Though water is a natural component, it’s ironic that we need companies to perform water filtration, mitigation, and sustainability.
Wastewater management is a significant element of the problem. The growing water contamination problem is exacerbated by improper chemical disposal and wastewater management.
A company’s social obligation is to reduce its adverse effects on the environment to the greatest extent possible.
Larger companies, in particular, inflict alarming environmental damage by using significant amounts of chemicals and leaving large volumes of byproducts and effluent.
Large firms faced fines of £440,000 on average in 2017 due to their inept behavior, with the possibility of incarceration.
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Why is water important?
Water is undoubtedly one of the essential components that nature has to give. It’s even more crucial than eating!
According to scientists, the human body can go three weeks without solid food but not three days without water!
The body will become dehydrated, and even if it manages to stay alive, it will enter a condition of shock and eventually become vegetative.
Water is only second to oxygen in terms of importance. Did you know that humans need between 20 and 50 liters of pure, safe water daily? These needs include drinking, cooking, cleaning, and other commonplace tasks.
Water nourishes people, prevents sickness, aids in removing contaminants, is required for agriculture, and food production is essential for cleanliness.
10 biggest water companies
1. Veolia
| Company Name | Veolia |
| Operating Nations | FranceEurope (not including France, Central, and Eastern European countries)Central and Eastern Europe countries China and Asia-PacificSouth AmericaAfrica and Middle-EastNorth America |
| Contribution | Sustainable Development |
Veolia is a global leader in resource management optimization. The Group designs and supplies water, waste, and energy management solutions that contribute to the sustainable development of communities and industry, with over 178,780 employees globally.
Through its three complementing business activities, Veolia contributes to resource development, preservation, and replenishment.
In 2019, Veolia provided drinking water to 98 million people and wastewater service to 67 million people, produced over 45 million megawatt-hours of electricity, and transformed 50 million metric tons of garbage.
In 2019, Veolia Environnement (VIE) reported consolidated revenue of € 27.189 billion (Paris Euronext: VIE) (USD 29.9 billion).
The firm has operations throughout Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Latin America, and North America.
2. Aquafina
| Company Name | Aquafina |
| Operating Nations | The United StatesCanadaSpainPeru (called “San Carlos”)LebanonTurkey |
| Contribution | Ecologically friendly packaging |
Aquafina was founded in 1999 and has since expanded to become the world’s largest bottled water brand.
The company, which PepsiCo currently owns, makes flavored and unflavored water and other branded products like lip balm and even clothes.
Aquafina gets its water from a municipal tap and purifies it using reverse osmosis and UV sterilization, giving it a particular taste that millions of people have come to expect.
Any bottled water company’s success is dependent on marketing and logistics, two areas where Aquafina thrives.
Due to Pepsico’s ownership, Aquafina has access to an extensive and efficient distribution network.
They also promote their products’ packaging as being exceptionally ecologically friendly, which helps them sell to an ever-increasing number of environmentally aware customers.
3. Suez
| Company Name | Suez |
| Operating Nations | Africa Asia Australia / New Zealand Czech Republic France India Latin America Poland |
| Contribution | Recycling, water treatment, and garbage recovery. |
Suez (previously Suez Environnement) is a utility business located in France that primarily engages in the water and waste management industries. Suez is the world’s largest private water provider in the population served.
Water management, recycling and trash recovery, water treatment, and consultation are all services provided by the organization. Its activities and services include water, sanitation, garbage collection, and recovery.
The organization provides high-quality water suitable for all applications while also protecting this common good. It also recycles wastewater and garbage to produce new resources.
Suez provides water distribution and treatment services, waste collection and treatment services, including pool, sorting, recycling, composting, energy recovery, and landfilling for non-hazardous and hazardous waste, and water, waste, and engineering services for individuals, local governments, and industrial clients.
Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America are just a few places where the company is present.
4. Xylem
| Company Name | Xylem |
| Operating Nations | 150 nations |
| Contribution | Reducing Waste Landfill |
Xylem Inc. is a water technology company based in the United States created in 2011 to “solve water” by developing new and intelligent technology solutions to fulfill the world’s water, wastewater, and energy needs.
