to connect to companies that can provide funding and direction, as well as general information and profitability ratings for the existing companies that are interested in being potential investors. One impressive solution that received the label from the Solar Impulse Foundation is the Oji Pure, by T.zic. These are water cleaning devices that utilized UVLED to create a compact water treatment system [11]. Those discussed above are just some of the impressive organizations; however, there are others working toward the same goal, including Pecan Street, a nonprofit accelerator [12].
Many names within the water market are small-scale, and the only large brand that is readily and directly connected to water solutions is Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo acts as an investor for the accelerator Image H2O. As the popularity and importance of water solutions increase, it is almost certain that more worldwide brands will join the list alongside Wells Fargo [13].
There are many people and small startups working toward solutions that address the major issues brought on by soil, air, and water problems, yet they are not enough to fully address an obstacle of this magnitude. It truly becomes a responsibility of the investors and consumers to become more informed and make smarter, more sustainable decisions in their everyday lives to preserve the opportunity of an everyday life for future generations. It is only together that the world can transform pollution, climate change and water scarcity into clean air, a healthy earth and sufficient water resources.
References
[1]Jeremiah Castelo I’m Jeremiah Castelo, J. Castelo, and I. J. Castelo, “10 Critical Water Scarcity Facts We Must Not Ignore,” Resilience, 21-Jan-2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.resilience.org/stories/2020-01-21/10-critical-water-scarcity-facts-we-must-not-ignore/.
[2]P. H. Gleick, Dirty-water: estimated deaths from water-related diseases 2000–2020. California: Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security, 2002.
[3]“Jump Into Clean Water Investing,” Allianz Global Investors. [Online]. Available: https://us.allianzgi.com/en-us/ria/insights/investment-themes/jump-into-clean-water-investing.
[4]G. White, “Gary White: There’s a Way to Solve the Global Water Crisis — Investment,” BRINK, 22-Mar-2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.brinknews.com/theres-a-way-to-solve-the-global-water-crisis-investment/.
[5]C. Strong and S. Kuzma, “It Could Only Cost 1% of GDP to Solve Global Water Crises,” World Resources Institute, 13-May-2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.wri.org/blog/2020/01/cost-to-solve-global-water-crisis.
[6]S. T. E. T. F. Trends, “Why Every Investor Should Invest in Water,” ETF Trends, 14-Apr-2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.etftrends.com/equity-etf-channel/why-every-investor-should-invest-in-water/.
[7]C. Linnane, “How to invest in water: A long-term bet on an essential commodity with limited supply,” MarketWatch, 22-Apr-2018. [Online]. Available: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/a-long-term-bet-on-an-essential-commodity-with-a-limited-supplyand-its-liquid-2018-03-22.
[8] S. Impulse, “Solutions to water scarcity: how to prevent water shortages?,” Hero banner. [Online]. Available: https://solarimpulse.com/water-scarcity-solutions.
[9]“BREW Accelerator,” BREW Accelerator — The Water Council. [Online]. Available: https://thewatercouncil.com/programs/brew-accelerator/.
[10]“Imagine H2O,” IMAGINE H2O. [Online]. Available: https://www.imagineh2o.org/.
[11]S. Impulse, “Oji Pure Solar — Solar Impulse Efficient Solution,” Hero banner. [Online]. Available: https://solarimpulse.com/efficient-solutions/oji-pure-solar.
[12]“PECAN STREET,” Pecan Street Inc., 17-Jun-2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.pecanstreet.org/.
[13]I. H2O, “Wells Fargo Invests in Leading Water Innovation Accelerator, Imagine H2O,” PR Newswire: news distribution, targeting and monitoring, 29-Jun-2018. [Online]. Available: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wells-fargo-invests-in-leading-water-innovation-accelerator-imagine-h2o-192108541.html.
