Global Water Challenge and Cargill Launch Community Water Initiative to Improve Safe Drinking Water Access in Priority Watersheds
Initiative to help build community resilience for up to 150,000 people through clean water, sanitation access and community empowerment activities
WASHINGTON, D.C. – June 3, 2021 /CSRwire/ – Today, Cargill and Global Water Challenge (GWC) launch a community water initiative, Cargill Currents, to address water challenges faced by local communities in priority watersheds. The 3 year, $3MM program will support Cargill’s commitment to improve access to safe drinking water in communities where Cargill employees live and work.
Photo Credit: Brent Stirton/Verbatim Agency
The program is designed to build community resilience, promote economic development and deliver multiple socio-economic and sustainability co-benefits beyond just water access, including improved farmer livelihoods, improved community health, women’s empowerment and climate change resilience.
As water challenges vary across regions, the partnership will focus efforts where Cargill and Global Water Challenge can drive positive change, tailored to the specific needs of the target communities. Initial investments from Cargill will support activities in communities in Brazil, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, India and Indonesia and will benefit up to 150,000 people with improved water access.
GWC and its women for water platform will manage the effort and engage its network to identify partnership opportunities with public, private and civil society stakeholders to increase access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene, improve water-smart sustainable agriculture through community-based approaches and empower women through skills-building and income generation activities.
“Cargill, Global Water Challenge and its women for water platform share a common goal that access to clean and safe water is fundamental for communities to thrive,” said Michelle Grogg, Vice President of Corporate Responsibility at Cargill. “Supporting women’s empowerment across water programming leads not only to improved water access outcomes but has a ripple effect of strengthening communities.” “The global pandemic has heightened the need for clean water in communities around the world. We are proud to collaborate with Cargill to advance progress on SDG 6 and help communities create a more sustainable future for themselves,” said Monica Ellis, CEO of GWC. GWC and its partners have helped provide clean water and sanitation access to over 2MM people in the past decade.
Cargill’s partnership and work with GWC is one of several actions to achieve its water commitments. Additionally, Cargill is a proud signatory of the CEO Water Mandate and a member of the Water Resilience Coalition. Both are UN Global Compact initiatives that mobilize business leaders on water, sanitation and the SDGs. Cargill’s global water strategy, which aligns with the six core focus areas outlined by the Mandate, aims to conserve water, improve water quality and promote access to clean water.
Media Contact
Cargill: Emily Webster, media@cargill.com
Global Water Challenge: Madeline Flamik, madeline.flamik@getf.org
About Cargill
Cargill’s 155,000 employees across 70 countries work relentlessly to achieve our purpose of nourishing the world in a safe, responsible and sustainable way. Every day, we connect farmers with markets, customers with ingredients, and people and animals with the food they need to thrive. We combine 155 years of experience with new technologies and insights to serve as a trusted partner for food, agriculture, financial and industrial customers in more than 125 countries. Side-by-side, we are building a stronger, sustainable future for agriculture.
About Global Water Challenge (GWC)
Founded in 2006, Global Water Challenge (GWC) is a coalition of leading organizations committed to achieving universal access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and women’s empowerment. With companies, civil society partners and governments, GWC accelerates the delivery of safe water and sanitation and supports gender equality through partnerships that catalyze financial support and drive innovation for sustainable solutions. Through GWC’s innovative public-private partnerships, over 2 million people have been reached with clean water access, sanitation and hygiene training. For more information, please visit globalwaterchallenge.org.
About women for water
women for water is a Global Water Challenge (GWC) campaign and action platform advancing gender equity by empowering women and girls in 10,000 communities through water access, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and life skills programs by 2030. Grounded on the pathbreaking Ripple Effect research, women for water galvanizes investment and collective action at the intersection of water and women’s empowerment and currently supports programs in 17 countries in Africa, North and South America, the Middle East and Central Asia. Join the platform on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and visit womenforwater.com.
About Global Environment & Technology Foundation (GETF)
The Global Environment & Technology Foundation (GETF), established in 1988, is a leading 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to accelerate sustainable development through partnerships that deliver impact at scale. GETF builds and manages high impact public-private partnerships improving the lives of over 10 million people in 65 countries through water access, sanitation and hygiene, health systems strengthening, entrepreneurship, women’s empowerment, sustainable agriculture and climate resilience. Partnership platforms under GETF’s management include the Replenish Africa Initiative (RAIN), The Coca-Cola Foundation’s signature community water initiative, the Water and Development Alliance (WADA) and Project Last Mile Partnership (PLM) both partnerships between The Coca-Cola Company and USAID. GETF serves as the Secretariat for two high-impact water coalitions – Global Water Challenge and the US Water Partnership. For more information visit http://www.getf.org.