Cement Manufacturers Association

39 Cement Companies Fulfilling SDG Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation Abstract Water Management is the need of time. It is the management of water resources for the coming generations. It involves the activity of planning, developing, distributing and managing the optimum use of water resources. As the global population grows, there is an increasing need to balance all of the competing commercial demands on water resources, so that communities have enough for their needs. At the human level, water cannot be seen in isolation from sanitation. Together, they are vital for reducing the global burden of disease and improving the Health, Education and Economic productivity of populations. Indian Cement Industries are playing a pivotal role in fulfilling UNSDG-6 thus providing support to all its stakeholders directly or indirectly. Introduction Life on earth has crossed a number of tipping points due to planetary emergencies. As the world continues to grapple with the risks of climate change, ecological destruction, increasing pollution, livelihoods at stake, and the pandemic, the impacts seem more severe than the previous decades. Addressing global challenges involves a critical step of achieving sustainability in an integrated and coordinated manner at the global, national, regional, and local levels. Solutions for these risks need to be adapted to the local context and priorities, thereby bridging the Devesh Kumar Mishra President & Unit Head Hemantha Kumar Additional Vice President & Head Corporate Sustainable Development Vinod Paliwal GM & Head-Sustainable Development) - Birla Corporation Ltd. gap between local actions and global impacts. Water is the key to the world’s stability, prosperity and peace. Water is also an essential resource for our life and business operations. In the next three decades, estimates predict a 40% to 50% increase in water demand for the Global Food System, i.e. a 50% to 70% increase for the municipal and industrial sector and an 85% increase for the Energy Sector. Growing competition for water demands immediate action and a steep change in the way companies manage water scarcity. Water scarcity is being driven by two converging phenomena: Growing freshwater usage and Depletion of usable freshwater resources. 98% of the water on this planet is salty and is not fit for Human consumption. Out of the 2% of freshwater reserves, 1% is locked up in the form of ice in various regions around the World. Hence, only 1% of total water reserves are available for our Domestic & Industrial use. Water use has been growing Globally at more than twice the rate of population increase in the last Century, and an increasing number of regions are reaching the limit at which water services can be sustainably delivered, especially in Arid Regions. Water scarcity will be exacerbated as rapidly growing urban areas place heavy pressure on neighbouring water resources. As humans continue to pump more Carbon Dioxide and other Greenhouse Gases into the atmosphere, patterns of weather and water will change around the Globe. Droughts will become