Co-Founders of the Stockholm Water Prize, Borealis and Borouge are pleased to share the announcement of Dr Rita Colwell as 2010 Laureate in recognition of her pioneering research on the prevention of waterborne infectious diseases.

Read the press release (pdf) and visit the prize annoucement on the Stockholm International Water institute (SIWI) web site

Borealis and pipe manufacturer System Group-CentralTubi have donated  Borstar PE materials and water pipe for the installation of a 1.3 km long water pipe mains in L'Aquila to secure water supply to 1,200 victims in the resettlement area.

Under the patronage of the Austrian Embassy, Borealis has taken the initiative and united its forces together with System Group-Centraltubi, a leading Italian pipe producer, and Prof. Alessandro Marangoni from Bocconi University.  The team agreed with the Italian Government body National Civil Protection (NCP) to support pro bono basis the re-construction of “Coppito 3” consisting of 13 housing blocks for the resettlement of approx. 1.200 people.  The Abruzzi earthquake on April 6, 2009 made 58,000 people homeless and destroyed around 15,000 buildings in the region of L’Aquila.

Watch the video on the project (Borealis web site) and check out our project fact sheet and case study.  Read also Borouge's Water for the World Sichuan "Drop of Hope" case story

Working with the Swedish Royal Institute of Technology, Borealis has completed the plastics industry’s first assessment of the Water Footprint of plastics materials. Preliminary findings were discussed at the 2009 World Water Week in Stockholm and the thesis presented at the KTH in October 2009. 

Read Borealis' press release and our Water for the World case story.

Borealis’ and Borouge’s contribution towards tackling global water challenge  – Water for the World - has been recognised by TRIGOS, the Austrian Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Award. Water for the World was nominated in the category “Society” after a selection of 147 applicants. According to the TRIGOS jury: “With Water for the World, Borealis and Borouge respond to the ever-increasing global challenge of water scarcity. Through integration of employees, suppliers and customers, the companies connect their core business to one of the most urgent challenges for the future”.

Read the press release on Borealis group web site or for more information on TRIGOS and nominees of the 2009 Award visit www.trigos.at.

Borealis and the ICPDR - the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River - signed on 30 April 2009 a partnership agreement to roll joint Water for the World activities in the region.

Under this partnership, Borealis and the ICPDR will develop  activities focusing on:

-Awareness-rasing among Borealis employees and the ICPDR community around the annual Danube Day (June 29)
-Common action in the Danube region for improved sanitation and water supply with a particular emphasis on South Eastern Europe.
-The support to ecologically sustainable agriculture in the region and efforts to ensure minimization of the negative impacts of fertilizer use on water – such as the precision farming practices spearheaded by Borealis-AMI in Austria

Headquartered in Vienna, Austria, Borealis has major production sites on the Danube basin in Linz and Schwechat (Austria) and Burghausen (Germany). The ICPDR gathers the 14 countries of the river basin and the European Union to protect the Danube river.

Read the press release (MS Word) or find out more about the ICPDR  

Co-founders of the Stockholm Water Prize, Borealis and Borouge are delighted to share the nomination of Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, founder of Sulabh Sanitation Movement in India as the 2009 laureate.

The Stockholm Water Prize is the world’s most prestigious prize for outstanding achievement in water-related activities.

As the founder of the Sulabh International Social Service Organisation, Dr. Pathak is known around the world for his wide ranging work in the sanitation field to improve public health, advance social progress, and improve human rights in India.  For instance, Dr. Pathak has led the development of cost-effective and culturally acceptable public toilets and waste water treatment systems that are now used daily by 10 million poor people in India.  He is also spearheading hygiene and health education models for urban slums and poor communities.

In welcoming the announcement, Borealis Chief Executive Mark Garrett says: “More than 2.5 billion people don’t have access to basic sanitation with massive consequences on people’s health and development. This prize demonstrates that innovation and smart solutions can truly make a difference to people lives. This is what Borealis and Borouge set out to do by co-founding this award.”

Read SIWI's  press release (also available in Hindi, Chinese and Arabic on www.siwi.org)

Watch the highlights of  the 2008 award ceremony (You Tube)

Borealis and Borouge and Water for the World partners will actively contribute to the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul (16-22 March) through a range of session participation or activities including:

- CEO Water Mandate discussions on 16 March where a new WWF report on shared water risk will be presented. The report features Borealis plant nutrient precision farming activities amongst best-practices case storie

- WBCSD pavillion (foyer 4) and launch of the water energy and climate report on 19 March. Co-signed by Mark Garrett, Borealis CEO, the report stresses the importance of a combined approach to water and energy efficiency. 

