Water Tech: A Guide to Investment, Innovation and Business Opportunities in the Water Sector

"Water stewardship is in its infancy - yet the possibilities for private industry to drive innovation and support improved performance from the public sector is huge. Private industry has always sought water innovation, but in the past, the pressures were different from those emerging in today’s highly branded, globalised and increasingly water stressed world. This book lays out in clear terms why companies need to act and shows how Water-Tech will play a crucial role in bridging the internal with external worlds of water management with stewardship practice." – Stuart Orr, Head of Water Stewardship, WWF International "This book is a welcome, uplifting addition to the water literature. It points out that water problems in fact can be solved, once the risk is properly understood. Thanks to this contribution we are now approaching the point where necessity meets ability, and where water becomes an investment opportunity." – Piet Klop, PGGM "Water matters to us all, whether CEOs, elected officials or consumers. Two-thirds of the world’s population over the next 20 years will experience some type of water shortage. Sarni and Pechet have written an accessible primer on the dynamics of water supply and demand and on the way forward for industry leaders, government regulators, municipal managers and financiers. Much of our profligate water use – including the 70% used by agriculture – is easily reduced through tracking, pricing, efficiency, recycling, reuse and innovation (technology and practice). Industry can lead the way through individual action and precompetitive collaboration with government, financiers, and civil society to address issues of pricing, regulation, and commercialization of new innovations." – Tensie Whelan, President, Rainforest Alliance "As in energy, addressing the global water challenges of the 21st century will require innovations in technology, investment, and thinking. Sarni and Pechet’s book is a highly readable and invaluable guide helping point the way to a new, sustainable water future for the planet." – Clint Wilder, Senior Editor at Clean Edge and co-author, The Clean Tech Revolution and Clean Tech Nation "Will Sarni and Tamin Pechet write with passion and optimism about the need to integrate good water stewardship into the heart of business. They show how an increasing number of companies recognizes the need for sustainable water use. The book shows that the path from awareness to actual change will have to go through innovation." – Arjen Y. Hoekstra, professor in Water Management, the Netherlands, and author of The Water Footprint of Modern Consumer Society "This book makes a compelling case for why leaders need to better understand our relationship with water, is brilliant in its capture of nuance in water issues around the world, and more importantly it is convincing about the phenomenal commercial opportunity for innovation and technology to contribute to a secure and sustainable future." – Anand Shah, Founder, Sarvajal "Will Sarni and Tamin Pechet have compiled not only an important book, but also a guide for entrepreneurs, innovators, policymakers and corporate executives. As a longtime water advocate and author on the subject, I can safely say this breaks new ground. Will and Tamin’s quest to showcase and discuss the cutting edge tools, practices, and strategies behind the business of water is a wild success. Water is life. And this book identifies new ways we can make it sustainable." – Tom Kostigen, author of The Green Blue Book, the simple water savings guide to everything in your life "Sarni and Pechet make it clear that increasingly, water could be a source of failure for companies. There is great opportunity to take an out-of-the-box approach to innovation in water that can lead a more sustainable future for our most critical resource." – Jigar Shah