The Global Water Leaders Group exists to make the world of water work better. It achieves this by tapping into the expertise of water leaders from across the world to share their ideas and experience, and to help them make the case for water.
The GWLG is set up as a company limited by guarantee, which is the corporate formation model for not-for-profit or social businesses in the UK. The executive director is William Muhairwe.
The Group has two main initiatives:
The water industry is struggling to achieve its objectives. In poor countries, too many people are left without access to safe drinking water and sanitation, while in rich countries, infrastructure investment is not keeping pace with asset depreciation, and the risks associated with increased water scarcity and environmental challenges are not being managed effectively.
Other utility industries – power and telecoms, for example — have been able to leverage technology, finance and regulation to meet similar challenges and become high-performance service industries. Water has lagged behind.
The Global Water Leaders Group is about bringing together water leaders from around the world to change this paradigm.
Despite its current position, the water sector has considerable promise. It represents a significant fraction of the expected net capital formation in the coming decades; it is the principal lever of resilience to climate change, and it is a fundamental ingredient to industrial production and a significant contributor to human health and well-being.
We believe that the leaders in the industry should develop a common fact base and language to move from endless discussions of the problems to formulating practical, implementable solutions.
The Global Water Leaders Group is both a forum for the development of a common solution to the water challenge, and a platform for engaging politicians and business leaders in the realisation of that solution.
