FOR RELEASE: 10/27/2020 @ 7 AM EST 

Companies, policymakers, cities and citizens will develop and scale innovations that reinvent water consumption in the home and drive system-level transformation 

GENEVA, Oct. 27, 2020 — Launched today, the 50L Home Coalition (Coalition) is a global action-oriented platform addressing two of the world’s most pressing challenges: water security and climate change. This global collaboration aims to re-invent the future of water and change the narrative on domestic water consumption by making a water-efficient lifestyle – 50 Liters (L) of daily water use per person – an irresistible aspiration for all.  

The world is in the midst of an urban water crisis, and the pressures on our limited resources are only accelerating. Seventy percent of the world’s 20 megacities are already experiencing water scarcity or drought conditions, disrupting business, threatening health and exacerbating inequalities. The average home in the developed world is highly inefficient, and average per capita household water use is as high as 500L per day. Because an estimated 16% of total energy use in the home is related to water, this disproportionate domestic water consumption is also contributing to climate change.  

The Coalition will advance policies, technologies and cross-industry collaboration to drive responsible water consumption in residential households and commercial buildings as a strategic lever to transform urban water management. Convened by the 2030 Water Resources Group (2030 WRG), World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and World Economic Forum, the Coalition is led by a pioneering leadership group of private sector, public sector and civil society representatives, including Arcadis, Electrolux, Engie, Kohler, Procter & Gamble and Suez. Under the direction of the Board, Braulio Eduardo Morera will lead the 50L Home Coalition as director, starting December 15. 

The Coalition will collaborate across four key pillars to accelerate progress towards United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 6 (clean water and sanitation), 12 (responsible consumption and production) and 13 (climate action):  

• Innovation: Developing solutions to address water efficiency in homes and within the wider urban water system. 
• Education: Reshaping people’s relationship with water, helping to inspire daily behavioral lifestyle changes.  
• Implementation: Launching pilot projects in water-stressed cities that mobilize local stakeholders and financing.  
• Policy and regulation: Advancing policy, regulatory and industry frameworks to transform household water use. 

In facilitating collaboration across these four pillars, the Coalition aims to make responsible household water consumption a key aspect of cities’ climate, water security and resiliency strategies.  

 “Our brands reach five billion people around the world, and with this scale comes a responsibility to continue innovating our products to help save energy, water and natural resources,” said Shailesh G. Jejurikar, Chief Executive Officer, Fabric and Home Care, Procter & Gamble and Co-Chair of the Coalition. “We need unprecedented collaboration between businesses, government and civil society to make 50 liters of daily water use per person a reality.”  

“Through the 50L Home Coalition, we will leverage our global presence, our water chemistry expertise and our innovation in water and energy-efficient products to accelerate positive change,” said Virginie Helias, Chief Sustainability Officer, Procter & Gamble. “We need to partner with the entire water value chain through public and private collaboration, and we need cities and citizens to engage. Together, we can bring to life this ambitious and inspiring vision, re-imagining how people live in their homes so that we can collectively protect our common Home.”  

“The 50L Home Coalition is a terrific way to engage and educate consumers to be better water stewards in their home and for the planet,” said David Kohler, President and CEO of Kohler Co. “This opportunity pushes us even further to innovate and deliver the next generation of water-efficient products and solutions that offer transformative value to our customers and partners. We’re excited to contribute and be in the company of several other forward-thinking organizations poised to create positive change.” 

“There is still time to stop our cities from running out of water, but we must act together to do so,” said Peter Oosterveer, Global Chief Executive, Arcadis. “If we can reduce each person’s water use to around 50 liters per day, we can help preserve this resource for future generations and make a positive contribution to the fight against climate change. This is why Arcadis has joined the 50L Coalition and why we’re taking action to help ensure everyone has access to clean water.”  

“Water issues moved from being difficult to solve to being complex. Water, health, food, climate, energy, agriculture issues are all interconnected, and cannot be addressed in silo,” said Annelise Avril, SUEZ Senior VP Innovation, Digital Transformation & Research. “No single stakeholder has the whole answer. SUEZ joins the 50L Home Coalition because we are convinced we need to join forces, combine our skills and expertise to come up with adequate solutions.”  

“2030 WRG brings a multi-stakeholder model of collaboration that drives change through collective action on the ground,” said Karin Krchnak, 2030 WRG Program Manager. “We are excited to join the 50L Home Coalition to transform how water is used and valued by all, particularly at the urban level, as cities face increasing risks of water insecurity, shared by governments, the private sector and civil society.” 

