All for Water and Water for All
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a useful framework for benchmarking the social and environmental impact of our work. For investors seeking to align investments with this global framework, WaterEquity’s funds drive positive impact toward the achievement of all SDGs, in particular the following six.
Goal 6: Water and Sanitation
We invest in financial institutions and enterprises that can significantly expand access to safe water and sanitation among low-income families. This includes investing in financial institutions, engineering and construction companies, product manufacturers, and private utilities. For example, our borrowers connect families to piped water systems, finance the construction of high-quality toilets, manufacture waste treatment technologies, and so much more.
Goal 1: End Poverty
The need for water taxes families who without it, are likely to pay up to 15x more for drinkable water for their family. Factor in the time needed for water collection, transport, and filtration, and people’s prospects for economic security go down the drain.
Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being
Increasing access to safe water and sanitation has a strong and direct impact on disease reduction and a corresponding increase in health and well-being.
Goal 5: Gender Equality
Imagine dropping out of school or being unemployed because your time and energy are needed to secure water for your family. That’s why girls are four times more likely to miss school than boys. With access to safe water and sanitation, girls can stay in school and women have time to go to work, build their own businesses, and contribute to the development of their families and communities.
Goal 8: Economic Growth
Like life, business runs on water. Nobody goes to work without it. Investments that enable people and communities to have access to safe water and sanitation fuel economic growth. No longer spending time collecting safe water or caring for sick family members, girls gain back their time to attend school, and women can work and start their own businesses. And, as water and sanitation enterprises scale, they create new jobs and find a reliable flow of talent.
Goal 13: Climate Change
Families living in poverty are the most vulnerable to climate change. Droughts mean women and girls spend less time working or in school, and more time walking farther and farther distances or waiting in long lines to find water for their families. Floods mean that potable water sources are contaminated with biohazards, particularly in areas with inadequate sanitation infrastructure, spreading fatal diseases like cholera. Household investments in more sustainable water sources and improved sanitation can help families become more resilient to climate shocks.