Ones to watch are gamechangers which are in their early stages. Their promising impact to date means we're excited to see how they'll develop.
In India, only about 60 per cent of industrial wastewater is treated and recycled. This is a big problem in a country where demand for clean water often exceeds the available resources. Government, the courts and environment groups are putting increasing pressure on highly polluting industries – such as textiles, chemicals and pharma – to act.
Since the 1930s, water use in India has increased more quickly than its population, while supply has reduced due to climate change, weak monsoon seasons, rising heat waves and droughts. Between 2001 and 2011, annual per-head availability of water in the country decreased by 15 per cent. And this trend is set to continue: it’s estimated that demand for water in India will outstrip supply by as much as 50 per cent by 2030.
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who
Roserve
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where
India and Africa
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what
• Roserve is on track to save at least 25 million litres of water a day in India
• The firm’s water treatment and recycling technology uses up to 50 per cent less energy than other methods
25 million
Roserve is on track to save at least 25 million litres of water a day
One company rising to this challenge is Roserve, a wastewater treatment and recycling company based in India. It uses a technology known as high-pressure reverse osmosis, which purifies recycled wastewater cost-effectively while using up to 50 per cent less energy than other methods.
To make this as affordable as possible for the country’s industries, Roserve bills its customers monthly based on the amount of water treated, with no upfront capital costs. So as well as reducing their burden on the environment, companies benefit from visibility of costs and guaranteed water quality.
Before long, the facility in India is expected to save at least 25 million litres of water a day – and with our support, Roserve is now expanding into sub-Saharan Africa, where wastewater treatment and recycling are practically non-existent. It made its first installation on the continent in early 2020, and aims to prove the viability of its approach in the region.
We identified climate adaptation and resilience as one of the priorities of our Climate Change Strategy. That includes investing more in the companies that deliver climate adaptation and resilience solutions at the local level – such as our investment in Roserve.
50 %
Roserve's water treatment and recycling technology uses up to 50 per cent less energy than other methods
