Water & Wastewater Asia September/October 2019

40 | OPINION
Business raising its ambition
to meet the wastewater
opportunity
Most of the data related to the global
status of water and sanitation is
shocking: billions without access to
safe drinking water and adequate sanitation,
demand for freshwater projected to outstrip
supply and 80 per cent of all wastewater
discharged directly into the environment
without treatment. Whilst universal access to
WASH and securing freshwater supplies are
intrinsically complex challenges, requiring
systemic change and huge investment within
a generally weak governance setting, the
wastewater challenge is more shocking when
one considers the opportunity it presents.
As highlighted in the 2017 UN-Water World
Water Development Report (Wastewater:
The Untapped Resource): “Wastewater can
be a cost-effective and sustainable source
of energy, nutrients and other recoverable
by-products. The costs of improved
wastewater management are usually
outweighed by benefits in terms of human
health, socioeconomic development and
environmental sustainability.” Business has
a key role to play in realising this opportunity.
In 2017, the World Business Council
for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)
published its Business Guide to Circular
Water Management. Central to this was
the concept of the 5Rs: Reduce, Reuse,
Recycle, Restore and Recover, a now common
mantra used to describe how business can
embrace circularity principles and take
steps to improve their water efficiency. The
guide highlighted several examples of how
businesses were embracing these principles:
L’Oreal, EDF, P&G and Nestle, for example,
and often involved optimising existing
processes or implementing new technologies
within their own facilities. Whilst resulting
in efficiency gains at specific sites, the
contribution to water security in a broader
basin context, was often negligible. This is
not because businesses didn’t want to have a
greater impact, but rather that the regulatory
environment and the economic conditions
often don’t enable it.
An example that illustrates the potential
scale and benefits that can be realised if the
regulatory and market conditions are right
is Aquapolo in Brazil. At its inauguration in
2012, Aquapolo was the largest water reuse
project in Brazil. The plant was developed and
financed through a public-private partnership
including Braskem, the largest petrochemical
Water & Wastewater Asia • September / October 2019