“The pandemic of 2020 has brought to light the importance of water as a front-line public health defence. In the home, we need water to cook, clean, hydrate and for hygiene,” said Peter Bakker, President and CEO, World Business Council for Sustainable Development. “Business is already providing solutions that reduce and remove the need for water used in the home. But we can do so much more. Through the 50L Home Coalition, we want to accelerate and scale the deployment of practical solutions for sustainability that reach the household and trigger systemic change.” 

“As cities worldwide face increasing pressure to meet the needs for competing water resource demands, re-inventing our urban water systems to be more resilient and resource-efficient becomes critically important,” said Dominic Waughray, Managing Director, World Economic Forum. “Achieving systemic change can best be achieved through multi-stakeholder coalitions and fostering cooperation and innovation across a diverse group of leaders – the 50L Home Coalition is an exciting global action platform that will turn this vision into reality.”  

“The 50L Home Coalition offers an opportunity to accelerate innovations to enable communities’ appropriate and responsible use of water resources,” said Braulio Eduardo Morera, Director, 50L Home Coalition. “I am excited about the prospect of leveraging the capabilities of the private sector, public sector and civil society. Together we will build strong collaborations with policymakers, national and local leaders and innovators to help cities adapt to climate change and avoid acute water crises.” 

Reinventing water consumption in the home is not something one company or organization can do alone. The Coalition invites visionary leaders from companies, cities or civil society that are committed to solving the urban water crisis and addressing climate change to join the Coalition. To learn more about the Coalition’s projects, members or upcoming events, visit 50lhome.org. 

CONTACT 

Rachel Stand 

Hill + Knowlton Strategies  

Rachel.Stand@hkstrategies.com  

(516) 761– 5892 

Continuing the collaboration with the Ministry of Environment under the framework of the “Dialogue on Water Governance with the OECD” process, 2030 WRG and the World Bank Water Global Practice are supporting the organization of a series of virtual sessions focused on strengthening local capacities around water security, governance, economic instruments for water risk management, and regulatory framework.

Participants are public officers from the institutions that are part of the Multisectoral Commission set by the Peruvian Government to lead the process: the Presidency of Council of Ministries; Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation; National Water Authority (ANA); Ministry of Health; Ministry of Housing, Construction and Sanitation; Ministry of Energy and Mining; Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ministry of Environment; Technical Agency for the Administration of Sanitation Services (OTASS); Water Supply and Sanitation Regulator (SUNASS); and Ministry of Production.

This webinar series is part of the activities being undertaken in preparation for the Policy Seminar with the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). This in turn is part of the ongoing “Dialogue on Water Governance” process that is jointly implemented between the Government of Peru and the OECD, and has started in January 2019. A preliminary version of the OECD’s assessment and recommendations on water governance in the country will be shared and discussed during this seminar.

Integrated solutions that deliver 50L per day, per person
in-home water consumption in urban residential living.

Water has been a top five risk on the World Economic Forum Development Report for nine consecutive years. This speaks to the insufficiency of our collective efforts to-date to address this risk. We understand the impacts and dependencies of water on other key risks. For example, the failure of urban planning and critical infrastructure failure, and many other risk factors that are relevant for today’s discussions around water security.

Water risk manifests at a local level. And what we see is that more and more cities are impacted by water stress. Three quarters of the world’s largest 20 cities are experiencing water scarcity. This impacts food and energy security and ultimately causes hardship for people. In cities across the world from LA to São Paolo, from Cairo to Chennai, we are seeing city officials needing to respond. The water stress that Cape Town experienced in 2018 was a day-zero scenario where the threat of running out of water catalyzed much stakeholder action.

And as is often the case, crisis compels action, but can also lay the foundations for a more resilient future. At the height of the drought in Cape Town, citizens were limited to 50 liters per person per day. When one compares this to global averages, this is up to 10 times less than some cities in the US, for example. What Cape Town taught us was that 50 liters per person per day is sufficient. The need for concerted action between business, cities, and civil society to accelerate action towards water security, is where the 50 Liter Home Coalition works with multiple stakeholders to build a global movement that catalyzes action on the ground.

To learn more, please see below the materials from the virtual events organized by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, fellow Coalition member:

• August 24, 2020 – “50L Homes and the Future of Urban Water & Energy“: Virtual Session at 2020 World Water Week at Home | session recording and presentation
• September 22, 2020 – “Re-Inventing Our Urban Water Future“: Affiliate Session at World Economic Forum Sustainable Development Impact Summit 2020 | session recording and presentation