Global Water Summit 2014: Water For Growth

'Water for Growth' will highlight the crucial role of water for business, industry and communities worldwide. Over 500 senior water leaders will gather in Paris to discuss the risks and opportunities of scarcity, pollution and climate change and the potential for business in a recovering global economy.

The Global Water Summit for 2014 is to be held in Paris on 7th and 8th April at the Marriott Rive Gauche hotel, Paris. Hosted by Global Water Intelligence (GWI)* in conjunction with the International Desalination Association (IDA) the Summit is the leading forum for water leaders throughout the world.

The theme, Water for Growth, highlights the crucial role of water for business, industry and communities worldwide. Over 100 speakers will be invited to lead sessions covering desalination, industry and emerging markets. Formats will include plenary sessions, break-out groups, round-table networking, one-to-one pre-arranged meetings and site visits. Attendees will include over 500 Ministers and top executives from government departments, public and private water companies, consultants, suppliers, financiers and investors.
Disaster-recovery and counter-insurgency expert tops the keynote speaker line-up

Top speakers will be drawn from major water-using industries (food & beverage, mining, oil & gas etc) as well as public and private sector utilities. Major speakers confirmed so far: Keynote speaker, Dr David Kilcullen from Caerus Associates is a counter-insurgence expert whose experience and expertise covers the overlapping problems of conflict, climate change, energy, health and governance. Caerus operates in challenging environments worldwide, from the field to the policy level, with a presence on four continents, and provides design solutions for NGOs, communities, private industry and government. His insights on water security for our economies and cities could not be more topical.

Dr Kilcullen will be joined by Gail Klintworth, Chief Sustainability Officer for Unilever who has over 25 years’ experience across Unilever’s Foods, Home Care and Personal Care businesses. She is responsible for driving the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan which aims to double the business turnover whilst halving environmental impacts by 2020.

The Summit will also feature the Global Water Awards for 2014, recognising the achievements of people and projects in the water industry over the past 12 months. Nominations for the

Awards will open on 1st December 2013. The provisional categories include:

• Water Company of the Year
• Desalination Company of the Year
• Public Water Agency of the Year
• Desalination Plant of the Year
• Water Reuse Project of the Year
• Industrial Water Project of the Year
• Desalination Deal of the Year
• Water Deal of the Year
• Water Technology Company of the Year
• Water Performance Initiative of the Year
• Water Stewardship Award
• Water/Wastewater Project of the Year

The Awards will be presented on the evening of 7th April by Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia. President Sirleaf was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 for her work in securing women’s rights and in 2007 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her personal courage and unwavering commitment to expanding freedom and improving the lives of Africans.

The Summit will also be a rare forum for the Global Water Leaders Group, an exclusive gathering of CEOs of water utilities and agencies that meet just a few times each year. For more information, visit www.globalwaterleaders.org.

The Summit proceedings and agenda will be developed over the coming months and can be followed at: www.watermeetsmoney.com .

The Global Water Summit is pleased to work with partners and sponsors: Gold: Pentair, Industry Partner: Veolia, Silver: Foz do Brasil, Acciona, Bronze: CH2M Hill, Hitachi

About Global Water Intelligence (GWI)
*Global Water Intelligence (GWI) researches and publishes business data and information about the water markets worldwide. Based in Oxford, UK it also has offices in Singapore and USA (Austin, Texas) and has researchers and office staff in many other countries. It publishes three subscription titles and a free weekly GWI Briefing email and around four individual reports per year on particular water sectors/geographic regions. It also organises two major financial conferences for the water industry each year: the American Water Summit in Autumn (Washington 2013) and the Global Water Summit in Europe in Spring (Paris 2014). GWI was awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2011.