Saved raindrops adding up

Farmers know well that rain and water conservation are crucial to agriculture, but with climate change increasingly threatening water supplies, the importance of rainwater is becoming known even to the young and urban.

"Water is linked to everyone's daily life. So saving water should not be an issue for just a country's leader, but it is also closely related to ourselves," said Ding Kuang, a 10-year-old student from Beijing Dongzhimen primary school.

After following his class's water conservation campaign for two years, he learned that if everyone reduces the use of water by just a drop every day, a barrel or several barrels of water can be saved in a year.

The "save a barrel of water" program by Coca-Cola, the biggest beverage company in the world, began four years ago as it prepared for its sponsorship of the Beijing Olympic Games and helped meet the goal of a greener Games for the country, said Brenda Lee, vice-president of Coca-Cola China.

The program has been held in 22 cities across China with more than 800,000 students participating - who then spread the word to their families and communities.

In just April to October of 2008, students in Beijing saved a total 37,500 cu m, enough water to fill 17 standard swimming pools.

"Based on the great achievement we made in the past four years, we upgraded the program to another level to deepen people's understanding of the current world water crisis," Lee added.

In April, Coca-Cola began the fifth year of the "save a barrel" program that now organizes Chinese students to research water systems in their communities to give direct understanding of how water works.

The company also challenges students to craft innovative ideas on conservation equipment, such a rainwater harvesting system.

"We aim to educate participants to create solutions to a variety of water-related issues - from treatment methods for household wastewater to ways to improve farmland irrigation," Qian Lixia, deputy director of the Beijing Academy of Educational Sciences told China Business Weekly.

As one of the founders of the campaign, David Brooks, vice-president of Coca-Cola China, explained the main purpose of the project in a recent interview.

"It is widely known that China's huge population and booming economy have placed a great burden on natural resources, and the country suffers regularly from water-related problems including droughts, floods and shortages," he said.

As Brooks explained, the main purpose of the program is to truly bring the message of conservation to China's young generation. "We hope youngsters are actually getting a sense of the importance of saving water and training for a greener lifestyle."

Besides offering the "save a barrel" campaign, Coca-Cola has donated $20 million in recent years to conservation work on seven river systems across the world, including the Yangtze.

The beverage giant also began efforts in China's rural areas to improve water use, including a program in March last year to help students in Sichuan, Heilongjiang, Liaoning provinces and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region gain better access to clean water in their daily life.

Coca-Cola has also improved water conservation and recycling in its daily operations.

Its sustainable water processing technologies improve the efficiency of making products while strengthening wastewater treatment standards and increasing water recycling.

"As a leader in the water-related products industry, the health of Coca-Cola's business is directly linked to the health of the environment," Lee said.

"Water is the most important element in our business, so we need to work to upgrade our water processing technology and strengthen partnerships with local governments, communities and each family to achieve water sustainability."

"Amid the current financial crisis, we will continue our community investment in China, working in partnership with the Chinese government to promote environmental education," said Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO of Coca-Cola company.

(China Daily 06/22/2009 page8)