The Value of Water

Water is essential to life and a resource fundamental to every human activity, public health, economic development and the quality and good functioning of natural ecosystems. 
But are we aware of its real value to our societies and our planet? And do we still value it when we have an abundance of water in our lives? 

Water as the driving force behind sustainable development 

Guaranteeing the provision and sustainable management of drinking water and sanitation for all represents the 6th Sustainable Development Goal and with water playing a central and transversal role to every objective in the Agenda 2030.

According to the World Bank, without improvements to our management of hydric resources and ensuring global access to quality water supply and sanitation services, it is simply not possible to successfully cope with the great challenges of the 21st century – human development, habitable cities, climate change, food security and energy security. 

In effect, without water, there is no life and water is the catalyst for developing the three pillars of sustainable development: society, the environment and the economy.

We take on the sustainability challenge 

In the Águas de Portugal Group, aware of the impact of our activities and on completing three decades of existence, we are entirely committed to achieving our goal of “Making a difference in the lives of people”.


WE ARE AMBASSADORS OF THE SDG PORTUGAL ALLIANCE 


In the vanguard of this global trend, in 2016 we joined the Alliance for the Sustainable Development Goals in Portugal, of which we are a member of the General Board. In 2017, we became an Alliance ambassador for SDG6 – Drinking water and sanitation and SDG9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructures. 

The Águas de Portugal Group furthermore supports an accelerator program for implementing the 17 SDGs as one of the 12 Portuguese companies participating in the challenges of managing its business according to SDG Ambition. 

WE INTEGRATE THE SDGS INTO OUR ACTION STRATEGY 

Under the auspices of our QEC – Framework of Strategic Commitment 2020-2022, we established the mission of making a difference in the lives of people through providing essential public services and fostering the conditions for a future in which economic growth aligns with environmental responsibility, social justice and the wellbeing of people, furthermore establishing the challenges that need tackling, the priorities, commitment and key actions for development.

In alignment with the QEC, in 2021, we set out our Sustainability Commitment for the decade guiding our activities and adopting the SDGs as our strategic framework of reference.


MAKING DIFFERENCES IN THE LIVES OF PEOPLE 

The AdP Group contributes with its own performance, generating a positive impact on public health, the quality of life of populations, the climate, the natural capital and the development of increasingly sustainable territories. With our core activities of water supply and wastewater sanitation representing universal human rights, we make a significant impact on combating social, economic and environmental inequalities, thereby making an unquestionable contribution towards complying with the SDGs.

Our management challenges in water supply and sanitation stem from efficiently coping with the urban water cycle in balance with the cycles prevailing in nature and combatting climate change while always maintaining the pillars of universality, continuity, quality of service, efficiency and price equity. We leave nobody behind and take every concern to balance the needs of communities to consume hydric resources with guaranteeing the sustainability of the planet over the long term.

RAISING AWARENESS ABOUT THE VALUE OF WATER 

Every morning, we get up, wash, make coffee, flush the chain and all with water. And we don’t even spend time thinking about this. However, worldwide, hundreds of millions of people cannot complete the same actions as their housing lacks any source of drinking water or sanitation infrastructures. 

With the objective of raising awareness about this reality, the Águas de Portugal Group supported the Portuguese version of the book “The Value of Water”, written by Gary White and Matt Damon, the founders of Water.org, launched on 22 March 2023, World Water Day. This book tells about the work of its two authors in searching for solutions to one of the world’s greatest challenges: the global water crisis. Through fostering access to water, we are able to simultaneously combat poverty, promote health, access to education and gender equality, among other positive impacts.

WE HAVE ESTABLISHED PARTNERSHIPS WITH IMPACTS

Water is a resource shared by many different users and hence any solution to its sustainable management incorporates a multi-sector and integrated approach. The Águas de Portugal Group seeks to promote partnerships able to contribute to reducing pressures on demand and strengthening the available supply. One example of this stems from projects applying water for reutilisation, an alternative source of water that is safe for compatible purposes such as agricultural irrigation, golf courses and urban green spaces and industrial washing and consumption, among other usages, in projects such as REUSE and AQUA VINI Sustentável.

 
WE MOBILISE @LL TO ACT FOR WATER 

All of us in our daily routines and in our consumption decisions may contribute to preserving this most valuable of resources, water. On the Water Website, there is information about the value of water and simple tips for water efficiency that you may implement swiftly and simply in your daily life.

WE FOSTER EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABILITY 

The AQUAQUIZ is a tool made available by the AdP – Águas de Portugal Group to support participative educational practices able to nurture the value of water within the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Designed for students in the 2nd and 3rd cycles of primary schooling, this may also be played in other social or family contexts.