BOSTON, March 27, 2023 – Orbia, a United Nations (UN) Global Compact company committed to developing sustainable solutions, its Building and Infrastructure business Wavin and its Precision Agriculture business Netafim were accredited delegates to the UN 2023 Water Conference hosted in New York City from March 22-24, 2023. Company leaders steered events, panels and contributed to discussions around uniting the world for water: a theme of relevance with today’s compounding access issues.
The 2023 Water Conference was the first conference in a generation to target global water and sanitation challenges from public and private vantages, galvanize commitments to action and address the UN’s ambitious Water Action Agenda benchmarks in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the achievement of the associated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Sponsored by the governments of Tajikstan and the Netherlands, the event convened key stakeholders for a midterm progress review and survey of solutions.
In 2022, 61% of Orbia’s revenue directly contributed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Over 30% of revenue was generated from water, sanitation and water security (SDG 6) product innovations and industrial process improvements spanning four Orbia business groups: Polymer Solutions (Vestolit and Alphagary), Building and Infrastructure (Wavin), Precision Agriculture (Netafim) and Fluorinated Solutions (Koura).
Said Sameer Bharadwaj, CEO of Orbia, “We recognize that water resilience is essential for environmental integrity, social equity, economic development and better lives. For over 65 years, Orbia has been developing basic and advanced materials and solutions that advance life around the world. We were incredibly proud to have a prominent presence at the UN’s 2023 Water Conference and be able to share our story of material innovation for water resilience and commitments to sustained impact.”
“Whether developing PVC resins for use in our water and sanitation portfolio, deploying smart stormwater management systems or pioneering in wastewater reuse and recycling programs, Orbia and our Polymer Solutions and Building and Infrastructure businesses are working to be part of the global solution for the 2 billion people today who lack safe drinking water and the 3.6 billion people who lack sanitation,” added Nick Ballas, President of Polymer Solutions (Vestolit) and Building and Infrastructure (Wavin).
Gaby Miodownik, President of Precision Agriculture (Netafim), said, “At Orbia, we see business as a force for good. Our business was honored to take part in the UN 2023 Water Conference and advocate for the use of precision irrigation practices in global agriculture. This is a critical step towards achieving significant water savings while supporting the livelihoods of our customers: global farmers and communities seeking safe and secure food and water supplies.”
In addition to offering next-generation water management solutions, Orbia is committed to furthering water security efforts in communities worldwide. Since 2012, Orbia has supported the Latin American Water Funds Partnership by providing financing, products and technical expertise to develop five water funds near company operations in Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Brazil and Mexico. Orbia’s Building and Infrastructure business Wavin is actively steering 25 water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) projects to open water access to over 50,000 people in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and Peru, aligned with the UN Water Action Agenda priorities. And in 2022, Orbia’s Precision Agriculture business Netafim joined the UN Global Compact Water Resilience Coalition with a pledge to preserve the world’s most water-stressed river basins through corporate action plans.
Additional sustainability milestones and water management performance details can be accessed in Orbia’s newly-released 2022 Impact Report.