We all know that water is a precious resource – from keeping us hydrated to fuelling our day-to-day business operations, we couldn’t live without it. But water scarcity is becoming an increasingly pressing issue, and we all need to do our bit to ensure that everyone has enough clean, drinkable water now and into the future.
Unfortunately, 663 million people have no access to clean water – that’s 1 in 10 people worldwide – and many of these people’s lives are made even more difficult by the issues that arise from poor sanitation and hygiene. And with challenges like plastic pollution and increasing populations threatening our already limited supply of potable water, we could find that access to clean water becomes an even bigger problem in the future.
Thankfully, there are a number of non-profit organisations that are already taking action against some of the biggest water-related issues facing our planet today. Here are three worthy water charities for your business to support:
charity: water
The team at charity: water know that access to clean water can completely transform a community, from helping kids to spend more time in school to boosting local economies, so they work with communities in need to find a sustainable solution for clean water. This could be a well, a piped system or a rainwater harvesting system, but for every water point they install they also provide sanitation and hygiene training and set up a local Water Committee to ensure the water point is maintained for years to come.
They have fundraising and donation options to suit every business’ budget – around £23 will provide one person with clean water, while sponsoring an entire community starts at around £7,600. And as their operating costs are covered by private donors, you know that 100% of the money you donate will directly fund water projects.
Toilet Twinning
For those of us living in the UK, it’s easy to take toilets for granted, but 2.3 billion people don’t have access to a safe and hygienic place to go to the toilet. This causes a whole range of problems for them, as women and girls are vulnerable to attacks when going to the toilet out in the open, and around 1,000 children die every day from preventable diseases linked to unsafe toilets and dirty water.
Toilet Twinning are trying to change this by educating communities on hygiene and sanitation and giving them the tools to build their own latrine, as when community members build the toilet themselves they are much more likely to use and maintain it. For just £60, your business can ‘twin’ your office toilets with a household toilet in a poor community – you’ll even receive a certificate, which you can display in your twinned toilet.
Marine Conservation Society
While we’re lucky enough to have high quality drinking water in the UK, we must maintain the quality of our water by ensuring that our seas and shores are as clean as possible. The Marine Conservation Society works with local communities, the government and scientists to ensure that the ocean is well looked after and to mitigate the negative effects of human activity (such as plastic pollution) on the sea.
There are lots of ways for your business to get involved with the society - donating just £5 a month will enable them to organise beach cleans, which help to prevent rubbish and plastics from entering the sea. As the charity is UK-based, you could even sign your team up to do a beach clean themselves!
Take action today
Once you’ve chosen a charity to support, you can go that bit further by making sure that your business isn’t wasting precious water – visit our Insight page for support with water efficiency.