Busy times for all of us, but for The Water Council team that has been especially the case the last several weeks! Read about our experience at WEFTEC, new members of our Board of Directors, a new membership program and upcoming innovation programs in our October update.
WEFTEC is a highlight of The Water Council’s year, and though the event looked different in 2021, that fact didn’t change. The Water Council has a strong presence at this year’s event in Chicago, co-sponsoring the Global Center with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation on behalf of the state of Wisconsin.
We are just a few days out from the start of WEFTEC, the global conference for water professionals organized by the Water Environment Federation. We are so excited to meet up with the rest of the water technology sector for the first time in two years to learn and network.
At The Water Council, we love to convene, connect and showcase our members. But this can leave out companies that aren’t part of the water technology sector but still want to support our mission of driving freshwater innovation and advancing water stewardship. That’s where our new Water Champion initiative comes in.
At The Water Council, we often find ourselves banging the drum to alert people about present and coming water challenges. But we also focus on finding solutions, which is what keeps us hopeful for the future. One way we facilitate solutions is through our innovation programming. Learn more in our September newsletter.
As I write this, we are expecting another day of severe storms and extreme heat in Milwaukee. Is this caused by climate change? It’s hard to say for certain, but we know climate change is here and will get worse, as confirmed by the recent United Nations report. While the news about climate change is alarming, we at The Water Council see a huge opportunity to leverage our work in water innovation, technology and stewardship to make a real impact in the sustainability movement.
Xylem has been a member of The Water Council for nearly a decade. Our partnership took a giant step forward when Xylem announced it would move its Sanitaire operations to the Global Water Center. Now Xylem is again strengthening its relationship to The Water Council as the newest sponsor of our Tech Challenge.
The weather is heating up, and so is the debate in Washington, D.C., over President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan. Infrastructure, climate change and ESG (environmental, social and governance reporting) all intersect with the issue of water. That’s why you need to attend our virtual Water Leaders Summit, presented by Baird and A. O. Smith, which will discuss all those topics over the course of six mornings July 20-22 and 27-29. Learn about our event and more in our June update.
The urgency is growing to address water quality and scarcity issues, as shown in a recent Gallup poll and data released by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. Read more in the May update from The Water Council President & CEO Dean Amhaus.
For many firms, expanding into the US is attractive in theory, but daunting in practice. It’s even more challenging given current travel restrictions. Realizing the value of convening groups to share insights and ideas, The Water Council recently launched a new initiative to make it easier for European firms to connect with other water professionals in our ecosystem and with each other.