Xylem is a prominent water technology firm with operations in over 150 countries, providing innovative water technology solutions throughout the water cycle.
Xylem claims to have unrivaled technological strength throughout the water life cycle.
Xylem’s highly efficient water technologies, industrial pumps, and application solutions, from collection and distribution to reuse and return to nature, not only use less energy and decrease life-cycle costs but also encourage sustainability.
The strategy relies on Xylem’s long-standing commitment to sustainability, which was formalized in 2014 when its first five-year sustainability targets were released to the public.
These objectives were primarily centered on ways for the corporation to enhance its business procedures and operations and have a more significant influence through corporate social responsibility.
They have made significant progress on several critical fronts over the last five years, including the rise in the energy efficiency of our technologies, reducing our waste to landfill intensity, and significantly increasing employee and stakeholder engagement in our corporate social responsibility programs.
Last year, they extended the sustainability strategy to emphasize promoting sustainability across all of our products and solutions and incorporate sustainability into their overall business strategy better.
They have a unique potential to accelerate innovation and adoption as global water and critical infrastructure technology providers across the water and wastewater cycles.
They feel that they could make a substantial difference by combining our tighter focus on improving sustainability for our customers with our work to advance sustainability across our company and in our communities.
5. Evoqua Water Technologies
| Company Name | Evoqua Water Technologies |
| Operating Nations | AustraliaCanadaChinaGermanyItalySingaporeThe United KingdomThe United States. |
| Contribution | Water and Waste Treatment |
Evoqua Water Technologies Corporation was established in 2013 and is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.
The business designs, develops, and manufactures water and wastewater treatment systems.
Some of the segments it operates in are food and beverage, life sciences, marine, mining, power, semiconductor and solar, drinking water and municipal wastewater treatment, industrial, institutional, and aquatics.
The corporation is present in Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.
The company has sought to move forward and treat wastewater management through its Aerobic Treatment technology.
Aerobic Treatment is a type of biological wastewater treatment in an oxygen-rich environment in the treatment of raw wastewater or the polishing of previously treated aerobic wastewater.
Aerobic biomass converts organics in wastewater to carbon dioxide and new biomass. It can also remove nitrogen and phosphorus from a biological nutrient removal system (BNR).
Aerobic treatment technologies can be used to treat raw wastewater as a stand-alone system or to polish anaerobically processed wastewater to remove more biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and total suspended particles (TSS).
This company has taken a great initiative in treating wastewater and providing a platform for a more environmentally sustainable future.
6. Dow Water and Process Solutions
| Company Name | Dow Water and Process Solutions |
| Operating Nations | EuropeThe Middle EastAfricaNorth and South AmericaAsia. |
| Contribution | It helps in water scarcity management |
The Dow Water and Process Solutions (NYSE: DOW) is a global leader in filtration, purification, and separation technologies for businesses, consumers, industries, and municipalities.
It was founded in Edina, Minnesota, in the United States. According to its website, ion exchange resins, reverse osmosis membranes, ultrafiltration membranes, particle filters, and electrode ionization devices are among the services it provides.
DuPont is its parent business. It has mechanisms in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North and South America, and Asia.
DuPont provides state-of-the-art membrane science and ion exchange solutions that help make drinking water safer and cleaner for homes and communities.
It helps industries and markets operate more effectively, efficiently, and sustainably; and makes water-scarcity challenges more manageable, wherever they arise, as a global leader in purification and specialty-separation technologies.
7. United Utilities
| Company Name | United Utilities |
| Operating Nations | EuropeNorth West of EnglandCumbria LancashireMerseysideDerbyshireCheshire |
| Contribution | Drainage and wastewater management |
United Utilities Group was created in 1995 and is headquartered in Warrington, United Kingdom. It serves the North West of England, encompassing Greater Manchester, Cumbria, Lancashire, Merseyside, Derbyshire, and Cheshire, as one of the UK’s leading water and wastewater services providers.
It serves a population of 7.3 million people in the surrounding areas. It boasts a portfolio that includes 3 million households and 200,000 enterprises.
Both North West Water and North Western Electricity Board merged to form North West Water and North Western Electricity Board (NORWEB). It also owns and runs renewable energy plants.
