Deadline: 5 January 2020
Water is the source of life. Access to bountiful and clean water is of paramount importance to the survival and sustainability of human life. One quarter of the world’s population currently faces ‘extremely high-water’ stress. And an additional one third already faces high water stress. This global crisis indicates severe shortages of freshwater, in which 80 percent of impacted countries have medium to low implementation of an integrated water management system. However, 60 percent of countries are unlikely to reach the target of full implementation by 2030. Positive development is urgently required to alleviate water stress and meet the SDG6.
A sustainable global effort will be required to achieve a turnaround of the water stress levels in the affected regions. This will include both a change to water-use efficiency, methods of water exploitation and advancements in the portion of fresh water that is withdrawn from all water sources. We also need to drastically change our perception of water – from an unlimited commodity to a scarce and valuable resource.
The focus of this challenge includes increasing water-use efficiency within the household and driving responsible water usage forward, in order to substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity and also preventing future water crises. It also aims to create a sustainable ecosystem and increase awareness of this issue. RB strongly stands behind its commitment towards SDG 6.4 by working tirelessly with our consumers, governments, NGOs and others around the world to reduce water consumption.
The most recent example of RB’s engagement on the issue is the global Finish campaign started in Turkey and Australia to save water through better dishwashing practices. The idea behind the campaign is to raise awareness of water scarcity and to advocate for reduced water consumption during dishwashing and wider in the home for the benefit of future generations.
By 2030, it is estimated that the world will only have 60% of the water it needs. The goal for this challenge is to create change by developing the right educational and/or technological tools for responsible water consumption in the home. There should be a focus on families, where water consumption per household is at its highest.
This challenge seeks to support initiatives that:
- Educate households especially in countries and regions at greatest risk to the consequences of water scarcity.
- Drive innovative ways to reduce water within households. This can be done through focused behavioural change methods or technological innovation – the key is that it must allow for practical execution and be scalable and accessible.
- Ensure proposals are not just developed for short term benefits but hold sustainable long-term objectives too. These are changes that should be passed on to future generations.
Eligibility
- Aligned: Evidently aligned with the SDG6 challenge. See ‘Challenge outline’.
- Youth-led: Founded by a person aged 18 – 30.
- Focused: Well-structured time horizon, identified key stakeholders and beneficiaries, and proposed outcomes that are reasonable and well thought out.
- Proven: Readily available, in or past implementation phase.
- Impactful: Solutions must have a positive social impact, for example generating employment, or developing skills.
- Measurable: Impacts of solutions must have been adequately measured and/or be measurable.
- Financially viable: Must be able to achieve efficiency and to survive independently through the resources they generate and/or the investments and donations they attract.
- Scalable: Potential to perform as well or better after expanding in scope or size and/or being transported to other regions.
Benefits
The winning solution will receive
- A US$50,000 grant from RB
- 12 months of mentorship from a team of RB professionals. The mentorship team will work to accelerate your solution based on the needs of your initiative or organization, such as:
- Business strategy
- Best practices for data collection
- Monitoring and evaluation
- Product design
For more information, visit this link.