NAPERVILLE, Ill., March 20, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Water is an essential element of life, yet more than 20 percent of the world's population lacks access to safe drinking water. Many of those who have access to clean water still lack proper sanitation, leading to more than five million deaths each year from water-related diseases. Nalco Company (NYSE:NLC), which provides essential expertise for water, energy and air, is helping industry reduce its use of precious freshwater supplies through a variety of programs that improve the operation of boilers and cooling systems at more than 70,000 customer locations worldwide.
In recognition of the United Nations' annual World Water Day on March 22, The Nalco Foundation is building on these efforts by providing an additional $100,000 grant to Water For People, an international agency that focuses on increasing access to safe drinking water and on preventing water- or sanitation-related illnesses.
Since 2004, The Nalco Foundation has provided more than $250,000 to fund Water For People projects in Malawi, Honduras, Guatemala, Bolivia and India. In addition, Mary Kay Kaufmann, Nalco's Chief Marketing Officer, has been elected to the Water For People Board of Directors.
"Water is clearly a quality of life issue, especially in developing countries. Access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation is a critical way to break a vicious cycle of disease that helps breed poverty," said Laurie Marsh, President of the Nalco Foundation. "Supporting Water For People provides both improved health in the developing world and gives people the time to pursue economic opportunity and improve their standard of living."
The Foundation grant will support Water For People's school-based water, sanitation and hygiene promotion program in India. The focus of the program is 15 schools in East Medinipur, India, and includes the construction of drinking water stations and sanitary blocks for the schools' students. It also teaches and mobilizes both students and their parents to change their behaviors to improve sanitation and to encourage the improvement of water and sanitation facilities throughout the area.
Nalco Company continually works to provide solutions to reduce water and energy usage. In 2008 its 3D TRASAR(r) Technology for Cooling Water won a United States Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award in acknowledgment of its ability to improve cooling system operations. 3D TRASAR Technology for Cooling Water saved an estimated 63 billion gallons of water in 2008.
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 130 countries supported by a comprehensive network of manufacturing facilities, sales offices and research centers to serve a broad range of end markets. In 2008, Nalco achieved sales of more than $4.2 billion. For more information visit www.nalco.com.