An evening dinner hosted by Lord Redesdale in the House of Lords for the Waterwise UK Water Efficiency Product Awards 2017, and an inspiring Waterwise Water Efficiency Conference 2017 the following day in the Royal Society of Art in London was John’s punishment on behalf of the Dwr Uisce team last week.
Both events were a breath of fresh air as not only were innovative products being acknowledged for their delivery of water efficiency at the first ever Product Awards, but the conference discussions clearly demonstrated the volume of work being done in the area of water efficiency on a global scale.
The technologies awarded at the event ranged from kitchen, bathroom and garden products to industry, innovation and IT/communication services. A full list of the award winners and their products can be found on the Waterwise website.
The conference was an opportunity to meet some familiar faces in the area of water resources, and some less familiar but known based on their reputation as experts in the field. Panel discussion sessions on Research & Innovation, Engagement and Implementation were the main focus of the day, with speakers from the European Commission on Water Research Funding and insights of future directions with ICT4Water Action Plan were two to note. All presentation from the event are available here. l Let’s hope that new links and collaborations can be made after the event, as delivering improvements in water efficiency is not a problem we can move slowly in, translating research into solutions and impact is so important.
Credit must be made to the organisers Waterwise for organising and running two fantastic events. They were both great networking opportunities as it brought together a host of innovators with great products that can only help us achieve better water efficiency, and as a researcher I am happy to see that we will play a role alongside water utilities and product/service organisation in delivering innovation in the water sector.