Ten years of water

The Stockholm Water Symposium is an annual meeting on global water issues. Its aim is to serve as a link between practice, science, policymaking and decisionmaking in the search for effective, long-term water resources management. The Symposium also honours the winner of the Stockholm Water Prize, and hosts the judging and ceremony of the Junior Stockholm Water Prize.

ITT Flygt along with its parent company ITT Industries, once again took an active part in this year’s Symposium. Members and guests of ITT Flygt, included Corporate Environmental Manager and member of the Nominating Committee for the Swedish Junior Water Prize, Magnus Enell, and Doctor Sameh Abdel Gawad, from the University of Cairo, who spoke at the seminar, “Towards a Recycling Society: Systems Approach to Small-scale Reuse of Human Waste.”

Members of ITT Industries who held speeches at the Symposium included, Chairman, Travis Engen and head of ITT Industries’ Fluid Technology Division, Bob Ayers. ESH Director, Usha Wright, and Director of Corporate Relations, Thomas Martin, also took part.

ITT Flygt’s new President, Anders Hallberg, who took over his new role on the first of January 2000, commented on ITT Flygt’s involvement in the Stockholm Water Week, “it’s natural for us to sponsor this event, when many of our products are used in environmental applications around the world, particularly in the wastewater treatment industry.”

Continuing he said, “our work doesn’t just end there, until last year we have been producing annual Environmental Reports, however this year we, along with nineteen other companies, including British Airways and Ford and General Motors, produced the first Sustainability Report. A report which should supersede the Environmental Report, as we know it. The new report, which is based on guidelines from the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative), has been developed so that comparisons are easier to make between different companies. Not just from an environmental point of view, but also from an economic, social and ethical point of view. However this report is not only useful for stakeholders to draw a comparison between companies’ sustainability, we can also use it as an improvement tool for ITT Flygt, as the report reflects our overall performance during the year.”

Hallberg finished off by saying, “As long as our products continue to contribute to a better environment, I see no reason for us not to support the Stockholm Water Prizes and Symposium, which promotes the importance of preserving the world’s water resources. This is something we consider, when developing all our new products.”