NAPERVILLE, Ill., March 22, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The need is undeniable. Water is necessary for all life, but global water consumption is growing twice as fast as global population. More than one billion people already live in areas of water scarcity, and the number is increasing. Nalco (NYSE:NLC), the world leader in industrial water treatment, provides the essential expertise needed for companies to reduce their water footprint by using less water and fully treating discharged water, contributing to meeting this basic human need.
"World Water Day is an important way to bring attention to the global problems of water scarcity and quality," says Erik Fyrwald, Nalco Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "It helps make it clear that we must develop water management practices that strike the proper balance among the many competing needs for water. In addition to developing long-term, systemic solutions, actions are needed today to make a difference in the lives of the many lacking adequate water and sanitation."
In recognition of the United Nations' annual World Water Day, The Nalco Foundation has made a $150,000 grant to Water For People to support a water and hygiene program in West Bengal, India. The project in South 24 Parangas will drill and rehabilitate local wells, establish water committees to manage and maintain those wells and develop local hygiene promotion and education programs.
Nalco employees are also participating in Water For People's World Water Corps, an independent volunteer program that provides follow-up monitoring and evaluation of the sustainability of completed water systems. The volunteers also conduct needs assessments to determine where Water For People programs should expand.
"Nalco is also making a difference every day in the programs and services we provide our customers to reduce water and energy use," Fyrwald adds. "An example is our Green Chemistry Award-winning 3D TRASAR® cooling water technology, which is improving operations in thousands of industrial water systems around the world. Since its introduction, this single technology has saved more than 200 billion gallons (more than 757 billion liters) of water."
Nalco has also committed to the United Nations' CEO Water Mandate, to support and advance water sustainability solutions and is partnering with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to develop best practices to protect and conserve water. Nalco will apply its global experience in safe and efficient industrial water use to help define the needs of priority areas facing water scarcity, poor water quality and degradation of freshwater habitats.
About World Water Day
The international observance of World Water Day originated with the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro. For more information, visit www.unwater.org/worldwaterday.
About Water For People
Water For People is a non-profit international development organization founded in 1991 to help people in developing countries improve their quality of life by supporting the development of locally sustainable drinking water resources, sanitation facilities, and health and hygiene education programs. For more information, visit http://www.waterforpeople.org.
About Nalco
Nalco is the world's leading water treatment and process improvement company, delivering significant environmental, social and economic performance benefits to our customers. We help our customers reduce energy, water and other natural resource consumption, enhance air quality, minimize environmental releases and improve productivity and end products while boosting the bottom line. Together our comprehensive solutions contribute to the sustainable development of customer operations. Nalco is a member of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index. More than 11,500 Nalco employees operate in 150 countries supported by a comprehensive network of manufacturing facilities, sales offices and research centers to serve a broad range of end markets. In 2009, Nalco achieved sales of more than $3.7 billion. For more information visit www.nalco.com.
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