Hearing from over 30 organisations presenting their solutions on water sustainability, not only did we witness innovative ideas, we also witnessed concrete technological solutions aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). With more than 150 participants (either in-person or connected online), this “Innovate 4 Water” was the first of a series of three marketplaces, the next being held in Geneva before heading south to Arles.
This series has a unique focus on the Rhône, a major river of Switzerland and France and one of the most significant waterways of Europe. It originates in the Swiss Alps and travels 813 kilometres before flowing directly into the Mediterranean Sea near Arles. As the Rhône river basin constitutes one of the great international economic regions of both Switzerland and France, this “Innovate 4 Water” series seeks to identify local actors along its trajectory and create a meaningful space for them to exchange, connect and explore new and sustainable synergies.
The forum took advantage of possibilities given the epidemic situation, having a hybrid model of in-person participation accompanied by an online presence. Attendees were able to identify solutions from various pitches, panels and discussions around the topic of water sustainability, whilst also having the opportunity to network and educate themselves about other organisations (start-ups, SMEs, accelerators…) active in the same sector.
Throughout the forum, relevant and action-oriented viewpoints and applications of water sustainability were presented, each in their unique form. We started off the day talking about nature-based solutions, wetlands and biodiversity with pitches from startups such as E-fishency, BeeOdiversity, and Ecobird. Each presenting their solution, mission, vision, needs and role in moving towards a more water sustainable world. Each company approached the issue in a very unique and concentrated manner, following the “Innovate 4 Water” methodology. We then ventured into the first panel discussion, which gave us a very insightful and broad idea of sustainability as a whole. Panellists Pavan Sukhdev, Gerard Bos and André Hoffmann all presented and discussed their conception of sustainability and the urgent need for change that is required. Preserving society yet also the environment, influencing communities to integrate and value nature, translating information to be more digestible for communities and creating business opportunities in nature were all aspects that were touched upon during the panel.
Pavan Sukhdev urged for a shift in mindset as society is “so fixated on short-term profit that we misconceive value and price.” André Hoffmann added to this conception, claiming the need to “build and change the way we interact with nature”. Gerard Bos reminded us of the huge dependencies between nature and our economic systems. He emphasized on the need for our societies to not only acknowledge this idea of embeddedness, but to also go beyond and explore ways in which we can use nature as an ally to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. His intervention echoed a recent report from the WEF, stipulating that “Businesses are more dependent on nature than previously thought, with approximately $44 trillion of economic value generation moderately or highly dependent on nature”.
After an animated networking break, we continued with yet another round of pitches. Amongst them we had organisations such as Evodrop, bNovate, InovAya and Hydromea technologies. This longer session included a multitude of pitches and showed the diverse and impactful approaches these solution providers have. Companies active in very local applications as well as international ones all presented their business models in both a concise and digestible manner.
After an energy-boosting lunch break and networking session we ventured into another round of pitches during the afternoon, including FMV, Droople, Sinafis, WaterJade, WeGaw and others on the topic of water management in business supply chains. There was also time for supporting organisations such as Canton du Valais, the Swiss Water Partnership, BlueArk and Cluster Eau Leman. Subsequently, Victoria Smaniotto, from the Solar Impulse Foundation, took the stage to moderate the last panel discussion of the day. Eric Valette from AQUA4D and Jonathan Normand from B-Lab were amongst the panellists. Sébastien Apothéloz from the water department in the city of Lausanne was also on stage to discuss the topic of the protection of water resources.
By emphasizing the importance of better transparency and governance across the value chain, Jonathan Normand reminded us of the importance of having regulations and accountability mechanisms in line with the realities our societies are currently facing. Their label – B corp, goes beyond product or service-level certification. It is the only certification that measures a company’s entire social and environmental performance. The B Impact Assessment evaluates how a company’s operations and business model impact their workers, community, environment, and customers. Eric Valette stressed one of the main challenges’ humanity will face in upcoming years – producing more with less resources and remaining within planetary boundaries. As projected by the United Nations, the world population is likely to exceed 9.8 billion by 2050 and this demographic change will require both systemic and sustainable change. Throughout the marketplace, individuals and companies each presented and discussed the importance and vitality of water in our world today, and the need for more cross-sectoral collaboration. The urgency of addressing these topics was conveyed. Participant feedback indicated that connections and coalitions of stakeholders were created throughout the forum. This is a good sign for the scaling-up of solutions and the reinforcement of their positive impact, as we were reminded how much our economies and civilisation depend on water – the backbone of life.
If you’re interested in future “Innovate 4 Water” events, find out more here: www.innovate4water.net
Now is the time to act.