Schwarzenegger Selects Water Grid Solution as Best Innovation 2013

(Copenhagen, 7 November 2013) – The Sustainia Award 2013, which honors global sustainability innovations, was announced today in front of an audience of more than 1,000 guests gathered in Copenhagen. 

Chaired by Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Sustainia Award was presented to Israeli company TaKaDu for its technology that reduces water distribution losses. “The Sustainia Award winner is a great example of the solutions we need. With an advanced technology, they help address a serious issue facing many communities, scarcity of water. They are true green action heroes,” says Arnold Schwarzenegger, chair of the Sustainia Award Committee. 

“Tonight’s award winner is an excellent solution to how we can optimize our most valuable resource: water. Their state-of-the-art technology helps to reduce water loss and ensure supplies to a growing population,” says Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri, Chair of the UN climate panel, IPCC, who presented the award in Copenhagen.

To help reduce waste in water distribution, the innovation monitors water grids and warns suppliers of leakages, pipe bursts or other irregularities. This technology made TaKaDu a stand-out solution to the award committee formed by former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger; former Prime Minister of Norway Gro Harlem Brundtland; Chair of IPCC Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri; and EU Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard.

The award is initiated by Copenhagen-based sustainability think tank, Sustainia, in collaboration with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s initiative Regions20, UN Global Compact and the EU Commission. Behind Sustainia is also a wide range of companies including Novo Nordisk, Philips Lighting, Cisco, DNV, Realdania and Microsoft.

Winner Safeguards Earth’s Most Valuable Resource
Water loss during distribution is a key challenge for the world’s water supplies. Challenges include maintaining networks in the face of aging pipes, increased demand from growing populations, stretched resources and the effects of climate change including extreme weather.

The TaKaDu technology retrieves and monitors large sets of data from sensors in the water networks and analyzes them in real-time. The software-based service automatically locates and classifies irregularities, such as leaks and pipe bursts, and alerts utilities immediately. The technology is currently deployed in six countries: Australia, Chile, Israel, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom.   

Amir Peleg, CEO and founder of TaKaDu:  
“We are truly honored to win Sustainia Award 2013 among the many pioneer solutions and strong innovations nominated. This award, and the remarkable mission behind it, will raise awareness of our technology, its unique analytical approach and the great impact our solution has to secure the planet’s most valuable resource, water, in a time where climate change and a growing population gravely challenge our water supplies.” 

More than 500 projects and technologies from 79 countries were submitted for the Sustainia Award 2013. 

Tangible Solutions Ahead of COP19
The Sustainia Award Ceremony is a multi-stakeholder gathering in Copenhagen with innovators, decision makers and artists uniting to raise awareness of readily available solutions in the lead-up to the Conference of Parties (COP19) in Warsaw, Poland. With sustainability champions such as IPCC Chair Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri, UN Global Compact Executive Director Georg Kell and EU Commissioner Connie Hedegaard side by side with renowned artist Olafur Eliasson, global innovators and more than 1,000 citizens, the Sustainia Award Ceremony is a public celebration of global sustainable innovations. 

Laura Storm, Executive Director of Sustainia:
“With Sustainia Award, we bring focus to readily available innovations from across the globe with the potential of changing our cities and sectors to sustainable practices. By presenting tangible green alternatives, we show companies and consumers that they can be part of the solution by seizing the opportunities available. It’s time to make people part of the solution.”

“Sustainia shows the promise of innovative solutions to accelerate, inspire and scale up existing efforts on the path toward sustainability,” said UN Global Compact Executive Director Georg Kell. “The private sector has the ability to bring resources, innovations and innate problem-solving strengths to help address critical global issues such as water scarcity and climate change.”

Motivation for Selecting TaKaDu
With rising challenges related to global population growth and the effects of climate change, demand for water will increase significantly over the next century. Sustainia Award winner TaKaDu’s readily available technology helps use water resources smarter and more efficiently by greatly decreasing the volume of water losses throughout distribution networks. 

About Sustainia
Sustainia is a sustainability think tank working to create sustainable growth. Based on tangible know-how and technologies, Sustainia demonstrates the sustainable future we could achieve if existing solutions were implemented on a large scale. Sustainia is founded by Scandinavian think tank Monday Morning and developed in close collaboration with UN Global Compact, the EU Commission, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s initiative Regions20, International Federation for Housing and Planning and world-leading companies and organizations: Novo Nordisk, DNV, Microsoft, Philips Lighting, Cisco, Realdania, Brunata, Ramboll and Gehl Architects. www.sustainia.me

Resources

• View publication on the 10 nominated Sustainia Award finalists here

MEDIA CONTACTS

Marie Louise Gorvild
Press Officer
Sustainia
mlg@mm.dk 
+45 3164 1050 or +45 33 707 151

Kristen Coco
Public Affairs and Media Relations
UN Global Compact
cocok@un.org 
+1 917-367-8566