With world water week under way (August 20-24), the managing director of the Unified Water Label Association has said that the need to focus on water waste has reached a critical level.
Last month, the world experiencing its hottest ever day on record. August has also seen violent storms across northern Italy, wildfires across Greece, and the entire continent experiencing what the climate monitoring service Copernicus refers to as a “heat dome.”
In light of this climate turmoil across the region, Yvonne Orgill, managing director at UWLA has spoken out, saying: “Our water efficiency message is now absolutely critical. Industries must come together with governments to communicate the need to be water-wise and reduce waste, if we are to have any impact and reduce the hardship that will result from severe water shortages.
“We hope that people can now see that the dangers of warming our planet are no longer something distant, it’s here and now and affecting every region in the world. The industry has a smart solution in the Unified Water Label, which is being driven and supported by 70% of all major brands. More and more companies across Europe are coming on board, displaying the Unified Water Label, and making it easier for consumers to make environmentally friendly choices.”
Orgill added: “The Unified Water Label Association is committed to driving home the water efficiency message, encouraging everyone in the supply chain to support us by highlighting the label and the products that carry it, to ensure more of these products are used in the home. We are also working to help consumers understand that they can choose products that fit with their lifestyles, and that they can change behaviours to use products with more awareness.”
Political leaders from Italy, Spain, Greece, Croatia and Slovenia also recently jointly demanded urgent action to tackle the climate crisis, stating: “There is no more time to waste, no more time to compromise for political or economic reasons.”