The Dow Chemical Company has been awarded the US Water Prize by the US Water Alliance for its work in promoting and enabling more sustainable use and management of water by companies across the water value chain.
“Clean water is a crucial resource for all humanity and a driver of prosperity, and Dow is proud to leverage our technology and our talent to help us all make the most of it,” said Andrew Liveris, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dow. “This award is just one example of how, when you make sustainability part of your business strategy–as Dow is doing with our 2025 Sustainability Goals–the value of nature can indeed drive business success.”
The prize is awarded annually and Dow was recognised for its leadership in developing new water management strategies, offering innovative products and technologies, and entering into effective collaboration models that make solutions more attainable.
Dow’s win was based on its success in changing the conversation about water that was implemented with various organisations. In Colorado, Dow technology helped an oilfield operator increase the amount of produced water that can be recycled by almost 100 percent. Further west in California, energy-saving membranes from the company enabled a water facility to reduce the energy needed to desalinate seawater by 12 percent.
Water demand trends are fueling an urgency to move from a linear economy model of ‘take, make and dispose’ of raw materials to a circular approach in which raw materials are ‘reduced, reused and reclaimed’.
Research cited by the company estimates that if current water use trends continue, global demand for water will exceed viable resources by 40 percent by 2030. With global water demand for manufacturing expected to increase by 400 percent by 2050, Dow contends that organisations seeking to remain in business must use water more efficiently.
