Growing up Canadian, water was a something I took for granted for a long time. If I wanted a glass of water, a tap would produce it. On hot summer days, running through a sprinkler for hours with myfriends would cool us off. Escaping for beach holidays with my family to crystal clear lakes was something that I just assumed everyone could do.
It wasn’t until I started to travel outside our borders that I realized just how lucky I was to have easy access to one fifth of the world’s fresh water supply. That realization meant I started to conserve water at home by doing the following:
1) We don’t water our lawn. EVER. I’d rather see a brown lawn then a perfectly green one any day.
2) We only run our dishwasher and laundry machine when we have full loads.
3) We plant perennials that need little water to survive and rely on Mother Nature to provide the rain.
4) We keep a pitcher of cold water in the fridge rather than letting the tap run until it’s cold.
5) We fix leaky faucets and fixtures quickly.
6) We’ve installed water saving shower heads and taps.
7) Finally, and most important of all, we shut the tap off when we brush our teeth. On average, Canadians who leave the water running while brushing their teeth waste up to 15 litres of water a day. It’s hard to understand what that means just reading the words though. That’s why Colgate is sharing this video that has a huge impact and reminds us that #EveryDropCounts.
Globally, water shortages are becoming more and more commonplace. More than a billion people on earth lack access to safe drinking water. We can no longer afford to be wasteful and that’s why in addition to their #EveryDropCounts campaign, Colgate is also rolling out a new SaveWater logo on the back of all of their product packaging globally to serve as a simple reminder to turn off the faucet.
As a business, Colgate is not just talking the talk, but also walking the walk. Since 2005, Colgate has saved enough water to fill over 7,300 Olympic-sized swimming pools and reduced the water consumed in the manufacture of their products by 34%! Since 2013, Colgate has promoted water conservation awareness to over 999 million people around the world with reminders on packaging and in retail stores, and they’re not stopping there.
Colgate aims to reduce their manufacturing water intensity to half of what it was in 2002 by 2020. They are also going to replenish water withdrawn in highly stressed regions. Finally, in addition to promoting water conservation to all its global consumers, Colgate will partner with local and global organizations to bring clean water to areas that truly need it.
It’s up to all of us to ensure that safe drinking water is available to everyone. Do you have a unique way to conserve water? Share it with us below in the comments.
This post was brought to you by Colgate but the opinions are my own.
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