- Round-table debates on 17 March dealing with climate change adapatation and mitigation where Water for the World case stories will show the potential for advancing water, energy and carbon management in urban water supply

- WSUP leading round table discussion on linking investments to professional associations’ backstopping on 21 March.

Find out more on the World Water Forum web site and on WBCSD's water pages

The Singapore Water Association partnered in  October 2008 with Lien Aid, a Singapore non-governmental organisation,  focusing on aid in water and sanitation issues, to design and build a mobile drinking water system to a resettlement camp in Leigu Township in Beichuan County, one of the worst-hit counties in Sichuan. Member of the SWA, Borouge contributes with pipelaying services for the project as part of its Water for the World commitments.

Read the press release.  Read also channelnewsasia.com report and video on http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/eastasia/view/412770/1/.html

Borealis and Borouge's Water for the World initiative will emphasise the importance of cross-sector cooperation at the International Water Association’s (IWA) World Water Congress and Exhibition 2008 in Vienna. To emphasize the importance of dialogue and collaboration, Water for the World is sponsoring the Development Corner & Dialogues section where international organisations and NGOs will meet.

See press release.

Co-founders of the Stockholm Water Prize, Borealis and Uponor have annouced today in Stockholm a pionnering project to pilot the water footprint concept on the manufacturing from oil extraction to installation of a domestic plumbing and heating system.

With this initiative Borealis and Borouge and Uponor will be leading in the plastics industry the development of a major sustainability concept.

See SIWI, Borealis and Uponor joint release  

Borealis and Borouge are delighted to share the announcement of the 2008 Stockholm Water Prize laureate: Pr. John Anthony Allan from the King’s College in London and the School of Oriental and African Studies.

Pr. Allan notably pionnered the concept of "virtual water", which measures the water embedded in goods and products we use in our daily life, such as your cup of coffee that requires 140 litres of water to grow, produce, pack and ship the beans.

As part of Water for the World, Borealis and Borouge have launched a review of the water footprint of their operations and products and will further communicate about it. The nomination of Pr. Allan is a further encouragement for industry and consumers to understand and improve their water footprint.

The prize will be awarded at the World Water Week in Stockholm on 21 August 2008, where Borealis and Borouge will actively participate. Since 2007, Borealis and Borouge have been co-founding the Stockholm Water Prize to promote and reward water best-practices and scientific progress. 

See also SIWI's press release and consult our Stockholm Water Prize case story [pdf]. 

Watch Pr. Allan award ceremony (You Tube)

Borouge and Borealis are participating to the inaugural Singapore International Water Week (SIWW), June 24-26, 2008, with a dynamic exhibition stand to introduce their Water for the World™ programme to address the global water challenge. 

Asia is particularly exposed to the water crisis with a third of the population lacking fresh water access and half with no access to proper sanitation. Water for the World is active in the region through a range of local projects that will be further outlined in Singapore.

To learn more about our programme and meet with our partners, join us at the Water for the World stand in the Singapore pavillon of the SIWW exhibition.

See also press release and SIWW

Through their Water for the World™ initiative Borouge and Borealis, leading providers of innovative, value creating plastics solutions, are helping the State of Maharashtra in India to supply drinking water 24 hours per day, seven days a week to the 30,000 residents of Malkapur, 400km south of Mumbai.

Read our case story and Borouge press release

Borouge CEO Abudlaziz Al-Hajri is presenting Water for the World at the opening of the Gulf Cooperation Council industrialist conference on 20 January 2008 in Abu Dhabi. In presence of H.H. General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, this events marks the launch of Borealis and Borouge programme with leaders and stakeholders of the Gulf region.

See Borouge's press release.

The delivery of water, sanitation and hygiene services to poor people living in some of the world’s most crowded slums will receive a major boost, thanks to an US$11.3 million grant awarded to Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP) by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

With funding from the grant, WSUP will assist local water and sanitation providers in Mozambique and Madagascar to provide services to a total of 340,000 people. 

See WSUP and our page partners and friends.

Borealis and Borouge, leading providers of innovative, value creating plastics solutions, have launched Water for the World™, the first global programme in the plastics industry that addresses the challenge of providing fresh water and sanitation to areas in need.

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