SOCIAL CHALLENGES
Water pollution has become a substantial threat to many countries – Yet it is tied with economic development. Factories, construction, and agricultural developments, all crucial elements for the economy, are among the biggest water polluters. As countries come to this realization, securing clean drinking water has become one of the top components of any sustainability plan. In order to find sustainable solutions to these challenges, the world needs young thinkers, engineers, and scientists to work together, create and implement innovative and long- term solutions.
PROJECT APPROACH
In April 2015, when the State Council issued the Water Pollution Prevention Action Plan (or Ten Measures for Water Protection), German specialty chemicals company LANXESS launched a program in tandem with the China Sustainability Tribune (formerly China WTO Tribune). The “Clean Water for Better Life” initiative offers funds to university students to conduct research on water resources. It aims to solicit research proposals on the prevention and control of water pollution from students in related majors, and develop innovative and effective solutions to current clean water challenges. The program is divided into several phases: project application, competition kick-off, research implementation, project evaluation, and award ceremony.
VALUE ADDED
From 2015 to 2020, the Water Competition has been held six times. Over the years, the number of participating universities increased from 5 to 32. The number of awarded projects also grew from 27 to 47, with the current total standing at 225. In 2020, there were 47 participating projects from 23 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government. The participating teams came from all over China, marking the ever-in- creasing depth and breadth of the initiative’s influence. The competition creates a platform that allows students to learn from and exchange ideas with each other, thus raising their awareness and capacity for protecting water and tackling environmental challenges.
Among the participating students, 89% believe that they have deepened their under- standing of water resources expertise by participating in the competition, and 81% stated that they had im- proved their environmental awareness.
LESSONS LEARNED
LANXESS has learned that universities are the starting point and incubator of in- novation and an important source for cultivating competitiveness and sustainability. LANXESS believes universities are invaluable partners for corporate responsibility projects in China. An important factor for the success of this program has been the participation and cross-cooperation between LANXESS, the China Sustainability Tribune, universities, the media, the Association of Environmental Protection Industry, and many other stakeholders. This has created a platform that com- bines social topics, university education, and enterprise development.
IDEAS FOR THE FUTURE
LANXESS plans to continue hosting this competition in the future, scaling up participation. The company looks forward to cooperating with even more partners to raise awareness of issues and con- tribute to the future of sustainability.
Source: More Than A Market Booklet 2021
