Siemens Water Day was hosted at the Silver Star Casino in Krugersdorp, Gauteng. The eventcommunicated the company’s commitment to sustainable water solutions, as part of its goal tobalance people, the environment and value creation.
Water sustainability is a critical issue in South Africa as the adequate provision of water is animperative for economic development going forward. This is a major challenge considering SouthAfrica’s scarcity of water.
The Department of Water and Environmental Affairs has been mandated to ensure that thecountry’s water resources are conserved and protected. The Government continues to prioritise itsgoal of ensuring that each citizen has access to safe and clean water and to this end has a number ofinitiatives in place including water conservation awareness programmes, initiatives to fix leaking tapsand leaks as well as projects to monitor groundwater and climate change.
However, to be effective, water conservation needs to become everybody’s priority.
“Sustainability has been part of our DNA since 1847,” comments Stuart Clarkson, CEO of SiemensSouth Africa. Indeed, Siemens founder Werner von Siemens has famously been quoted as saying, “Iwon’t sell the future for short term profit”.
To this end, Siemens Water Day targets internal Siemens employees as well as customers, OEMs,channel partners, distributers and system integrators. “In addition, we’re hoping to address themedia, end-users and government officials on our specific water solutions, positioning ourselves as areliable technology partner to the industry as a whole,” Clarkson reveals. Ultimately, the companyhopes to utilise Siemens Water Day as a vehicle to facilitate conversation in the industry aroundissues such as sustainability, energy efficiency and optimised water use – all core Siemens topics.
The Siemens Water Portfolio operates across three divisions: industry solutions, industry automationand drive technologies. As such, the company makes a valuable contribution to sustainable watersolutions in South Africa and on the African continent.
“Our water portfolio targets a range of end‐users,” Clarkson informs. “These include municipalities,mining, food and beverage and power generation.” Indeed, the portfolio offers solutions to issuessuch as Acid Mine Drainage and Water Reuse as well as automation, drive and instruments.
Because Siemens is committed to ensuring that the water needs of industries and communitiesworldwide are met, the company has invested in ongoing research and development of sustainabletechnical solutions. “These solutions aim to ensure that water supplies are effectively managed, aswell as facilitate processes such as waste reduction, resource recovery, water reuse, energy andprocess efficiency,” explains Clarkson.
Indeed, issues around water – or lack thereof ‐ have yielded some frightening statistics. Less thanone percent of the world’s water supply is usable. Indeed, 1.2 billion people do not have cleandrinking water and 2.4 billion people are not connected to waste water systems. There are a numberof factors which create a threat to future water supplies. These include growing populations,urbanisation and global demographic change. By the year 2025, the United Nations has estimatedthat three billion people are likely to suffer water shortages. “It is shocking to note that every eightseconds, a child somewhere in the world dies as a result of a water‐borne illness,” says Clarkson.
The agenda for Siemens Water Day includes addresses from Siemens water experts as well as paneldiscussions on water reuse; energy; water and energy nexus as well as waste water. There are also anumber of breakaway sessions planned, along with an interactive session conducted by Siemens’Rob Holmes, Clarkson and Siemens industry expert, Marvin Benjamin. This will be followed by a galadinner featuring guest speakers Lewis Gordon Pugh and the Minister of Water and EnvironmentalAffairs, Edna Molewa.
“Ultimately, we aim to build awareness around how sustainable solutions and better source watermanagement are vital to support future water supplies,” Clarkson concludes.
Contact:
Head: Corporate Affairs
Sithembile Mokaeane
Tel: +27 11 652 2146
Mobile: +27 79 890 6280
Email: Sithembile.mokaeane@siemens.com