Human ingenuity can solve humanity’s problems, Almedalen audience told by Bluewater owner, Blue

Alemdalen, Sweden, July 4, 2018 – Human ingenuity can overcome many of the current environmental challenges confronting humankind and the planet but demands a commitment to developing a circular economy with an eye on sustainability. That was the core message to an audience today at Sweden’s huge political, business and media festival in Almedalen by Anders Jacobson, the co-founder and CEO of investment company Blue, which owns Bluewater.

“Blue seeks to maximize its potential impact on planetary and human health by engaging in different forms of sustainability- and circular business-driven ventures, from investing in entrepreneurs, technology and emerging companies to managing its own wholly-owned businesses,” Mr. Jacobson (pictured below) said. Blue today owns companies such as Bluewater, a world leader in drinking water technologies and solutions, and is investing in a growing portfolio of game-changing companies such as Save by Solar and Visaba Care, either independently or jointly with other investment ventures such as Baseload.

Anders noted how Bluewater this year launched its global Imagine H2O Urban Drinking Water Challenge which saw entrepreneurs invited to provide scaleable solutions to water scarcity challenges. The challenge with up to $1,000,000 (USD) in cash awards and investment to three overall winners – aims to address urban drinking water challenges in a world where the UN predicts some 5.7 billion people will be living in urban areas running short of drinking water by 2050.

The UN predicts that by 2100, 80-90% of people will live in cities and, according to some researchers, within the next 35 years more than 100 cities will have populations larger than 5.5 million people, with Asia and Africa expected to become the world’s population centres. In terms of drinking water, the World Bank expects a 50% increase in urban water demands within the next 30 years.

The Bluewater Urban Drinking Water Challenge aligns with U.N. Sustainable Development Goal 6, or SDG6, which calls for universal access to safe and affordable drinking water for all by 2030. The three winning start-ups will be honoured at a special event held in Stockholm, Sweden, on August 27, during World Water Week, August 26-31, 2018.

“At both Blue we believe that tech can help solve problems facing both the planet and humanity such as plastics pollution of our oceans, but it will be contingent on doing it in sustainable ways and aligning political policies and business ambitions behind sustainability-driven decisions,” Mr Jacobson said.

For more information, please contact David Noble, Blue | Bluewater PR & Communications Director, at david.noble@bluewatergroup.com or +44 77 85 302 694

Editors Notes

- Almedalen was started in 1968 as a political lobbying event on the Swedish Baltic Sea island of Gotland by Sweden’s Social Democratic party. Over the past 50 years it has grown into an annual week-long extravaganza where political parties, businesses, media and other organizations gather for a series of seminars and events.

- Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Blue is an investment company that serves as a catalyst for innovations that can solve some of the major challenges facing our planet and all its citizens. Blue’s mission is to find, engage with, invest in and support entrepreneurs, innovators and businesses driven by the desire to deliver tangible, sustainable solutions that can benefithuman wellbeing and planetary health. www.blueab.se