COP28 today saw the launch of The International Water Sustainability Coalition, a joint initiative of AquaKraft Group Ventures, Leo Burnett India and UAE-based Quazar Investments to address the burgeoning need of water sustainability and water security in the world.
The International Water Sustainability Coalition is to develop a coalition of ‘Water Conscious’ enterprises, governments and enablers committed to water stewardship and sustainability.
The coalition is billed as the first of its kind in the region and will address the unique challenges and characteristics of water resources by getting countries to commit to international collaboration and cooperation to make equitable access and distribution of water for society a reality by 2050.
The stakeholders joining the coalition will be incentivised for their sustainability by AquaKredits – Water Credits on AquaKraft’s AqVerium – billed as the world’s first digital water bank and ranked with a Water Sustainability Score (WSS) developed jointly by Leo Burnett India and AqVerium.
The coalition will also drive green and sustainable solutions for managing the precious resource that is water.
Rajdeepak Das, Chairman Leo Burnett, South Asia and Chief Creative Officer, Publicis Groupe, South Asia, said, “At Burnett we believe that creativity’s true power is to impact a billion. The looming water crisis demands immediate attention and by adopting the Water Sustainability Score – a first of its kind report card on how water positive a brand really is, can bring transparency and accountability in the indiscriminate use of water. The water sustainability score will help corporates to be more responsible and will give the consumers to choose the right product. When initiatives like the Water Sustainability Score are embraced it’s a win-win for both people and planet. When more corporations and countries engage in these discussions, the greater the impact becomes because sometimes a small act goes a long way.”
“Leo Burnett operating in several other countries have joined the coalition with a commitment to influence and drive their customers to subscribe and practice water sustainability. Meraki Digital – a planet positive communications agency dedicated to climate action has joined the coalition. The coalition will drive the ‘Blue Taxonomy’ jointly being developed by AquaKraft and Frost & Sullivan, UK.” said Sami Souissi, Convenor – The International Water Sustainability Coalition.
Waleed Khalid Al Ali, CEO – Quazar Investment, said, “It is a very momentous occasion for UAE to host The International Water Sustainability Coalition and Quazar is very proud to be a part of it. We invite all the stakeholders across the world to join this coalition and aim to sign ‘The International Water Treaty’ on UN World Water Day 2024 in Dubai. We are also very happy to announce our investment in the joint venture, AquaKraft BlueTech Solutions LLC, which will address the water and food security in UAE and Middle East, and work with all stakeholders in achieving The UAE Water Security Strategy 2036. We are very impressed with Dr. Subramanya’s vision and together we will make the world water positive.”
AquaKraft BlueTech Solutions LLC., U.A.E. will leverage the collective philosophies and strengths of AquaKraft Group Ventures and Quazar Investment. A statement informed that the company seeks to redefine “Circular Water Sustainability” with its innovation “Sustainable AquAgro Circular Economy”.
“A lot has been spoken about climate action and resilience but water which is core to sustainability has been clearly missing the narrative. It is a proud moment for us to launch The International Water Sustainability Coalition along with congruent minded partners, Leo Burnett India and Quazar Investments. We are equally excited with our partnership with Quazar as both our philosophies are congruent towards sustainable impact and together we will drive the water sustainability narrative across the middle east which is by far the most water-bereft regions of the world. Our objective is to treat over 10 billion litres of water in UAE and extrapolate this model across the Middle East capturing significant share in over USD 50 billion and growing water opportunity in the next three years,” said Dr. Subramanya Kusnur, Founder Chairman & CEO, AquaKraft Group Ventures.
AquaKraft BlueTech will implement AquaKraft’s AqVerium, which will audit, verify and validate water use and efficiency data, incentivise water positivity with AquaKredits (water credits) and provide a digital marketplace to offset water deficit by buying AquaKredits. It will also provide a platform to sell recycled sewage water for agriculture by water conscious stakeholders.
Sameer Salgar, CFO – Quazar Investments, added, “Quazar has incubated the joint venture with an investment of USD 9 million and we are very bullish about potential and growth. We are very impressed with the vision and legacy of AquaKraft as they address complex challenges in the highly unstructured water markets across the world. Their understanding of grass root problems in every geography and curation of simple and customised solutions make them stand differently from all in the space. One of our major focus areas will be creating the world’s 1st Water Exchange which will revolutionise the global water market.”
