FieldFactors praised as Top Innovator by the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Karina Peña at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
We are proud to announce that we are one of the 10 global winners of Uplink's Water Waste Challenge.
FieldFactors has been selected as a Top Innovator by UpLink, the innovation platform of the World Economic Forum. We are one of the 10 global winners of this year's Zero Water Waste challenge.
In the challenge, Uplink looked for innovative water usage approaches to improve freshwater conservation from supply to demand, moving towards zero water waste. Our CEO Karina Peña was invited to talk today on behalf of the cohort at the World Economic Forum in Davos. In addition to media attention and network opportunities, the winners will receive prize money. A total of CHF 1.75 million has been distributed among the winners, approximately EUR 1.87 million.
The challenge
In this challenge, Uplink looked for innovative water usage approaches to improve freshwater conservation from supply to demand, moving towards zero water waste. Global demand for freshwater is expected to exceed supply by approximately 40% in 2030. This is due to a combination of population growth, climate change and poor water management. The challenge was looking for aquapreneurs to tackle the complex and interconnected global water problems and provide solutions. The goal is to have a major positive impact on the availability of freshwater in the long term. The challenge received 192 solutions, from which 10 were selected.
The innovation
FieldFactors participated with its own designed circular water system, BlueBloqs. This system ensures that rainwater can be reused in the city. The green solution collects 95% of the rainwater that falls on site, purifies it and stores it underground, so that freshwater becomes available for reuse. Municipalities, large companies, and sports facilities in particular benefit from the solution. FieldFactors already has implemented its solution in The Hague, Rotterdam, Maasluis and Pijnacker Nootdorp. Aside from the Netherlands, there is also a growing demand for the rainwater reuse technology internationally. There are already systems in place in Madrid and there is a lot of interest from Mexico. The jury was very pleased with this innovative system and wrote positive words in the jury report.
"The Zero Water Waste Challenge surfaced innovative companies working to reduce water waste. Circular solutions, such as those being spearheaded by FieldFactors, are vital for preserving our freshwater resources and increasing climate resilience. Together, we'll drive water innovation forward."
— Sadaf Hosseini, Head of Growth, Partnerships and Innovation Ecosystems, UpLink, World Economic Forum.
What next
FieldFactors is very happy with winning the challenge. ''We are extremely honoured to have been chosen as a Top Innovator. And grateful for the opportunity to present our solution for rainwater reuse on the global stage. The support of Uplink, the innovation platform of the World Economic Forum, will help us find new customers, partners and investors to scale up. Our goal is to make many more cities and companies in the Netherlands and beyond climate-proof with our solution!'' says Karina Peña, CEO of FieldFactors. And what are they going to do with the prize money?
UpLink is a World Economic Forum’s initiative which champions and accelerates innovation for the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Launched at the Annual Meeting 2020 in partnership with Salesforce and Deloitte, UpLink enables the growth of early-stage start-ups with solutions for critical global challenges (known as Top Innovators), by connecting them to an ecosystem which can offer the connections and resources to accelerate their impact.
The Zero Water Waste Challenge is funded by HCL and supported by ACWA Power, Auctionomics Inc, Bain and Company, Grundfos, International Financial Corporation - World Bank Group, Jacobs, 2030 Water Resources Group, Bayer, Incofin Investment Management, DCVC and LG Sonic.
Interested to know more?
Get in touch with Karina, she would love to tell you more.