RELX Group Environmental Challenge 2016 shortlists three projects to bring safe water and sanitation to communities around the world
The RELX Group Environmental Challenge 2016 shortlist has been announced, highlighting three innovative ideas that provide sustainable access to safe water and improved sanitation out of the 91 applications received. Final winners will be announced at World Water Week in August and will also be featured in Elsevier’s journal Water Research. The first prize winner will receive $50,000 with $25,000 for second place. All shortlisted candidates will receive one year’s full access to relevant RELX Group publications such as the Journal of Water Research to help them advance their work.
This is the sixth year of the RELX Group Environmental Challenge and the shortlisted projects offer a range of affordable and accessible solutions to water and sanitation challenges in the developing world. They include a solar-powered distillation device for clean water in Kenya; a waterless and energy-generating toilet system in Madagascar; and a chlorine disinfection system in India.
Dr Márcia Balisciano, RELX Group’s Director of Corporate Responsibility said, “We received inspiring applications from more than 34 countries. The three shortlisted projects harness science and innovation and align well with our aim to benefit society through access to knowledge.”
The RELX Group Environmental Challenge prioritises solutions that are replicable, scalable, sustainable and innovative. They must also have practical applicability and involve local communities and other key stakeholders.
Katherine Purvis, Environmental Challenge judge and a Commissioning Editor of the Guardian’s Global Development Professionals Network, which gives those working and interested in the field access to relevant news, comment, and analysis, said: “The Environmental Challenge is a fantastic initiative, encouraging people and organisations to think about and come up with solutions for the world's biggest water and sanitation problems. It is both exciting and inspiring to see so many innovative ideas that, when put into practice, have the potential to improve the lives of hundreds (if not thousands!) of people."
The 2015 RELX Group Environmental Challenge shortlisted projects are:
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AguaClara LLC is a certified B-Corp - a for-profit company that meets rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency from Cornell University. Its designs, based on cutting-edge research, are for municipal-scale, nonelectric water treatment plants that are simple to operate and sustainable in small towns and villages. AguaClara's existing projects in Honduras (supported by the Cornell AguaClara programme prior to the founding of the company) and India are built using locally available materials and operated by the communities they serve. The Environmental Challenge prize money would support AguaClara in creating a 10-village chlorine disinfection system in Orissa, India that will initially impact 5,000 people.
- UK-based Loowatt Ltd. has developed a proprietary waterless and energy-generating toilet system that is clean and odourless, creating social and environmental benefits that include water savings, carbon emissions reduction, improved human health and job creation. Award-winning Loowatt’s patented core technology can fit into toilets of any shape or size and seals human waste into biodegradable polymer film. These are then emptied into an anaerobic digester where it is converted into natural gas or fertiliser – creating local jobs and revenue streams. With support from the Environmental Challenge, Loowatt will address low access to quality sanitation in Madagascar’s capital city through investment in local manufacturing capacity for toilet refills.
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Desolenator plans to solve the issue of poor access to potable water in Northern Kenya with its innovative solar-powered water purification system. The UK business offers practical, portable, off-grid and easy to use units to provide sustainable and affordable access to safe water. Consuming contaminated water leads to sickness and mortality through waterborne diseases and decreases local employment in the community as women and children spend hours collecting potable water instead of working or studying. Desolenator would use the prize money to increase access to safe drinking water in the Turkana District from 28% to 75% in two years.
Projects were evaluated by water researchers and a panel of expert judges including Dr Mark van Loosdrecht, Professor of Biochemical Engineering, Delft University of Technology; Hanny Mass, Programme Manager of the Dutch WASH Alliance; Dr Prasad Modak, Executive President of the Environmental Management Centre in India; Professor Gang Pan, Research Center for Eco-environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences; and Katherine Purvis, Commissioning Editor for the Guardian’s Global Development Professionals Network.
To learn more, please visit the Environmental Challenge website. You can see videos of previous winning projects here, and details on RELX Group’s corporate responsibility agenda here.
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Notes to Editors
About RELX Group Environmental Challenge
The RELX Group Environmental Challenge was launched in 2011 and is awarded to projects that best demonstrate how they can provide sustainable access to safe water where it is presently at risk and/or access to improved sanitation. Projects must have clear practical applicability, address identified need, and advance related issues such as health, education, or human rights. According to the World Health Organisation and UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme, 663m people were without safe drinking water, while more than 2.4bn people did not have adequate sanitation facilities in 2015. Poor access to safe water and sanitation contributes to health crises in many developing countries, and increasingly leads to violent conflict.
About RELX Group
RELX Group is a world‐leading provider of information and analytics for professional and business customers across industries. The group serves customers in more than 180 countries and has offices in about 40 countries. It employs approximately 30,000 people of whom half are in North America. RELX PLC is a London listed holding company which owns 52.9% of RELX Group. RELX NV is an Amsterdam listed holding company which owns 47.1% of RELX Group. The shares are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York Stock Exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX and RENX. The total market capitalisation is approximately £27bn/€33bn/$36bn.
About the Guardian Global Development Professionals Network
The Guardian Global Development Professionals Network offers commentary and insight from development experts across the world. Whatever your professional interest in global development, you'll find it an invaluable source of knowledge and contacts. Register now.