24.05.2011
Roughly one in six people worldwide lacks access to clean drinking water. According to United Nations estimates this is a situation that is likely to get even worse in the coming years. More than three billion people, or nearly half the current world population, could thus be affected by water shortages by 2025.
The very resource that is most abundant on earth and which gives it its nickname of the “blue planet” is becoming scarcer all the time. There are many different reasons for this, including the enormous amount of fresh water consumed in industrial and energy production as well as higher demand for water through increasing urbanization. Water is needed for the production of goods. Because this consumption is not visible, we call it "virtual water”. Before we can drink a cup of coffee, for example, a great deal of water first flowed into the cultivation and processing of the beans – around 140 liters.
The annual World Water Day (March 22) was established to make the public aware of our planet’s water problem. Siemens participates this year with its campaign, “Change begins with a drop.”
However, public campaigns account for only a fraction of our water activities. Siemens solutions continuously help make better use of water resources – by recycling wastewater or through efficient solutions for water-intensive industrial production. Siemens employs over 6,000 water professionals worldwide so that we can help solve the global water problem – and not only on World Water Day.