The main aim of this company is that the water you use, whether it comes from your toilet or rain falling off roofs and roadways, must be collected, cleaned, and returned to the environment safely.
Managing your utilized water will be challenged by a developing North West and more extreme weather in the long run.
This obstacle is something that they have been preparing for with our Drainage and Wastewater Management Plan (DWMP).
The future of drainage, wastewater, and environmental water quality are all addressed in this plan.
This strategy is being developed in collaboration with organizations having interests and responsibilities in drainage, flooding, and environmental protection.
They want to set the standard for long-term sustainability and resilient growth in our towns and cities by collaborating with other partners to plan for the future now.
8. Kingspan Environmental Ltd
| Company Name | Kingspan Environmental Ltd |
| Operating Nations | Ireland |
| Contribution | Rainwater Harvesting |
Kingspan Environmental Ltd., based in Galway, Ireland, is one of the country’s largest water treatment companies.
In 1965, it began as a modest engineering firm in Kingscourt, Ireland. It presently has a presence in more than 70 countries.
Insulation, insulated panel systems, architectural façade systems, ducting, and wastewater management are among the services provided by Kingspan.
It also sells rainwater harvesting and fuel storage equipment. Waste oil tanks, single skin heating, grit bits, agricultural water troughs, outdoor recycling bins, road barriers, and pipe insulation items are also available from the company.
With its rainwater harvesting systems, Kingspan Water offers a variety of rainwater harvesting solutions for both home and business use.
They provide above and below-ground solutions built into new structures or retrofitted into existing systems.
Both systems are very effective, dependable, and simple to use, with significant water and cost savings.
The Kingspan Water Domestic Envireau Rainwater Harvesting system is the ideal, utterly integrated solution for self-build projects and existing homes.
They offer solutions for homes with and without header tanks for your convenience. Use the collected water to flush toilets, run washing machines, and irrigate your yard.
Their Domestic Raintrap Garden Rainwater Irrigation System is a rainwater storage tank with an integrated pump and filter installed below ground. It has an underground tank that can hold a lot of water.
9. BASF SE
| Company Name | BASF SE |
| Operating Nations | Germany |
| Contribution | Treat slime water treatment |
BASF SE is a German company based in Ludwigshafen am Rhein that manufactures and distributes various products.
BASF Corporation is the company’s largest subsidiary. The letters BASF, which stand for Badische Anilin- und Soda-Fabrik, are now a registered trademark.
The corporation is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, Zurich Stock Exchange, and London Stock Exchange.
It was formed in 1865 and manufactures items for oil and gas production, water treatment, paper manufacturing, and health care.
This company has sought to treat slime water as BASF, a primary creator of polymeric flocculants, offers a wide variety of water treatment chemicals, including flocculants and coagulants explicitly intended for the solid/liquid separation process in the mineral wastewater treatment industry.
A flocculant is a long-chain chemical polymer with or without positive or negative charges. Different ionic degrees and molecular weight productions are developed for solid/liquid separation processes in the mineral and PH wastewater treatment sectors.
10. 3 M
| Company Name | 3 M |
| Operating Nations | Asia PacificThe Middle EastAfricaNorth AmericaEurope. |
| Contribution | Limiting pollution while making water infrastructure. |
3M (NYSE: MMM) is an American global conglomerate firm headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota, specializing in water treatment solutions.
3M’s focus on reducing pollution throughout product development led to breakthrough technologies like aircraft painting and re-coating.
Industry, worker safety, and health care are among their other services. In Two Harbors, Minnesota, the company was started on June 13, 1902.
Protective water pipes, shielding wastewater pipes and tanks, defensive water tanks, and potable water rehabilitation items are among the water infrastructure options.
The operation regions are the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, North America, and Europe.
Wrapping Up
Efforts are being made worldwide to address this problem, but we are still on the verge of drought worldwide.
The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals rank clean and pure drinking water as six.
Companies that treat water are doing their part and slowly but steadily addressing the problem.
Many industrialized countries have laws requiring that tap water be safe to drink, something that most impoverished countries cannot even imagine.
(Last Updated on April 3, 2022 by Sadrish Dabadi)
