DNV GL and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) have launched a new tool to help the textile industry manage water consumption in a more sustainable way.
Water scarcity affects more than 40 per cent of the global population, a number which is projected to rise. While about 2.5 per cent of the world’s water is freshwater, only 0.5 per cent of that amount is made available to satisfy society’s needs. With water an essential resource in manufacturing processes, including in the textile sector, reducing water consumption by establishing sustainable production processes can therefore be an advantage for companies as well as the communities they operate in. This is widely reflected in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, which aim, among other things, to ensure sustainable production by companies and water access for all by 2030.
UNIDO is the specialised agency of the United Nations that promotes industrial development, including globalisation and environmental sustainability, in order to reduce poverty. UNIDO works to improve the quality of life of the world’s poor by drawing on its combined global resources and expertise as well as by fostering partnerships with the private sector to enhance the productive capacities of small and medium-sized industries, build trade capacities and promote renewable energy solutions.